The day breaks at Bhubaneswar to scores of temple bells proclaiming the advent of the Sun God. The temple shikharas (spires) assume a favourable visibility and human zeal becomes pronounced. The business of the day progresses with religious fervour. Such is the significance of temples in this town that almost the entire life revolves around them. The town lives for its temples, and the temples by the town. Against this multi-hued tapestry of history and the backdrop of the soaring sandstone spires stand Bhubaneswar, the capital of the eastern state of Orissa. The place is mythical as well as historical. It is here that king Ashoka embraced Buddhism and non-violence. An important city of the temple triangle of Orissa, Bhubaneswar has direct air, road, and rail connection with the other major cities of India. Bhubaneswar derives its name from the Sanskrit word Tribhuvaneswara, another name for Lord Shiva. The area around Bhubaneswar constituted the famed kingdom of Kalinga, which was conquered after a bloody battle by Ashoka, the great Mauryan emperor. Appalled at the carnage, Ashoka renounced violence and embraced Buddhism. Around the 1st century BC, under the rule of Kharavela, Orissa regained its lost glory and Bhubaneswar again became the centre of activities. During this period, monastery caves were constructed of which Khandagiri and Udaygiri are the most important. By the 7th century, Hinduism supplemented Jainism, and Ganga and Kesari kingdoms did a lot for the development of Orissan culture. Most of the kings who ruled Orissa constructed beautiful temples. For a better part of its history, Bhubaneswar remained under the influence of Afghans, Marathas, and the British (till 1947).