Mahadeva Temple, Bajrakot, Odisha

Mahadeva Temple, Bajrakot, Odisha

Mahadeva Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Bajrakot Village in Rengali Damsite Block in Angul District in Odisha, India. The temple was constructed in 8^th century CE by the Bhaumakaras. The temple is situated on the right bank of the Brahmani river in the outskirt of the Bajrakot village.

The Temple

This temple is facing towards west and in ruined condition. The temple might have consisted of rekha vimana and a shallow entrance porch. Only the base part and the doorjambs of the temple exists. The sanctum enshrines a Shiva Linga within a circular yonipitha. The architectural fragments of the temple are scattered in and around the temple.

Connectivity

The temple is located at about 10 Kms from Rengali Bus Stand, 10 Kms from Rengali, 49 Kms from Talcher, 51 Kms from Talcher Railway Station, 61 Kms from Angul, 177 Kms from Bhubaneswar and 183 Kms from Bhubaneswar Airport. The temple is situated on Talcher to Rengali Dam.

Location

Sijari Temple, Sijari, Uttar Pradesh

Sijari Temple, Sijari, Uttar Pradesh

Sijari Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Behta Sijari Village in the Mahoba Tehsil in the  Mahoba District in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The temple is situated on the banks of Ramsagar Lake. The temple is protected as monuments of national importance by the central Archaeological Survey of India.

History

The temple is believed to be built around 1100 CE. The nephew of Alha and Udal named Siya / Hari lived in this village. Hence, the village came to be called as Sijari. Alha and his brother Udal were legendary 12^th century generals served the army of Chandela King Paramardi Deva of Mahoba.

The Temple

This temple is facing towards east and stands over a raised platform. The temple is constructed trikuta style of architecture. The temple consists of three shrines connected to navaranga via antrala of their respective shrines. The navaranga is connected to the outside via entrance porch on the eastern side. The shikara over the western and northern shrines are intact. The shikara over the southern shrine has been lost completely.

Connectivity

The temple is located at about 3 Kms from Basaora, 12 Kms from Srinagar, 12 Kms from Mahoba, 12 Kms from Mahoba Bus Stand, 13 Kms from Mahoba Junction Railway Station, 47 Kms from Chhatarpur, 72 Kms from Khajuraho and 79 Kms from Khajuraho Airport. The temple is situated at about 3 Kms to the northwest of Basaora on Mahoba to Chhatarpur route.

Location

Kakora Baba Temple, Bahua, Uttar Pradesh

Kakora Baba Temple, Bahua, Uttar Pradesh

Kakora Baba Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Bahua Village in Fatehpur Tehsil in the Fatehpur District in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. This temple is considered one of most important medieval brick temple in North India. The temple is protected as monuments of national importance by the central Archaeological Survey of India.

History

The temple was constructed in 10th century CE by the Pratiharas. The temple suffered destruction at the hands of Muslim invaders. The temple was renovated by the locals in 16th century CE and again renovated by a Britisher named Growse in 1887 CE.

The Temple

This temple is facing towards east and stands over a raised platform. The platform is approached by flight of steps. The temple consists of sanctum and an entrance porch. The doorjambs of the sanctum doorway has five bands of decoration. The dedicatory block in the lintel has an image of Shiva flanked by Brahma and Vishnu at the cardinal point. Images of navagrahas can be seen in the architrave. The sanctum is devoid of any decoration except the four pilasters and the ceiling.

The ceiling is carved with scrolls, foliage, and lotus. The base of the doorjamb has carvings of river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna. Though, the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, the sanctum enshrines an image of reclining Vishnu in upright position. The shikara over the sanctum was lost completely. A broken image of Uma Mahesvara and Nandi with broken head was recovered from the temple premises.

Connectivity

The temple is located at about 500 metres from Bahua Bus Stand, 22 Kms from Fatehpur, 23 Kms from Fatehpur Railway Station, 26 Kms from Bindki, 54 Kms from Banda, 100 Kms from Kanpur and 143 Kms from Lucknow Airport. The temple is situated on Fatehpur to Banda route.

Location

Jarai Ka Math, Barua Sagar – The Temple

Jarai Ka Math, Barua Sagar – The Temple

This temple is facing towards east and considered as an excellent example of early Pratihara architecture. The temple stands on an elevated ground that dominates the surrounding area. This temple might have been built in panchayatana style of architecture. Panchayatana is an architectural style where the main shrine is built on a raised platform with four smaller subsidiary shrines at the four corners and making it a total of five shrines. However, only the subsidiary shrines on southwest and northwest corner survives at present.

The temple consists of sanctum, antrala and mukha mandapa. The mukha mandapa is completely lost except its foundation. The temple is pancharatha on plan. The doorjamb of the sanctum doorway has four bands of decoration. The lintel of the doorway has four rows of figures. The topmost row shows five dancing deities, one of them is goddess Sarasvati holding Veena. The next row below shows the ashtadikpalas riding on their respective mounts. Two images of Varahi facing each other can be seen at the centre of this row.

The next row below shows images of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva with two Bikshadana at the cardinal points. The lowest row depicts images of six goddesses namely Gaja Lakshmi, Brahmi, Maheshvari, Sarasvati, Vaishnavi, and Indrani. The lowest row has a mutilated image of sixteen-armed goddess at lalatabimba at center. The lower panel attached to the lalatabimba shows navagrahas on the left and Sapta Matrikas on the right accompanied by Veerabhadra & Ganesha flanked by Brahma and Shiva on the cardinal point.

Dvarapalas and river goddesses Ganga & Yamuna can be seen at the base of the doorjambs. An image of Lakulisa with his four disciples can be seen above the Yamuna. The sanctum is rectangular in plan. The main image of the deity is missing from the sanctum. Only the pedestal, and the jeweled right foot of a female placed on a lotus stalk, remains. The jeweled foot on the lotus stalk is associated with the Goddess Tara or Mateswari. The ashtadikpalas can be seen at their respective directions over the karna niches of the shikara.

The niches of the adhistana has images of Varahi, Durga & Chamunda on the south, images of four-armed Harihara, Kartikeya & Bhairava on the west and images of Kalyana Sundara, Kubera, Ardhanareesvara and Durga on the north. There is one Bhadra niche on each lateral side on south and north and two niches on the west due to the rectangular arrangement of the sanctum.

Images of Narasimha on the south, Surya riding chariot accompanied with Danda & Pingala and three-head & three-legged Shiva on the west, Lakshmi-Narayana accompanied with Shankha-purusha and Chakra-purusha on the north can be seen on these niches. The top portion of the shikara had been lost completely and only five tiers of the original shikara survived. The shikhara was probably reconstructed during 17^th century CE by the Bundela rulers. Erotic sculptures similar to Khajuraho can be found in the exterior walls of the temple.

Jarai Ka Math, Barua Sagar, Uttar Pradesh

Jarai Ka Math, Barua Sagar, Uttar Pradesh

Jarai Ka Math is a Hindu Temple dedicated to goddess Amba located in Barua Sagar Town in Jhansi Tehsil in the  Jhansi District in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, India. The temple is situated on the banks of Betwa river. The temple is protected as monuments of national importance by the central Archaeological Survey of India.

History

The temple was built in 860 CE by King Mihir Bhoj of Gurjara Pratihara Dynasty. The temple was declared a protected monument by the Archaeological Survey of India in 1928 CE.

The Temple

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2023/04/jarai-ka-math-barua-sagar-temple.html

Connectivity

The temple is located at about 14 Kms from Orchha, 14 Kms from Jhansi Bus Stand, 16 Kms from Jhansi, 18 Kms from Jhansi Junction Railway Station, 49 Kms from Mauranipur and 128 Kms from Gwalior Airport. The temple is situated on Jhansi to Mauranipur route.

Location

Jagannatha Temple, Behta Bujurg – The Temple

Jagannatha Temple, Behta Bujurg – The Temple

This temple is facing towards east and stands over a 10 feet tall raised platform. The platform is rectangular on plan. The temple measures 100 feet in length and 70 feet in breadth. The temple resembles like a Buddhist stupa. The temple appears like a chariot in the centre with lotus petalled shaped walls on the four corners. The pillar at the right side of the sanctum appears slender, circular and ordinary whereas the left side has intricately carved rectangular pillar in black stone.

The sanctum enshrines a seven-foot-tall image of Jagannatha flanked by Balabhadra and Subhadra. All the images are carved in the same rock. The images of Balabhadra and Subhadra are of two foot tall. The image is surrounded by a decorative structure with carvings of images of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu. It is to be noted that the idol stands atop the argha of the Linga. The discus mounted on the top of the temple is believed to be magnetic whose metal composition has not yet been identified.

Sculptures of Lakshmana and Lord Vishnu can be seen in the walls of the mandapa. There is a four feet tall lime stone image of Surya in the mandapa. The hands of the Surya are raised up to the shoulder. There is also a rare image of Panchmukhi Ganesha, made of lime stone. It is said that the idol has been stolen now. There is a sculpture of Lord Vishnu carved on a large block of stone depicting lord Vishnu in reclining posture on Sheshnaga in the temple premises.

There is an old well of about 100 feet deep can be seen in the temple premises. The temple is famous for its ability to accurately predict the monsoon in the region. It is said that water droplets start dripping from the monsoon stones present in the ceiling of the sanctum, seven days before the onset of the monsoon.

The quantum and size of the water droplets is an indication of the intensity of the rainfall expected. The larger the size and huge number of droplets predicts heavy rainfall in the region. The smaller size of droplets indicates less rainfall or a drought like condition. No water droplets indicate severe drought. It is said that the farmers in the region prepare their land and make necessary arrangements for sowing in accordance with this forecast only.

Jagannatha Temple, Behta Bujurg, Uttar Pradesh

Jagannatha Temple, Behta Bujurg, Uttar Pradesh

Jagannatha Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, located in Behta Bujurg village in the Bhitargaon block in the Kanpur Nagar district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The temple is famously called as the Rain Temple as the ceiling is said to drip water droplets seven days before the monsoon arrival. The temple is protected as monuments of national importance by the central Archaeological Survey of India.

History

The temple is believed to be built by Gupta Dynasty. The temple might have been renovated during the reign of the Emperor Harshavardhana of Vardhana Dynasty due to the presence of carvings of Chakra and peacock. The temple was finally renovated in the 11^th century CE.

The Temple

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2023/04/jagannatha-temple-behta-bujurg-temple.html

Festivals

Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra is the most famous festival celebrated here. it is celebrated on the same day and with the same kind of rituals as the grand yatra in Puri Jagannath Temple.

Connectivity

The temple is located at about 4 Kms from Bhitargaon, 9 Kms from Patara Railway Station, 12 Kms from Ghatampur, 12 Kms from Ghatampur Bus Stand, 35 Kms from Kanpur and 113 Kms from Lucknow Airport. The temple is situated on Bhitargaon to Ghatampur route.

Location