The Vaital Temple (c. AD 800) represents an entirely different line. It belongs to the Khakhara order (a subdivision of the Kalinga school of architecture), which was used for shrines devoted to tantric cults. The deul (tower) of the temple is the most striking. It is rectangular in shape, positioned at a right angle to the Jagmohana (porch). The roof vault is brought about from earlier freestanding buildings made up of wood and thatch. The horseshoe-shape of the chaitya arch became an enduring motif, turning up frequently in sculptural decoration also. The outer surface of the vault is plain, in contrast with the heavy sculptural embellishment of every other existing Orissan temple tower. The shape of the more common Temple form has not been ignored, however; it has been carefully inserted, in miniature form, on the four corners of the Vaital Temple`s jagmohana (porch). A brief glance at the Vaital Temple projects an accomplished style of sculptural decoration. A slightly closer look will reveal some of the darker facets of the sculpture`s content along with the temple`s nature. Tantric worship, which combined elements from certain sects of both Buddhism and Hinduism, centered on the worship of shakti, the female life force. It developed elaborate rituals involving magic spells, secret rituals and sacrificial offerings.

The interior of the Vaital Temple`s inner sanctum is almost completely dark, in keeping with the esoteric rites believed to have been performed there. The temple deity of Chamunda (tantric form of the Hindu goddess Durga) is fairly visible behind her grille, portrayed with a garland of skulls around her neck, seated on a corpse, flanked by an owl and a jackal. Her cadaverous body, sunken eyes, and shrunken belly are quite remarkable, and even the usually staid and unflappable Archaeological Survey of India, in their guide to Bhubaneswar, cannot help but remarking that she displays the `most terrible aspect conceivable`. The 15 niches, which adorn the interior wall around her, are also filled with a series of singularly strange images. In front of the entrance to the sanctum is a `fourfaced` linga adorned with unusual carvings. Next to it is a post, to which sacrificial offerings were tied. The entire atmosphere is, in the words of one specialist, disquieting. The Archaeological Survey, sums it up more directly: `weird`. On the outer, eastern face of the tower (back, thankfully, in the sunlight), there is an extremely fine image of the sun god, Surya, with a sensitive and beautiful face. He is flanked by Usha and Pratyusha, twin sisters of the dawn, while his chariot is driven by Aruna. This is a motif that will be remembered, and later developed fully in the Sun Temple at Konark.

The first erotic sculptures known in Orissan art are found here, in a sunken transitional panel on the super-structure. It has been suggested that these images, which are a sort of catalogue of positions, had real relevance to the tantric rituals of this particular temple. Once presented here, they acquired the force of convention and temple builders in later centuries may have accepted them as a standard part of the temple decoration repertoire.