Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh – The Temple

Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh – The Temple

Dashavatara Temple was the first North Indian temple with a shikhara or tower, although the shikhara is curtailed and part of it has disappeared. The temple has a high plinth and is set with a basement porch. It has a simple, one cell square plan and is one of the earliest Hindu stone temples still surviving today. Built in the Gupta Period, the Dashavatara Temple at Deogarh shows the ornate Gupta style architecture. The Dashavatara temple has a compelling presence in spite of its dilapidated condition.

A protective wall made of undressed stone was built around the temple after it was first discovered. However, the idol of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple is missing, believed to have been relocated elsewhere. The ancient treatise Vishnudharmottara Purana describes several temples including a "Sarvatobhadra temple", which has been identified by archaeologists and Indologists with the Dashavatara Temple.

The temple at Deogarh is dedicated to Vishnu, but includes in its small footprint images of Shiva, Parvati, Kartikeya, Brahma, Indra, River goddesses Ganga and Yamuna, as well as a panel showing the five Pandavas of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The Temple was built out of stone and masonry brick. Legends associated with Vishnu are sculpted in the interior and exterior walls of the temple. Also carved are secular scenes and amorous couples in various stages of courtship and intimacy.

The temple provides steps in the center of all sides of the platform to let the pilgrim enter the temple from all four directions. The temple faces west, with slight deviation to the south that enables the setting sun's rays to fall on the main idol in the temple. The plinth is square with a 55.5 feet (16.9 m) side, about 9 feet (2.7 m) above the bottom step (called the moon stone) of the shrine. Each corner of the platform has a 11 feet (3.4 m) square projection with remnants of a shrine. The plinth was molded in four parallel courses, each molding about 0.95 feet (0.29 m) thick.

Above the four moldings, rectangular panels separated by pilasters ran all along the plinth with friezes narrating Hindu texts such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Some of these friezes are now in museums such as the National Museum in Delhi. On the platform is a nine squares layout. The surviving Vishnu temple is in the middle square. The sanctum is a square with 18.5 feet (5.6 m) side. Its doorway is intricately carved with reliefs. The images on the top of the lintel of the sanctum and walls show Vishnu and Lakshmi, flanked by Shiva, Parvati, Indra, Kartikeya, Ganesha, Brahma and others.

The outer wall of the sanctum on three sides have niches with sculptures of Vishnu legends: Gajendra-moksha flying in with Garuda, Nara-Narayana seated in lalitasana yoga position, and Anantasayi Vishnu in reclining position. On the top of the sanctum is the remnants of sikhara of the Dashavatara temple. This sikhara is one of the earliest extant lithic illustration in North India along with the one in Mundeshvari temple in Bihar. The Deogarh temple is built on a square plan, while the Mundeshvari temple is built on an octagonal plan. The Deogarh temple sikhara was pyramidal of receding tiers (tala), with a straight edge.

Sculptures:

Sculpted panels are seen on the terraced basement, with carved figurines of river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna flanking the doorway to the sanctum sanctorum, standing respectively on their vahanas: crocodile and tortoise. The panels of the stone door have intricate carvings showing amorous couples in different stages of courtship and intimacy. On the facade are two males standing, one holding a flower and the other a garland as if greeting the visitor.

The relief on the doorway lintel of the sanctum shows Vishnu. He is four-armed, holds his iconic conch shell in his rear left hand, the iconic chakra in his rear right, front right hand is in abhaya mudra while the left front is on his thigh. Below him, to his right, is a female figure presumably Lakshmi but her iconic details are missing. To the right, he is flanked by standing Narasimha (the man-lion avatar of Vishnu) in namaste posture, while on left is a dwarf who has been interpreted as Vamana (the dwarf avatar), or more often Gana as he lacks the iconic details of Vamana.

On the outer walls of each side of the sanctum are niches. Each niche has an alto-relievo of Vaishnava mythology: On the north side is the Gajendra Moksha in a niche that is 3.25 feet by 5 feet (0.65:1 ratio). A symbolic elephant is praying for help with his leg inside a pond and lotus flower in his trunk, where he is being strangled. Vishnu is shown flying in on Garuda to liberate the elephant from evil strangulation.

On the east side is the Nara Narayana alto-relievo. Nara and Narayana are seated in meditation in lalitasana. Both of them hold a rosary in hand, are shown to be with closed eyes and calm, as if lost in their meditation. Apsaras are shown flying above with cusped hands as if showering flowers. Below Nara and Narayana sit lion and deer in peace and without anxiety. The panel also has four headed Brahma seated on lotus and in lotus asana.

In the south side niche is the Anantasayi Vishnu legend as he rests after creating a new cosmic cycle. He sleeps on Sesha whose 7-headed hood shades him. Lakshmi is sitting near Vishnu's feet and shown caressing his right leg. Vishnu is wearing an elaborate crown (kiritamukuta) and neck, ear, arm and body jewelry. A miniature four headed Brahma is above in center, but he does not emerge from Vishnu navel (a version found in later-dated Puranas). Brahma also has only two hands, with one holding his iconic kamandalu (water pot).

Others flanking Brahma are Indra and Kartikeya (Skanda) on one side, Siva and Parvati on Nandi, and a person with a garland. Below the reclining Vishnu is a panel depicting the five males (Pandavas) and one female (Draupadi) of the Mahabharata legend. It is likely that the entrance is dedicated to the Vasudeva aspect of Vishnu; the Anantashayana side is his role as the creator (Aniruddha); the sage form of Nara-Narayana side symbolizes his preservation and maintainer role in cosmic existence (Pradyumna); and the Gajendramoksha side represents his role as the destroyer (Samkarsana).

Reliefs:

The parapet of the plinth was decorated with two series of rectangular sculpted panels separated by means of pilasters which are carved in typical Gupta fashion. Cunningham mentions of 80 such panels, 16 on each side and 4 on the walls of the staircases of that side making 20 on each side. Remains of many of these panels have been found however the count does not go to 80. At present, there is no such panel in situ except the two pieces. Most of the excavated panels are exhibited in the National Museum at New Delhi.

These plinth panels are about 2.5 feet by 2 feet each, with friezes related to secular life and themes of Hinduism. Some of these reliefs were found during excavations at the site, some recovered nearby and identified by their location, the material of construction and the style. Many are lost. The recovered reliefs are now housed in major museums.

Some of the significant reliefs identified include:

Ramayana Scenes:

A panel depicts the Ahalya-uddhara legend where Hindu god Rama redeems Ahalya. The scene shows Ahalya in a reverential state offering flowers, Rama and Lakshmana holding their bows, and a rishi monk sitting nearby with a rosary. Other legends include the departure of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana for their exile; the three arriving at sage Atri's hermitage; the Surpanakha legend; the Dandaka forest legend; the abduction of Sita by Ravana; the bullying of Sita by Ravana legend; the Sugriva victory legend and the Hanuman bringing the herb containing mountain for Lakshmana legend.

Mahabharata and Vishnu Purana Scenes:

Another sculpture found in the Vishnu temple depicts the Krishna legend in which Devaki hands over her new born son Krishna to her husband Vasudeva. This sculpture is said to be one of the best depictions of Gupta period art, based on the sensuous and graceful modelling of the figurines, but different in that its clothes are shown draped in an exclusive fashion. It is now housed at the National Museum in New Delhi.

Yashoda and Nanda playing with Baladeva and Krishna; Krishna battling Kamsa legend; Krishna stealing bathing Gopi clothes and two nude women concealing their breasts; the Sudama legend and a few others. One of the panels shows the Vamana, Bali and Trivikrama legend; another the Narasimha saving Prahlada legend.

Secular life scenes:

A number of panels show solitary women with various expressions; small boys playing; girls picking flowers in a field; six girls together of which five are watching and one is dancing; five girls of which one in center is dancing and the other four are playing musical instruments; a woman giving a baby to a man so that he can hold the baby, but the man stands indifferent; and others.

Kama and Mithuna scenes:

Lovers are shown as if having a conversation with one of his hand on her shoulder, the shy woman looking the other way; she is sitting in his lap and he is fondling her breasts; a man and woman with intertwined bodies, her body reclined on his; a man turning away while the woman embracing him from behind and clinging to him; another panel showing a woman declining a man making advances; and others. The panels show the culture and dress of ancient India. The jewelry and clothing including dhoti, sari, kurta, lahanga, blouse, pleated skirt, dopatta (uttariya), langoti, neck wear and others.

Textual Roots:

This temple was built according to the third khanda of the Hindu text Vishnudharmottara Purana, which describes the design and architecture of the Sarvatobhadra-style temple, thus providing a flourit for the text and likely temple tradition that existed in ancient India. Though ruined, the temple is preserved in a good enough condition to be a key temple in the Hindu temple architecture scholarship, particularly the roots of the North Indian style of temple design. The Hindu treatise Vishnudharmottara Purana describes several temples including a "Sarvatobhadra temple", which has been compared by archaeologists and Indologists with the Dashavatara Temple (Vishnu temple) or the Gupta Mandir of Deogarh.

A comparative study suggests that the ideal temple design and iconography described in the treatise as "Sarvatobhadra temple" was the same as the Vishnu temple of Deogarh. This conclusion was based on plan, size, iconography and several other norms described for building the Sarvatobhadra style Hindu temples. Based on this comparison, the structural details of the Deogarh temple have been inferred. Maps have also been drawn of the temple structure. The probable date of the temple's construction has been estimated to be between 425 and 525.

The Sarvatobhadra design requires a superstructure with nine sikharas. The Dashavatara temple at Deogarh shows only one "shikara", and right squares with no remnant structure. This aspect of the Sarvatobhadra design cannot be fully established by existing evidence. However, the supporting features of copings and amalakas (a bulbous stone finial) have been found in the ruins, which supports the theory that more shikaras existed on eight mandapas, as part of the temple. Four stairways outside the platform provide access to the temple. However, as per excavation details, combined with the two small shrines with the central shrine seen now, the layout of the temple has been interpreted to represent a typical Panchayatana style of the temples of North India. 

The total height of the shrine based on isometric projections is about 45 feet (14 m). Provision of porches has not been corroborated but some analogous comparison with the Varaha temple (boar incarnation of Vishnu) in the fort precincts, which belonged to the same period, suggests the existence of porticoes even in the Vishnu temple. Further, a later date Kuriya Bira temple about 2 miles (3.2 km) to the south of the Vishnu temple, has been cited to substantiate that this temple had a mandapa around a small shikara shrine, as required in the Sarvatobhadra design. The Deogarh temple tallied with the description provided for the Sarvatobhadra temple in the ancient treatise of Vishnudharmottara Purana.