India - One picture per post

[Marathaman]

Arulmigu Thirumarainathar Temple, Thiruvathavur, Madurai, Tamil Nadu
Copyright Vikz Photography@flickr


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[Marathaman]

Ganhar Mahal, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
Copyright blob59@flickr

This is a modest surviving palace from the Begum era.

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[World8115]

After long time

[Marathaman]

Lakha Mandal Mandir, Kalsi, Uttarakhand
Copyright Rajendra Desai@picasaweb

This is an ancient and important religious place. The temple, dedicated mainly to lord Shiva, is situated on the banks of the river Yamuna.

With stone carvings and inscriptions date back to the 5th Century AD, the Lakha Mandal temple holds historical as well as archaeological importance.


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[Marathaman]

Shantinath Jain Temple, Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh
Copyright bijapuri ( Ed Sentner )@flickr

According to a survey conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), 31 Jain temples of different sizes, age and character have been listed. All these are dated later than the Hindu temples. They are categorized into two distinct periods: the early medieval period from 850 to 950, and the medieval period between 950 and 1150. During the Islamic iconoclastic depredations, the temples were devastated; this was compounded by the growth of vegetation and neglect of maintenance.

Deogarh's strategic location on the ancient route to the Deccan Plateau made it a historically important place. Its antiquarian, archaeological and epigraphical importance are linked to the Gupta period, the Gurjara–Prathiharas, the Gonds, the Muslim rulers of Delhi, the Marathas and the British eras.

The earliest religious influence in the Deogarh area can be traced to the Gupta period (320-550), known as the "golden period" of Indian history. This was followed by the Jain period between the 8th and 17th centuries, where innumerable temples have been traced.

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[Marathaman]

School children dressed up for a function, Somanahalli Village, Tamil Nadu
Copyright viwehei@flickr

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[Marathaman]

Sunderwala Burj, Nizamuddin, Delhi
Copyright U.S. Embassy New Delhi@flickr

The Conservation of Sunderwala Burj is part of the larger Humayun’s Tomb – Sunder Nursery – Nizamuddin Basti Urban Renewal project, a not-for – profit Public Private Partnership between the Archaeological Survey of India, Central Public Works Department, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Aga Khan Development Network.
With exquisitely ornamented plasterwork on the ceilings, unique in Delhi, this early 16th century building is amongst the earliest building built during the Mughal reign and stands within the World Heritage Site Buffer Zone. Source

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Copyright Aline Dobbie@picasaweb.com

[Marathaman]

Ruins of Vijaygarh Fort, Bayana, Rajasthan
Copyright warthog@panoramio

Bayana is famous for Bijaigarh (Vijaygarh) fort, which was built by Jadon Raja Bijai Pal in 1040 A.D. The Bijaigarh fort contains several old temples and a red sandstone pillar bearing an inscription of Vishnuvardhan, a feudatory of Samudragupta. The fort was described as one of the most famous forts in India by Babur himself. Besides this, there is a monolithic sandstone pillar, a combination of Hindu and Muslim styles, which bears many inscriptions.

The ancient name of Bayana was Sripatha or Sriprashtha or Shantipura. A big hoard of the ancient Indian coins were discovered in 1946 at the distance of 11 km from Bayana. In 372 AD, Vishnu Vardhana erected the sacrificial pillar in memory of pundarika sacrifice for prosperity. In 1046 AD Chittralekha, the queen of Mangalaraja (Mangalraja was Kachawaha king of Gwalior. He was son of Vazradama, who died in a battle with Mahmood of Gazni in 1000 AD.) Built the temple of Vishnu .

It is a curious mixture of Hindu and Mohammad relics. Ruled by stalwarts like Muhammad Ghori, Sikandar Lodhi and Humayun, Bayana held a special place in history. According to Abul Fazal: "this town is the burial place of many illustrious men". It can be adjudged that various important battles were fought here. Akbarnama mention that in former times Bayana was the capital of a province of which Agra was merely a dependent village.

Before the main Battle of Khanua, in 1527. Rana Sanga and Hasan Khan Mewati had initial success here. Many generals and soldiers of Babur were killed here. The graves of these generals still present in Bayana. It was here that Babur renounced alcohol. A mosque named "Talaqani Masjid" is still present to commemorate this event. Babur also constructed "Jhajhri" here. Which is present until now. Bayana is about 35 kilometres from Khanwa and about 46 km from Fatehpur Sikri.

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[Marathaman]

Naganatha Temple, Badami, Karnataka
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This is a well restored Chalukyan-era temple.

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[Marathaman]

Jatar Deul, Sunderbans, West Bengal
Copyright Jamil Sayed@picasaweb

The temple contains no idol but the locals believe it to be a Shiva temple and call it Jatar Deul (Jata: matted hair, Deul: temple), after the matted hair of Shiva. It is remarkable in it's height, and stands near the estuary of the Moni river. Though confusions about this being a Buddhist pagoda, victory tower of Pratapaditya of Jessore apart from being a Hindu Temple cannot be ignored. The whole monument is built with thin country bricks and also has a decoration made by carved bricks. The Deputy Commissioner of Diamond Harbour discovered once a copperplate almost near to the Jatar Deul, in 1875. On it was recorded in Sanskrit the date of its building by Raja Jayantachandra in Shaka 897, corresponding to 975 AD. This copperplate is no more traceable at present.

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[Marathaman]

Vishnu Temple, Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh
Copyright Saurabh Saxena@picasaweb

The temple is one of the earliest Hindu stone temples to still survive today. Built in the Gupta Period (320 to c. 600 AD), Vishnu Temple shows the ornate and beauty seen in Gupta style architecture. This temple is also a good resource for examining Gupta style sculptures and art.

Vishnu Temple is a great example of early Gupta architecture. The style and organization of the structure was the method for the decoration of many Hindu temples seen around India at the time. Though it is in poor condition, having a damaged tower, the temple still exudes the ornate decorations and structural complexity created back in the early 6th century.

Many of these early Hindu stone temples were dedicated to a single Hindu deity. The temple at Deogarh is dedicated to the Vishnu. These temples made in the early part of the 6th century of the Gupta Period housed images and symbols of Hindu gods. These temples allowed people to make contact with the gods they were worshiping. The Temple was built out of stone and brick consisting of a single cubical sanctum that sheltered the images within.

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[Marathaman]

Kamala Narayana Temple, Devgaon, Karnataka
Copyright ravi_basarihalli@panoramio

Kamala Narayana is a beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Narayana aka Lord Vishnu. It was built in the 12th century at the behest of Kamaladevi, the Kadamba queen.
Kadambas were an ethnic Kannada royal dynasty established by Mayurasharma in the third/fourth century. They were vassals of the Chalukya kings and later the Rashtrakutas. They came to rule vast tracts of land in North Karnataka(Banavasi,Hangal,Halasi) and Goa.
It was said to have been constructed by the architect Tippoja for the Kadamba king and is a testament to his architectural genius.

The shikharas (towers) of all the shrines are missing.

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[Marathaman]

Kanheri Caves, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Copyright sgtsalamander@flickr

These caves date from 1st century BCE to 10th century CE. In total in the basalt there have been carved 109 caves. Unlike the elegant splendor of Elephanta Caves nearby, the earlier cells are spartan and unadorned. Each cave has a stone plinth for a bed. A congregation hall with huge stone pillars contains the stupa, a Buddhist shrine. Farther up the hill are the remains of an ancient water system, canals and cisterns that collected and channeled the rainwater into huge tanks. Once the caves became permanent monasteries, they began to be carved out of the rock with intricate reliefs of Buddha and the Bodhisattvas carved into the walls. Kanheri had become an important Buddhist settlement on the Konkan coast by the 3rd century A.D.

Most of the caves are the Buddhist viharas meant for living, study, and meditation. The larger caves were chaityas, or halls for congregational worship, are lined with intricately carved Buddhist sculptures, reliefs and pillars, and contain rock-cut stupas for congregational worship. The Avalokiteshwara is the most distinctive figure. The large number of viharas obviously prove a well-organized existence of Buddhist monks' establishment, which was also connected with many trade centers such as the ports of Sopara, Kalyan, Nasik, Paithan and Ujjain. Kanheri was a University center by the time the area was under the rule of the Maurayan and Kushan empires. In the late 10th century, the Buddhist teacher Atisha (980-1054) came to the Krishnagiri Vihara to study Buddhist meditation under Rahulagupta.

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[Marathaman]

Nageshwara Temple, Bankapura Fort, Karnataka
Copyright Shashishekhar S@picasaweb

This Chalukyan temple is situated within the Bankapura Fort. It was partially destroyed when the fort was captured by Adil Shah in 1567.

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[Marathaman]

Pushkarini (Stepwell) at Santebennur, Karnataka
Copyright hotstuff@teambhp

The Pushkarni is the biggest in Karnataka with a length and breadth of 300 feet, it is 80 feet deep. In all eight directions there are small mantaps (pavilions) of which only six are in their original shape. In the middle of this reservoir, there is a bigger tower called Vasantha Mantapa which is about 50 feet in height.It is said that Hanumappa Nayaka, built this Pushkarni and the temple of Lord Ranganatha along side it in the year 1658 AD. Ranadullah Khan, a sergeant of the Bijapur Sultan defeated Hanumappa Nayaka in a battle, destroyed the temple and constructed a mosque of large dimensions there. Hanumappa Nayaka who had been forced to retire to Tarikere and Kaldurga, was greatly incensed at this, and watching his opportunity planned a night attack, in which he put to death the Muhammadan governor, and desecrated the mosque and rebuilt the temple that existed there. [Wikipedia]

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[World8115]

Beautiful

[Marathaman]

Farah Bagh/Farahbagh/Farah Baug Mahal, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
Copyrigt Harshad Sharma@flickr

This massive ruined edifice is the lone surviving structure of Farah Bagh, a vast compound of palaces and gardens built by the Nizam Shahi rulers of the Ahmednagar Sultanate. The monument is dated to 1583 AD

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[Indian Sun]

Somehow, it looks beautiful in this dilapidated condition. Is Mani Rathnam reading this ?

[Marathaman]

Katarmal Sun Temple, Almora, Uttarakhand
Copyright Kalmatia Sangam@picasaweb


Katarmal Sun temple was built by Katarmalla, a Katyuri Raja, in the 9th century. In the early medieval period, Kumaon was ruled by the Katyuri dynasty.
The main deity of the Sun temple in Katarmal is called Burhadita or Vraddhaditya (the old Sun God). The idols of Shiva-Parvati and Lakshmi-Narayana are also found in this temple.

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[Marathaman]

Rajsamand Lake, Rajsamand, Rajasthan
Copyright Dr.V.S.Chouhan@panoramio

This man-made lake was built in the 17th century, along with the ghats and marble pavilions

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