The beautiful and popular 11th-century Raja Rani Temple is located in Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha. It has erotic carvings of couples and women and that’s why, it’s locally known as “love temple”. Constructed of dull red and yellow sandstone, its construction follows the famed pancharatha style where it’s erected on a raised platform and has two structures - the vimana (sanctum) and a bada (curvilinear spire).

The spire of Raja Rani Temple rises to 59 ft in height and it also has the Jagamohana with a pyramidal roof. The temple is set amidst the well maintained gardens and draws visitors and devotees alike for its sculpted figures and its projections forming the 18 m tower. For visitors, it reminds of the temples of Khajuraho but the major highlight here are the stunning sculptures of dikpalas or guardians carved around the shrine.

More so, much of the fame of the Raja Rani temple arises from its temple figures carved on the walls and displaying amorous dalliance. The temple finds it name from the local sandstone that was used in its construction. There is no image of the deity in the sanctum but it has many figures of Shiva and Parvati on the platform which makes it one of well-known temples for Lord Shiva.