2017

Temple Survey Project,

Northern Region

Dr Madhulika Samanta

[Inspection Note on the Visit of

Temples in Rewa, Satna and Singrauli
Districts of MP, January 2017]
Temples of the eastern part of Madhya Pradesh, also known as Dahaladesha during the Early Medieval
period, is rich in the remains of various historical dynasties. Unfortunately they are located at unknown
villages and often difficult terrains which make their documentation and studies challenging. Though
several scholars like Sir Alexander Cunningham or R.D Banerjee studied these temples but little efforts
were made during the post -Independence era except a few noted scholars of the region. Therefore a
three-day tour was conducted by the Superintending Archaeologist and her team from 10th January
2017 to understand the prospect of these temples. The document contains the Inspection Report of that
tour.
 Inspection Note on the Visit of Temples in Rewa, Satna and Singrauli
Districts of MP, January 2017 by the Superintending Archaeologist (Temple
Survey Project), Northern Region, Archaeological Survey of India(ASI)
Submitted by Dr Madhulika Samanta

The Temple Survey Project (Northern Region), Archaeological Survey of India has currently
concluded the project on Udayeshwara Temple, Udaipur in Vidisha District of Madhya
Pradesh. However at the end of this Project this office needs to reevaluate the prospects of
temples in the region for the forthcoming season. Therefore I, with a team of the Temple Survey
Project (Northern Region) inspected few temples of Rewa, Satna and Singrauli districts of Madhya
Pradesh from 10th January 2017 for three days and the report of the same is following below.

Location
The study area is located at the north eastern part of Madhya Pradesh comprising three districts
namely, Rewa, Satna and Singrauli. It is bound on the north by Allahabad and Mirzapur districts, on
the east by Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh. On the west lie Panna and on the south Katni
districts of Madhya Pradesh.

Fig. 1 Location of the Study Area

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Previous Work and the Architecture of the Region:
The area under consideration experienced continuous building activities since the Gupta
period. The best examples of this period are found at the Shiva temple of Bhumara and Parvati
temple of Nachna, both located in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. The post Gupta period in the
region experienced the rise of several local dynasties who held sway over smaller political units but
experimented extensively in temple architecture. However a gap has been noticed in the
development of a distinct style during the post Gupta period and the rise of dynastic styles of the
Early Medieval India. The reason may be due to the paucity of datable materials and assignable
historical documents attached to these monuments. One of the important dynasties of the Early
Medieval period in this region was the Kalachuris of Tripuri/ Tewar. The family rose to
prominence with the emergence of a king called Sankaragana (c. CE 750-775) who has been credited
with the temples at the hill-fort of Bandhogarh. From the 9th -12th Centuries CE several kings of this
dynasty ruled over this region among whom Kokkala I, Yuvarajadeva, Lakshmanaraja II,
Gangeyadeva and Lakshmikarna or Karna were important. They built several temples all over the
region which indicate the prosperity of their time and advancement in the field of architecture.

The first scholar who paid special attention to the temples of this region was Sir Alexander
Cunningham. He was followed by several scholars from the fields of history and architectural studies
including archaeologists of eminence such as E.B Havell (1927),R.D Banerjee (1931), Percy Brown,
Krishna Deva (1969),Stella Kramrisch(1976), Rahman Ali (1980), R. K Sharma (1980),K.D
Bajpai(1990), M.A Dhaky, M.W Meister and Krishna Deva(1991) and A.K. Singh( 2001) among
others.

Objectives:
The office of the Temple Survey (Northern Region), ASI requires fresh investigations into
the prospect of understanding the temples of its jurisdiction and to evaluate the possibility of taking
up fresh project on them in the coming field season. With a view of the above it was decided to
conduct a preliminary survey of temples in Rewa, Satna and Singrauli districts of MP with special
reference to the Kalachuri Dynasty of Tripuri. The objectives of the present tour were following.
1. To locate selected temples of the region which were reported earlier.
2. To understand the current condition of these temples and requirements of
intervention from the Government level.

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 3. To Evaluate the logistical requirements to carry out a fresh project on the subject
4. To understand the nature of previous works on these temples.
5. To understand the scope of any future project on this temples

Findings:
With a view of the above, a three member team of the Temple Survey Project( Northern Region)
led by the Superintending Archaeologist started for Rewa on 09th January 2017 in the evening.

Day One (10th January 2017)

After reaching Rewa the team visited the temples of Gurh and Mahsaun. Emphasis was made to
locate other archaeological remains than those which were already reported by the scholars. In this
process the following monuments were visited besides those ones which are known.
Kashtaharanath Temple at Gurh
The temple was constructed in the style of the Late Medieval period and datable to the 18 th-
19th Century CE. The temple is facing west and dedicated to Shiva. The temple complex is
located within a boundary wall and has several subsidiary shrines. Mainly a lime-surkhi
construction, the temple is notable for its extensive use of sandstone architectural members
of a previous era. The scattered architectural pieces are stylistically assignable to the 9th -11th
Century CE. The temple boundary is surrounded by at least three Cchatris, all using
architectural members and sculptural pieces of temples from the 09th-10th Century CE. These
Cchatris are hexagonal in shape and have sculptured pillars.

Fig. 2 General view outside the temple

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The biggest Cchatri, located near the entrance of the temple, contains a detailed panel of
Krishna lila .The village also contains a number of sculptural pieces from the above
mentioned era. It is likely that there existed a big Vaishnava shrine complex in the 9th-10th
CE.

Fig. 3 Cchatris outside the temple

Fig. 4 Sculptured panels on the pillars of a Cchatri

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 Fig. 5 Eroded sandstone sculptures from the temple
Bhairav Temple, Chauriyar Panchayat, Police Station Gurh
On the way to Gaddi from Gurh, approximately 27km away from Rewa and within the
rugged landscape of the Kaimur range, rests the Bhariav temple. The temple is a modern
construction over a huge statue of lord Bhairav, belonging to the 10th-12th Century CE. The
statue is made up of local sandstone of the Kaimur and has been protected by the
Department of Archaeology, Govt of Madhya Pradesh. The staute is 33feet long and
approximately 8 feet wide.

Fig. 6 Bhairavnath near Gurh

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 Dhundeshwar Mahadev Temple, Khajuha

The team visited the oft-reported Dhundeshwar Mahadeva Temple at Khajuha. The temple was
first reported by Sir Alexander Cunningham. It is located on a high Jagati and only a part of
the Bhitti containing Vedibandha is remaining now. The sculptures of the temple and architectural
members from the temple have been extensively used in the modern construction of a Shiva
temple of the late-Medieval period.

Fig. 7 Torana of the Dhundeshwar Mahadeva temple

The lintel( Uttaranga), decorated doorjambs, Navagraha panels, sculptures of Uma-Maheshwar,

Brahma, and Surya are all found over the platform. The temple contains a stepped-well at its
north-eastern corner and an elaborate doorway at its east.

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 Fig. 8 Stepped-well near the Dhundeshwar Mahadeva temple, Khajuha
Sankatmochan temple of Mahsaun
The last stop of the day was the Hanuaman temple near Mahasaun. This temple too was
built with the architectural members of the local temples belonging to the 9th-10th Century CE.
Located at the top of a small hillock near the village is highly revered by the inhabitants but difficult
for the scholars to reconstruct the original structure from the available fragments even theoretically.

Fig. 9 Sankatmochan temple of Mahsaun

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Day Two (11th January 2017)
It was decided to explore and locate logistically difficult and mostly unapproachable early
Kalachuri temples on this day. This process would help in assessing the posibilty and requirements
to initiate the new project in the forth-coming season. With a view of the above, it was decided to
visit the Early Kalachuri temples of Boudha Dand.
According to the previous reports (Singh 2002: 24-28; who discovered and reported these
temples for the first time), there are two temples of the post Gupta period (6th-7th Century CE)
located at near Tenduha village of Singrauli Tehsil of Sidhi. The temples of this site have been
assigned to the early Kalachuris of Tripuri on the basis of finding Gajalakshmi emblem the royal
emblem of the Kalachuris of the area, at them.
The temple is difficult to reach as the administrative boundaries have been significantly changed
after 2002 and Singrauli Tehsil has become a separate district since then. Besides the village is
obscure and there are several villages of the same name in the area bordering Rewa, Sata and
Singrauli. The team tried to reach Tenduha following directions found in earlier reports and
visited all villages called Tenduha before locating the site at the end of the day. The
condition of the roads in the area is deplorable and covering shorter distances of 40-50 km, is a time
consuming affair. It has been realized that such explorations need to be of longer durations and
preferably staying near the site would solve the problem of documentation.

Fig. 10 On the way to Tenduha; Discussions with a local villager

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 Fig. 11 Road to Tenduha from Rewa

Day Three (12th January 2017)

It was decided to visit the famous Gupta temple of Parvati in Nachna- Kuthara of Satna
district and the adjacent Choumukhnath temple of 09th-10th century CE, located near it on the last day
of the tour. This was done to understand the development of temple architecture of the region.
Parvati temple and Choumukhnath Temple of Nachna
Both these temples are protected by the ASI. The former was constructed during Gupta period.
Some scholars attribute it to Parvati on the basis of the Lalat-bimba on the lintel while some others
ascribe it to Shiva, her consort. The temple has a simple square Cell on a high Jagati. Efforts of
reconstruction can be noticed in the current Jagati. The platform still contains the remnants of
Kumbha mouldings at places. The temple is facing west and a projection with a flight of stairs at this
side makes it approachable. The exterior walls of the temple are simple except three Gavaksha
perforations at its three sides and a door with elaborate door jambs at its western face. The
appearance of the temple gives an indication that it might had a Shikhara at one point of time. The
Dwarshakas contain beautifully carved Mithuna figures as well as two large images of Ganga and

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Yamuna in typical Gupta style. An attempt has been made to document all these figures
photographically.

Fig. 12 Parvati temple of Nachna

Fig. 13 Doorjamb of Parvati Temple

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 The Choumukhnath temple located at the north western side of Parvati temple has its origin
in the Gupta period. However, the temple was reconstructed or created afresh at a later date, likely
to be in the 9th- 10th century CE with typical Nagara Shikhara of the era. The temple is facing east and
has a Shiva linga with faces of lord Shiva carved at four directions of the linga. The garvagriha is
Triratha in plan and has a Mandapa in front. This Mandapa was not a part of the original planning as
can be noticed in its masonry - connecting the Gavagriha. The walls of the Garvagriha and the Mandapa
have Gavaksha windows and sculptures indicating their Gupta origin. The temple also contains
sculptures of Dikpalas, an important addition to Gupta/Post Gupta iconography. The surroundings
of the temple are of much interest to an archaeologist. The village indicates the existence of a
flourishing Janapada during Gupta and Post Gupta period.

Fig.14 Chaumukhnath temple of Nachna

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 Fig.15 Linga of the Chaumukhnath temple of Nachna

Fig.16 Sculptures on the wall of the Chaumukhnath temple of Nachna

Observations
The tour showed that the logistical problems at the study area require longer durations of stay at
the site. To understand the scope of a probable project shortlisting of monuments is the urgent
requirement which also emphasizes the requirement of a further survey of the region. Thirdly, the

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requirements of the current days demand the study of the context of the temples for better
understanding and reconstruction of any particular era.
References
Deva, K.1996. Temples of India (Vol. I). New Delhi: Aryan Books International.
Singh, A.K. 2002. Temples of the Kalachuri Period. Delhi: Pratibha Prakashan.

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