In a remote forest pocket of Odisha's Jajpur district, archaeologists have uncovered the ruins of a rare 9th-century temple belonging to the Bhauma-Kara dynasty. The shrine is dedicated to a lesser-known protector deity, referred to in local copper plates as the 'Goddess of the Crossroads.' The most significant discovery is a monolithic statue of the goddess featuring zircon-inlaid eyes, which would have caught the light of lamps to create a striking visual effect during nighttime rituals.
The temple's layout follows a Pancha-Ratha plan, characterized by five vertical projections on its exterior walls. Intricate carvings of yoginis and celestial dancers decorate the doorway, showing a level of artistic detail comparable to the famed temples of Bhubaneswar. This discovery is expected to provide new insights into the religious syncretism of the Bhauma-Kara queens, who were known for their patronage of both Buddhist and Shaivite monuments across coastal Odisha.