Beejamandal
Ruins, Khajuraho,
Madhya Pradesh
Beejamandal Ruins is a ruined
Hindu Temple
dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Jatkari village near Khajuraho town in Chhatarpur
district in Madhya Pradesh, India. Beejamandal
is one of eighteen unexplored mounds in the vicinity of Khajuraho. It is situated
near Chaturbhuj Temple.
History
Beejamandal was one of the 18
unexplored mounds in the vicinity of Khajuraho. This Temple
might have
been built between in 8th century CE. Later, it was reconstructed
during Paramara period in the second half of 11th century by Emperor
Naravarman. He was an ardent devotee of Goddess Charchika (also known as
Vijaya). Thus, the temple is popularly called as Vijaya Temple. However, due to
the large number of incomplete carvings found at the site. It is believed that that
the temple was abandoned whilst construction was still in progress. The
presence of large number of incomplete carvings and unfinished architectural
pieces found round the base of the temple plinth confirms the fact.
The temple was demolished during
the rule of Mughal tyrant Aurangzeb (1658 A.D – 1707 A.D) and a mosque was
built by Aurangzeb over the demolished remains of the temple and named it as
Alamgir Mosque. Cunningham regard this temple as the Vaidyanath
temple mentioned in the Grahapati Kokkala inscription. The walls
of the mosque fell down in 1991 due to heavy hailstorms in this area. It
exposed many Hindu idols buried in the platform. The ASI took control of the
area. It was opened to visitors in 1999.
The Temple
This Temple was built on a raised platform and measures 34.6 metres in length. Thus, making this temple longer than the largest temple
of Khajuraho namely Kandariya
Mahadeva Temple which measures about 30.5 metres. The architectural elements and erotic sculptures found
in this ruin are quite
similar to the Lakshmana Temple and Kandariya Mahadeva Temple. The plinth is richly decorated with carvings like horses & elephants with
riders, flying apsaras, amorous couples, geometrical motifs etc.
However,
due to the large number of incomplete carvings found at the site, it is thought
that the temple was abandoned whilst construction was still in progress. There is a Linga on top of a pedestal can be seen at the
top of the mound. This Linga seems to be a later addition. There is a sheltered area near the
mound housing sculptures of Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, Sarasvati, Apsaras, Vyalas
and architectural fragments.
Connectivity
The Temple is located at about
4.5 Kms from Khajuraho Bus Stand, 5 Kms from Khajuraho Airport, 9 Kms from
Khajuraho Railway Station, 11 Kms from Rajnagar, 12 Kms from Bamitha, 39 Kms
from Panna, 45 Kms from Chhatarpur and 395 Kms from Bhopal. Khajuraho is situated
on Bamitha to Rajnagar route. Khajuraho railway station connects the town
by a daily train to Delhi via Mahoba, Jhansi and Gwalior. It provides a daily
train connecting to Agra, Jaipur, Bhopal and Udaipur. A local daily train also
connects to Kanpur, whilst Varanasi is connected three times a week. Khajuraho
Airport has flights to Delhi, Agra, Varanasi and Mumbai.
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