Chausath Yogini Temple, Morena
– History
According to an inscription
dated to 1323 CE (Vikram Samvat 1383), the temple
was built by the Kachchhapaghata king
Devapala (1055 – 1075 A.D). Archaeologists
claim that the temple was the venue of providing education in astrology and mathematics based
on the transit of the Sun. Surprisingly, this temple escaped the
curious eyes of Sir Alexander Cunningham, who with his associates, carried out
extensive surveys of northern and western Indian antiquities in the late
nineteenth century CE. The place was also omitted in the Gwalior state
gazetteer prepared by C E Luard in 1908.
M B Garde, who was the face of
the Gwalior Archaeological Department during the second quarter of the
twentieth century, carried out innumerous conservation activities and surveys.
He is been credited with discoveries of various remote sites and monuments. In
his book, Archaeology in Gwalior, second edition of which was published in
1934, there is no mention of Mitawali. Garde provided a detailed map of various
sites and monuments within the then Gwalior state, in which he included
Padhavali which is located very near to Mitawali however Mitawali temple was
missing.
The first mention of this temple
and village, appears in the annual report of the Gwalior Archaeological
Department for the year 1942-46. In this report are mentioned various
conservation activities carried out by the department in this temple. Also,
were included various inscriptions found at the site. The report does not
mention about the discovery of the temple; therefore, it may be assumed that
the temple was known before that time. However, this temple is not mentioned in
any annual report prior to the above one.
The Parliament of India was
designed by the British architect Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in 1912-1913
and development began in 1921. The Parliament building was constructed in 1927,
20 years before India’s independence in 1947. The building has been highly
appreciated for its design across the world. The structures of Indian
Parliament House, known as Sansad Bhavan, and Mitawali temple are
strikingly similar. It seems that the architects drew inspiration from this
temple in designing and building the Parliament House. The Archaeological
Survey of India has declared the temple an ancient and historical monument
under Act No. LXXI of 1951, dt.28/11/1951.
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