Kankali Devi Temple, Tigawa, Madhya Pradesh

Kankali Devi Temple, Tigawa, Madhya Pradesh

Kankali Devi Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Goddess Chamunda located in Tigawa Village in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kankali Devi Temple can be easily classified among the earliest temples of India, built by the Gupta dynasty.

History

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2019/06/tigawa-temples-history.html

The Temple

This temple was originally dedicated to Kankali Devi. The sanctum now houses a Murti of Lord Ugra Narasimha. The Temple has a square sanctum with a 12.5 feet (3.8 m) side outside and 8 feet (2.4 m) side inside. The sanctum does not open exactly to the east, but deviates by about 13 degrees, which Cunningham speculated may be intentional and related to "one nakshatra" (lunar house, Hindu calendar). The temple has an open portico supported on four pillars that projects 7 feet (2.1 m) in front of the sanctum. Both the pillared porch and the sanctum are on a raised plinth, its roof made from horizontal slabs of stone. 

The pillars of the mandapa are massive, shaped into three symmetric cross sections: a long square sectioned part close to the ground, above it an octagonal and sixteen-edged. Above these is a circular part capped with pot and foliage capitals. On top of the pillars are sculptures of two crouching lions with a tree separating them. The pillars are identical in all respects except the tree: one pillar has a mango tree, another a palm, while the other two trees unclear. The portico was partially walled later, according to Percy Brown.

The temple door jambs are intricately carved, in vertical bands that are concentric around the entrance. On top left of the entrance wall is river goddess Ganga holding a water vessel and riding her crocodile vahana, while the top right has river goddess Yamuna also holding a water vessel while riding her tortoise vahana. Goddess Ganga is plucking a fruit from custard-apple tree, while Yamuna is plucking one from a mango tree. The Kankali Devi Temple has reliefs showing Vishnu and generally considered to have been dedicated to Vishnu of Vaishnavism. The portico has an image of the Sheshashai Vishnu (Narayana). Another shows Varaha, the man-boar avatar of Vishnu.

In front of the temple is a seated Vishnu image in yoga asana position with serpent hood above the head, similar to seated Tirthankaras and the Buddha. The temple also reverentially displays Shaktism and Shaivism themes, including a Chamunda (Kankali Devi) panel which gives the temple its name. On the wall opposite to Kankali Devi is Kali Devi (fierce form of Durga). There is one special thing about the statue of Goddess Kali, during Navratri the neck of Kali’s statue is slightly tilted from its original position. Cunningham proposed that these Shaiva and Vaishnava reliefs were probably added around the 8^th century.

The Kankali Devi temple is similar to the Gupta period Temple #17 at Sanchi, with both illustrating the basic elements of Hindu sacred architecture. The temple style is also similar to the Hindu cave temples of Udayagiri and the Eran temple, both of which can be dated to be from the Gupta era because of the inscriptions found there. A 7^th or 8^th Century CE Sanskrit inscription mentions the visit of a Umadeva of Kanyakubja, son of Samanya Bhatta, who had come to worship at the temple of Sitabhadra. There are also two inscriptions in Sankha Lipi, one is highly floriated and other very indistinct. This temple complex probably housed many other temples, which is quite evident from the vast ruins spread across the complex of which only 2 survive today.

Connectivity

The Temple is located at about 3 Kms from Bahoriband, 30 Kms from Sleemanabad Road Railway Station, 30 Kms from Sihora Road Railway Station, 46 Kms from Katni, 72 Kms from Jabalpur Railway Station, 73 Kms from Jabalpur, 83 Kms from Jabalpur Airport and 339 Kms from Bhopal. From Jabalpur, take NH7 which goes to Katni. After crossing Sihora there is turn towards Bahuriband. Tigawa is situated on Bahuriband-Bakal road, state highway 31 after crossing Bahuriband. Tigawa complex is on main road only and road condition was very good.

Location