Kotitirtha Tank is located behind the Kotitirthesvara temple in the Kotitirthesvara lane, Old Town, Bhubaneswar. It is now under the care and maintenance of Kotitrithesvara Thakura Development Committee. The tank is enclosed within a masonry embankment made of dressed laterite blocks.
Tradition & legends
Local people held the tank in high esteem as a sacred bathing place for cleansing the sins. The tank is used for various ritual practices like offering pinda and other ritual offerings. The temple tank is one of the panchatirthas, the other four being Ganga-Yamuna Kunda, Bindu sagar, Devi padahara, and Papanasini. The deity in the adjoining temple on the western embankment is named "Kotitirthesvara" after the sacred tank Kotitirtha. It is a natural spring.
Ownership
i) Single/ Multiple: Multiple ii) Public/ Private: Public iii) Any other : Maintained by the Kotitirthesvara Thakura Development Committee. iv) Name: -dov) Address: Kotitirthesvara Lane, Old Town, Bhubaneswar
Age
Precisedate: — i) Approximate date: Could not be ascertained. However, the tank may be earlier than the temple that is assigned to the 11th century AD. ii) Source of Information:
Property Type
i) Precinct/ Building/ Structure/Landscape/Site/Tank: Tank ii) Subtype: Spring iii) Typology: Embankments
Property use
i) Abandoned/ in use: In use ii) Present use: Ritual as well as normal bathing iii) Past use: Could not be ascertained
Significance
i) Historic significance: Somavamsi 260 ii) Cultural significance: — Sivaratri, Jalasayii, Kartika purnima, Sankranti are observed. The tank is considered sacred as one of the panchatirthas, the other four being Ganga-Yamuna Kunda, Bindu sagar, Devi padahara, and Papanasini. Pinda is also offered. iii) Social significance: — iv) Associational significance: Kotitirthesvara Thakura Development Committee.
Physical description
i) Surrounding : The tank has embankments on all the four sides. The temples of Kotitirthesvara and Visvanatha stand on the western embankment, on the southern embankment there is a channel for outlet of the excess water of the spring that discharge in to the Lingaraja West Canal. On the northeast corner, there is a clubhouse, whereas in the northwest corner there is a recently built Siva temple that partly encroach the ancient tank. ii) Orientation: Bathing ghats are provided with steps in the western embankment. iii) Architectural features: Rectangular on plan measuring 19.75 metres in length, 9.75 metres in breadth and 1.56 metres in depth iv) Raha niche & parsva devatas: — v) Decorative features — vi) Building material: Dressed Laterite blocks vii) Construction techniques: Dry masonry viii) Style: — ix) Special features, if any: It is fed by a natural spring from the underground. The excess and wastewater is discharged through a channel in the southern wall. As a result, the water level of the tank remains constant throughout the year. The water is fresh and clean. The water is used for ritual bath as well as community bath by the locality.
State of preservation
i) Good/Fair/ Showing Signs of Deterioration/Advanced: Good ii) State of Decay/Danger of Disappearance: —
Condition description
i) Signs of distress: Growth of vegetation in the embankments. ii) Structural problems: — iii) Repairs and Maintenance: —
Grade (A/B/C)
i) Architecture: B ii) Historic: B iii) Associational: A iv) Social/Cultural: A v) Others: —
Threats to the property
Conservation Problem and Remedies: The ancient tank needs renovation to clear the sludge, accumulation of silt and clay.
