Bhubaneshwar Shiva temple & Rajbari Puthia, Rajshahi

Bhubaneshwar Shiva temple is the largest Shiva temple in Bangladesh. The Puthia Temple Complex consists of a cluster of notable old Hindu temples in Puthia Upazila, Rajshahi District, Bangladesh. Located 23 km to the east of Rajshahi city, it has the largest number of historic (Hindu) temples in Bangladesh. 

The big Shiva temple, Puthia his history, The big Shiva temple is one of the six temples of Puthia Rajbari. It is an archaeological establishment listed by Bangladesh Archeology Department. In 1823, the Govinda Temple was built by Queen Bhubanmoye Devi under the supervision of Puthia Rajprabarbari. In the long seven years, the construction of the temple ended in 1830. It is also called Bhubaneswar temple after the name of Bhubanmai Devi. In this era, there is regular worship in this temple. At least 30 kilometers away from the city of Rajshahi, this temple is the first to reach the famous Puthia Rajbari. On the right side of the temple, there is a huge Ragh Mandir and a huge dock named Gopal Chowki. The temple is 19.81 meters long, and height 35.05 meters from the ground towards the square of this temple built on a high platform. The verandah stretched around the temple and there is garbage in between. In the Pancharatna architectural plan, there are four temples in the four corners of the temple, and five have a total of eleven groves or gems.

Inside the Shiva temple, there was a big black stone called the “Shiva linga”: the symbol of Lord Shiva. We’ve seen many small versions being sold on markets before but the one present inside the temple was huge. It was surrounded by offerings and other images of the Gods. It was lovely to see the pride in the eyes of our guide when he showed it to us. Some curious locals came to see as well which made me think the doors aren’t opened that often for the public.

Puthai Rajbari is located 30 kilometers from Rajshahi town. This place is one of the many proud places in Rajshahi through which Rajshahi has been called the place to host many historical places and buildings. One such place is the Puthia Rajbari.

The Rajbari is vast in size, and tourists visiting this Rajbari will notice the enormous size of the Rajbari. Puthia Rajbari is located just beside the Dhaka Rajshahi Highway. The Puthia Rajbari has within its vast premises many temples which would surely attract many tourists, mainly those tourists who like historical places. Another interesting fact about the Puthia Rajbari is that the whole area is surrounded by a lake which acts as the boundary of the Rajbari. The lake, at a couple of times in the year, remains filled with vibrant green hyacinth which is lovely to watch.

 You can easily visit Puthia on one day trip from Rajshahi. We started off with Natore because it’s the furthest away. We hopped off the bus at a busy intersection where the bus’ ticket man was so kind to arrange a rickshaw ride to Natore. Afterward, we took a rickshaw back and hopped on the first available bus to Puthia and then Rajshahi. It’s a common trip to make so people know where to drop you off.