Bhubaneswar [key], city, capital of Odisha (Orissa) state, E central India, on a distributary of the Mahanadi River. A small town before it became the capital in 1948, it is a modern administrative center and the seat of Utkal Univ. and Orissa Univ. of Agriculture and Technology. There are rolling mills and wire-cable works; the city has an airport. Settlements date back to the reign of Aśoka (3d cent. b.c.). Bhubaneswar, a religious center, once had c.7,000 shrines around its sacred lake; the remains of c.500 still stand, displaying many styles of Hindu and Buddhist art and architecture. Lingaraja temple is the most famous. The city was devastated by a cyclone in Oct., 1999.
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