1) Beyond the river Charmanvati & on the hills of Gopagiri/Gopadri...Legacy of our ancestors in forests of Chambal....Thread about the stunning medieval shrines, temples & monasteries of Gopakshetra.. 
2) River Charmanvati today known as Chambal immediately evokes the memories of its fearsome bandits! But beneath the veneer of this fearsome legacy of modern times lies charming & divine legacy of medieval times...This thread celebrates that divine legacy.
3) Some historical & geographical background of the monuments covered in this thread
4) For those who are interested, some particular features of the temples of Chambal region...
5) Bateshwar - This 1000 years old group of shrines were built at a time when North India was united under the banner of Pratiharas. A Time when soul of Bharat was still resting in numerous such small shrines...🙏
6) These shrines were built by ordinary individuals & hence smaller in scale & yet when seen as a whole one can't escape the majestic divine feeling that it emanates! It must be a very sacred tirtha in ancient times that sadly we have forgotten today!
7) Here's few more awesome pictures of the Bateshwar Temple complex by @TeamGSquare Read his blog for further information
teamgsquare.blogspot.com/2017/06/mp-dia…
teamgsquare.blogspot.com/2017/06/mp-dia…
8) My favourite sculpture from the site - 1) Kalyansundaram 2) Shiva Tripurantaka 3) ancient Oil presser must be moving day & night to fill up all the lamps in the complex!
9) Paroli (ancient Padhavali) - Located not far from Bateshwar this temple also dates back to the Pratihara times...
10) But the most amazing part of the temple is its ceiling...It is as if all 18 Puranas are carved in stone in a single ceiling! My favourite 2)Goddess Chamundi & Rama worshiping Shiva at Rameshwaram 3)Krishna lila & Dashavataram
11) Few more pictures from Padhawali....IT is unfortunate that water sipping from ceiling is depositing white minerals on minute artwork! 😕
Once again images are by @TeamGSquare
teamgsquare.blogspot.com/2017/06/mp-dia…
Once again images are by @TeamGSquare
teamgsquare.blogspot.com/2017/06/mp-dia…
12) Naresar (ancient Naleshwar) - The group of Shaivite temples belonged to the early 8th century. ~50 ancient sampls have survived in the area comprising Padhavali and Naleshwara alone. Must be a prosperous area bustling with people in ancient times.
13) Mitawali - This Yogini temple although looks unique follows the same architectural plan as one sees in the Yogini temples of Odisha & other parts of MP
14) As I said one prominent feature of the temple architecture of Gopakshetra is the Mathas of Mattamayura sect of Shaiva Sidhhanta followers. So lets take a look at some of these mathas and the vital role they played in defending ancient temples against Jihadis.
15) Kakhoi math, Rannod (ancient Aranipadra) -Just look at the beautiful landscape surrounding the matha... 😍Apparently it was a conscious decision by ascetics to choose this scenic location as the site of their matha for the inscription aptly describes it as "Tapovana" 🙏
16) When Cunningham in 18th century first saw this 11th century Matha, it immediately reminded him of some ancient Greek palace...and one can see why!
17) Terahi (ancient Terambi) - Site of another medieval Shaivite matha & temple of Mattamayura sect. But most interesting medieval temple in Terambi is Mohaj Mata temple with its unique Iconographic program...suggests that it might have some connection with a Tantric cult
18) Equally interesting is its decorative Torana entrance. Some of the portion has vanished but still it looks marvelous...
19) So How come so many ancient temples manage to survive in this region but not anywhere else in Ganga plains? Impenetrable jungle of Chambal is surely most logical answer. Even today Chambal has fearsome reputation afterall...
20) But that is not all. Some credit also goes to the Hindus of the region who guided by these mattamayura ascetics seems to have aggressively defended their dharma against the invaders. This message clearly emerges when one visits the next site in the thread.
21) Kadwaha (ancient Kadambaguha) - On the face of it, it looks just another medieval Shaivite matha with its elaborately carved Madapika shrines.
22) But what gets one's attention is the inscription in one of the shrine. IT mentions how in VS 1366 (1309 CE) during the reign of Allaudin Khilji mllechhas overrun the world & damaged the monastic complex.
23) The inscription further mentions how a sage named Bhuteshwara performed austere penance and commissioned reparation work at the site. This fort like appearance is perhaps done in anticipation of further attacks..
24) It was perhaps the result of the same vigilance that many temples still survive in the same region such a this beautiful temple
25) Few more pictures of the same temple..As beautiful as temples of Khajuraho. It is another thing that they escaped the attention of people in forests of Chambal...
26) Few more mandapika shrines, again from Kadwaha/ Kadambaguha.t Number of ancient temples that survived in these small places of Chambal are probably far larger in number than even bigger centres of north like Kashi & MAthura!
27) Surwaya (Ancient Saraswatipattan) is another such monastic site. The fortification of the site done in 13th century, shows the apprehension of the local community "in a world run over by mlechhas". Central Building in 2nd pic is a medieval monastery.
28) Its delicate shrines are however in sharp contrast to massive fortification of the Surwaya monastery. Equally interesting is some of the iconography - such as the depiction of shaivite ascetics & Jatadhari Shiva himself resembling like an ascetic.
29) Few more pics from Surwaya - As @OGSaffron says "as if it were sculpted by bolts of lightning"....
30) Many of these monasteries however were converted into mosques later on - fortunately Gwalior state archaeological dept in 1940s removed those Islamic superstructures to uncover the temples in a "slight rearrangement of stones" if I may use the liberal language ;)
31) Kakan Math - Sihoniya (Simhapaniya)
Inscription reads
"Adbutah Simhapaniyanagare yena karitahl
kirtistambha ivabhati prasadah pravvatipatehll"
(In the town of Simhapaniya he (Kirtiraja) constructed a wonderful temple of Paravati's lord, Which shines like a tower of glory!)
Inscription reads
"Adbutah Simhapaniyanagare yena karitahl
kirtistambha ivabhati prasadah pravvatipatehll"
(In the town of Simhapaniya he (Kirtiraja) constructed a wonderful temple of Paravati's lord, Which shines like a tower of glory!)
32) Kakan math was commissioned in 11th century by queen Kakan de - wife of Kachcchapghata ruler Kirtiraj. Its sad story has already been mentioned briefly in these set of tweets..
33) Gwalior - ancient Gopadri/Gopagiri - "Unique abode of marvels" as described in medieval inscription, it was the location of imperial Pratihara palace & later on capital of Kachchhapghata rulers. Naturally it is also the site of some of the greatest temples of Gopakshetra
34) Teli ka Mandir, Gwalior - This temple dating back to the heydays of Pratihara rule (probably built during the rule of illustrious Mihir Bhoja himself is unique example of Valabhi style of Nagara temple architecture.
35) Sahastra bahu temple - This mighty temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu rests on the pinnacle of medieval temple architecture of the Gopakshetra. The temple was commissioned by Kachchhapghata ruler Padmapala & finished during the reign of his son Mahipala.
36)Inscription on temple wall reads
"Vadmyasyo[ccaistvam] katham iva gira yasya sikharam samarudhah simho mrgam iva [mrganka]stham asitumll"
(How can I possibly tell you of its height with words? The lion who has mounted the spire mean to devour, it seems, the deer in the moon.)
"Vadmyasyo[ccaistvam] katham iva gira yasya sikharam samarudhah simho mrgam iva [mrganka]stham asitumll"
(How can I possibly tell you of its height with words? The lion who has mounted the spire mean to devour, it seems, the deer in the moon.)
37) Judging by the size of the temple, it must have a very tall Shikara once upon a time. Now as you can see here Shikhara & Garbha griha has completely vanished. And it needs no guess work to figure out what exactly happened here!
38) None the less even with all vandalism, the didn't succeed in erasing the mesmerizing beauty of the temple! Its just sheer beauty dripping from the stones...
39) The smaller Sas bahu temple next to the main temple is equally amazing...Unfortunately though Garbha griha has completely disappeared as if it never existed!
40)Chaturbhuj Swami Temple - this rock cut temple built by the warden of Gwalior during the reign of Mihirbhoja deserves special attention because the inscription on the temple wall contains one of the earliest known mention of Zero.
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