History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v1.c17.7

v1.c17.7

The dates of the building of the Bhuvanesvara temple given by the palm-leaf records also support this theory. 'The founder began the lofty fane about 500 A. D. Two succeeding monarchs laboured on it and the fourth completed it in A. D. 657." Thus the completion of the temple of Śiva at Bhuvanesvara took place after Harsha's death. A slab inscription further recounts that a pious princess built another cloud-reaching temple with four beautiful halls to Lord Śiva. "The only event by which the palm-leaf records relieve the monotonous list of kings of the ninth century is the erection of a Śiva temple in Puri, the city which was destined, later on, to become the centre of the rival worship of Vishnu. This Mārkandesvara temple in Puri was built by Kundala Kesari in 811-829 A. D. (Purushottama Chandrikā p. 31 quoted by Hunter p. 237 ).