Gangeshwari Temple

A picturesque village with a mighty legend kept alive by the Bayalish Bati inhabitants that links it with the Sun Temple at Konark. It is popularly believed that Konark’s chief architect, Sibei Samantaray lived at Baiyalisbati and with his team of 1200 craftsmen, artisans, engineers and supervisors developed blue prints and finalized plans for constructing the sun temple. The masonry for Konark was transported by rafts on the Patharabhasa Nai close to the village. But what is most alluring about the legend is the belief that Gangeswari Temple was a precursor to the Sun Temple, a prototype that was the miniature blueprint of the original temple. Both temples have striking similarities in the sculptures, design and iconography. No wonder it is often referred to as "Mini Konark". Patches of water bodies found are the remains of an ancient river (tributary) called Patharabhasa Nai which joined Chandrabhaga River near the main construction site of Konark temple and was a medium of transporting stones and sculptures to the construction site of the temple.