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Rajasthan is a land of valour, history & heritage – it has innumerable forts, palaces & temples. My love & passion for exploring and studying lesser known ancient temples took me to three different clusters of temples dating between 10th to 12th century around Bundi/Kota. Majority of them are Shiva temples. They are rich in art & architecture, the likes of which I have rarely seen but it is surprising that they are not on the regular tourist map and not many know about them. I was bowled over by the sheer magnificence of these temples, most of them are in excellent state of preservation though the sculptures at one of the temple complexes have been damaged. I wish that I could have spent more time studying them !!
We had gone to Jaipur in the second week of November 2017 to attend a wedding in the family which was a grand gala affair. I had decided that after the wedding, I and my wife would make a short five days trip to the historical cities of Bikaner, Kota & Bundi before returning to Nasik via Mumbai. I shall cover these tourist towns/places in my subsequent blogs but today I shall take you to three temple complexes about which in all probability you wouldn’t have even heard of – two of them we visited from Bundi and one from Kota.
Bijolia group of temples
After leaving Bundi our first stop was at Bijolia, a small fort town in Bhilwara district adjacent to Bundi district on NH no. 27 about 50 kms from Bundi or 70 kms from Kota. The journey by road from Bundi to Bijolia is as splendid as the destination. Quite often we are in such a tearing hurry to reach the destination that we miss the beauty around us on the route!! On two places on the way we took a break of 10 mins each to enjoy the picturesque sights. The ancient name of Bijolia was Vindhyavalli. In 12th century, Bijolia was ruled by Chauhan dynasty under whom Bijolia became a prosperous town and a famous centre of art & architecture. The Chauhan Kings built several temples out of which only 3 survive in good shape. The Shiva temple at the entrance is called Mahakaal temple. The temple on its right is smaller in size and it is called Hazareshwar temple. It has a large linga surrounded by hundreds of small lingas and hence called Hazareshwar or Sahastralinga. The temple behind these two with canopies on top, near the kund is called Undeshwar Mahadev temple. Here during monsoon the ling remains submerged in water from the kund and only the tip is visible. The Mahakala temple is believed to be the oldest built in the 11th century. The Undeshwar temple is believed to have been built between 1100-1125 CE. The temples have beautiful sculptures carved all around and majority of them are in good state of preservation. There are some erotic sculptures too. There is a holy tank near the temple known as Mandakini kund. We spent about an hour or so at the temple complex.
Bijolia also has an ancient Jain temple dedicated to Bhagwan Paraswanath built in 1169 AD during the reign of Chahmana King Someshvara. There are walls of ancient fort also. Unfortunately I could not see them due to paucity of time!!
The Chahamanas of Shakambhari (old name of Sambhar) colloquially known as the Chauhans of Sambhar, or Chauhans of Ajmer (after they moved their capital from Sambhar to Ajmer) were an Indian dynasty that ruled parts of the present-day Rajasthan and its neighbouring areas from 7th to 12th centuries. The most popular Chauhan King was Prithviraj Chauhan whose valour has been celebrated in history & folklore. After his defeat in the second battle of Terain in 1192, the power of Chauhans declined.
View from behind Undeshwar Mahadev temple
Unique sculpture at Bijolia
Amazing facts of Hindu Puranas: did you know that there is a female form of Ganesh, known as Vinâyakî, Ganeshi or Vighneshi !!! Mention about it can be found in the ancientMatsya Purana. Not much else is written about her in Hindu scriptures. Some believe that she is Shakti of Ganesh. Jain scriptures mention her as an independent goddess while some mention her as one of the 64 Yoginis. Some sculptures of Vinayaki can be found in some ancient temples. I came across this sculpture in the Shiva temple Complex at Bijolia.
Menal or Mehnal group of temples
On the temple trail in Rajasthan, our next stop was a small village called Menal, 20 kms away from Bijolia. It is sometimes also called Mehnal located 70 kms from Bundi, 90 kms from Kota & 90 kms from Chittorgarh on the Kota Chittorgarh highway.
Located near a deep gorge in a picturesque setting are a cluster of Shiva temples known as Mehnal group of temples belonging to the 9th to 11th centuries. It is believed that these temples were built during the reign of different kings – the later well preserved Mahanaleshwara temple was built in the 11th century during the reign of the Chahamana King (Chauhan dynasty) Prithviraj II. The earlier temples built in 9th century were smaller in size and are dedicated to Ganesha & Gauri and have suffered damages due to vagaries of nature. There is a Shiva Math (monastery) built in 1169 AD belonging to Pashupati sect near the temples which goes to prove that it was a prominent centre for promotion of Shaivism. Exquisitely carved & embellished ghatapallava pillars still stand in the premises. There is another temple across the gorge which was built by the queen of Prithviraj II. I couldn’t visit it as it was closed for repairs.
There are exquisite carvings in the temple and surprisingly they are well preserved. There is a three storeyed majestic mandap at the entrance to the temple complex, the like of which I have not seen any where else. There is a large Nandi in a mandap in front of the main Shiva temple.
I understand that during monsoon Menal River takes a plunge down the gorge creating a 120 feet high waterfall and a spectacular sight. There is a resort nearby that overlooks the temple complex and the gorge and gets lot of visitors during monsoon.
After seeing the two temple complexes we returned to Kota late in the evening.
The third temple complex that we visited next day from Kota, is an architectural treasure and became my favourite!!
Badoli or Baroli group of temples
Rawatbhata is a small town in Chittorgarh district about 45 kms from Kota, known for the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station located here. The road from Kota to Rawatbhata is picturesque as it winds through a hilly terrain and a forest reserve. The traffic is sparse and our driver Brij tells us that on a couple of occasions he had sighted tiger & leopards on that road. We strain our eyes to get a glimpse of a wild animal but unfortunately we could only see langurs & peacocks which are found in abundance all around Kota.
Who would have imagined that near Rawatbhata town, close to the rocky banks of Chambal river surrounded by forests lies one of the most exquisite temple complex that I have ever come across. Not visited by many tourists and not written about in the tourist books are the nearly 1000 years old Baroli or Badoli group of 9 temples that can compete with the best temples in terms of architecture and fine carvings. They are built in the Pratihara style of architecture. The main temple is of Shiva known as Ghateshwar Mahadev temple. The uniqueness of this temple is that linga here is in the shape of an inverted ghat (घट) and hence the name Ghateshwar. There is a large mandap hall infront of this temple known as Rang Mandap. Both the temple & mandap are embellished with exquisite figures carved inside and outside. The Nataraj statue here is exceptionally beautiful. There is an exquisitely carved Makara- Toran over the central pillars at the entrance of Ghateshwar temple. There are beautifully carved female figures on the lower octagonal portion of the pillars of the portico.
In addition there is another Shiva temple located in the midst of a tank that does not have water now. There are smaller shrines dedicated to Vaman Avtar (a rare temple), Ganesha & Mahisasurmardini. The face of Durga is damaged otherwise this could easily have been termed as among the most beautiful idols of Durga. There is another temple that houses a large statue of Sadashiv (three faces of Shiva). Unfortunately this has been defaced yet the pic gives an idea of the grandeur of this statue which could have been second only to the one in Elephanta Caves near Mumbai !!
Pillars with enchanting figures carved on them and one of the largest panels carved with images of all possible gods, navagrahas & rishis lie in the garden open to the skies !!
This temple complex according to me is a treasure trove – a hidden gem that needs to be preserved at all cost. It is under the control & preservation by ASI but I understand that many beautiful panels & statutes have been stolen from here in the nineties and have found their way to museums in London & New York !!
Another interesting & unusual sculpture is that of Naga deva !
The temple of Vishnu has the idol of his Vaman Avtar and the temple has a flat roof like the ones found in the early Gupta period temples. Like in the other temples of that age, the principal temple here also has few erotic sculptures carved on it.
We spent two hours at the temple complex and left it unwillingly !!
I don’t know why not many people visit these beautiful temples – probably because they don’t find time beyond the regular popular circuits of Jaipur – Udaipur – Ajmer – Chittor – Bikaner – Jodhpur & Jaisalmer. Even the cities of Kota, Bundi & Alwar which have so much history & monuments to boast of are given a miss by Indian tourists !!
On our way back from Badoli to Kota, we stopped at a road side tea stall for refreshing cup of tea and freshly made daal kachoris. I could not believe my ears when the stall keeper asked for only Rs 30/- for 3 cups of tea and 6 kachoris !!! My immediate reaction was ‘बस, इतना ही’ !!! Inflation & GST had not yet made an impact in the hinterlands of India !!
There are no good hotels at Bijolia & Badoli but Menal has a resort overlooking the temple complex & the gorge. It’s advisable to stay at Kota, Bundi or Chittor and visit these temples on a day visit. The roads are excellent.
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