Akhati Group of Temples,
Kadwaya, Madhya Pradesh
Akhati Group of Temples are
group of Hindu Temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu, located in Kadwaya Village in
Isagarh Tehsil in Ashok Nagar District in Madhya Pradesh, India. The
Kadwaya village is famous for its temples, sculptures and structures such
as monasteries, ruined mosque, wells, tanks and baodi.
History
For
brief details, please refer below link;
https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2022/02/kadwaya-temples-history.html
The Group of Temples
The Akhati Group of Temples
consists of three temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu. All these temples lost
their respective shikaras.
Temple A:
The temple is the largest and
best-preserved temple in the group. The temple is facing towards east and is
situated on the western corner of the group. The temple stands over a raised
platform and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The temple consists of sanctum,
antrala and mukha mandapa. This temple is the only temple in the group with an
intact mukha mandapa. The mukha mandapa is supported by two pillars and two
pilasters.
The small decorated chandrashila
at the entrance of the mukha mandapa is engraved with a one-word inscription
mentioning Pratihara. The door jamb of the sanctum is profusely carved and embellished
with five bands of decorations. The lintel is decorated with Vishnu on his
mount Garuda at the central position and Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva on the
ends. Navagrahas can be seen in between them.
The architrave is carved with
images of Dashavataras. The river goddesses, Ganga and Yamuna with their
respective mounts can be seen at the base of the doorjambs. The exterior wall
is decorated with two bands of images. The upper row has smaller figures of
vidyadharas while the lower row has the customary figures of deities at the
bhadra & kapili projections, apsaras at the pratirathas, dikpalas at the
karnas and vyalas & apsaras lies in salilantaras.
The images on the bhadra and
kapili projections are in niches, which occupy the entire height of the jangha
and of the kapili and are canopied by makara-toranas flanked by a decorative
design of shikharas. The bhadra niches are topped by a frieze crowned with an
udgama and only a mutilated figure of Narasimha in the north is now preserved.
The kapili niches have Vaikuntha
in the south and Parvati in the north. The lateral south wall shows reclining
figures of a mother feeding child, surmounted by Sheshashayi Vishnu and the
north wall displays a standing figure of mother carrying a child. The west wall
had a prominent recess flanked by pilasters carved with a pair of
lotus-medallions on the upper part.
Temple B:
The temple is facing towards
west and stands over a low raised platform The temple is pancharatha on plan
and dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The temple consisted of sanctum and entrance
porch. The entrance porch and the shikara over the sanctum are lost completely.
The sanctum enshrines a rectangular pedestal with Garuda image. The doorjamb is
plain with three bands.
The dedicatory block at the
lintel has an image of Lord Vishnu in standing posture while the terminal
projections has images of Lord Vishnu & Lord Shiva with seated Saraswathi
& Ganesh in the recesses. The river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna can be seen
at the base of the doorjamb. The exterior wall is decorated with single band of
images except the pratirathas has small images of ascetics seated posture.
The bhadra and the kapili projections
are decorated with deities in niches crowned with udgamas while the karnas show
dikpalas canopied by smaller udgamas. The bhadra niches has images of Bhuvaraha on the south, Vamana on the east and
Narasimha on the north. Ashta dikpalas can be seen in their respective
coordinates on pratiratha niches.
Temple C:
The temple is facing towards
east and stands over a low raised platform The temple is in ruined state and
dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The temple consisted of sanctum and entrance porch.
The entrance porch and the shikara over the sanctum are lost completely. The sanctum
enshrines a rectangular pedestal with Garuda image. The sanctum door is plain
and is recently restored. The exterior wall is decorated with two band of
images except the karna, which has dikpalas in niches canopied with an udgama.
The exterior wall is restored
with new slabs during the recent renovations. The southern bhadra niches have
sculptures of seated Sarasvati in the upper level & dancing Ganesha in the
lower level and the northern bhadra niches have sculptures of seated Gaja Lakshmi
in the upper level and standing Parvati in the lower level.
Connectivity
Kadwaya is located at about 18
Kms from Isagarh, 28 Kms from Khaniadhana, 51 Kms from Chanderi, 53 Kms from
Ashok Nagar Railway Station, 54 Kms from Ashoknagar, 112 Kms from Jhansi, 245
Kms from Bhopal and 251 Kms from Bhopal Airport. Kadwaya is situated on Khaniadhana
to Isagarh route.
Location
