BISHNUPUR TEMPLES

bishnupur temples

Bishnupur


Bishnupur is popularly known as the temple town of West Bengal. It is hundred and Thirty-eight kilometres from Kolkata and is located in the district of Bankura, West Bengal. In the earlier time stone always been in short supply in the vast flood plains of Bengal. Hence the architects had to restore to another alternative of stone As clay was easily available soon the burnt clay became a good substitute of stone. This gave rise to a new form of temple architecture which leads 'to the construction of elaborately decorated terracotta temples. Scattered Temples of Bishnupur, Bankura, West Bengal in Italian  Terracotta literally means baked earth .west Bengal has the distinction of housing some of the finest terracotta art in the world. The terracotta art reached its pinnacle under the patronage of the Malla Kings of Bishnupur during the 17th century. The temples of Bishnupur, are now the pride of west Bengal and one of the most favoured tourist spot 

History



The history of Bishnupur temples can be traced back to 694 AD when King Raghunath founded the Malla dynasty. However, it was in 994 AD that the place was named Bishnupur. The name is derived from the name of the Hindu God Vishnu. The most dominant king of the dynasty was King Raghunath Singh Dev II, who ruled from 1626 AD.

Bishnupur was the capital of the erstwhile Malla Kings who came from the north of India and they were inspired by the Vaishnava religion.
 In the olden times, The area around Bishnupur and Bankura was called Mallabhum and the rulers or king was called Malla

The temple's architecture tells you how Bishnupur acted as a melting pot of various cultures and tradition you will often come across groups chanting kirtans, a religious music form

embedded in the age-old temple culture of Bengal

In 2007, Bishnupur became an official world heritage site by UNICEF.

Now the town has become a big tourist spot. So we are thankful to the Mallas for giving us Mallabhum(currently Bishnupur)






TERRACOTTA  GOD IIDOLS

Art and craft of Bishnupur


Bishnupur is famous for its terracotta
 temples and baluchari silk sarees
This vibrant town of terracotta magic is
not just about the temple and architectural splendour, there is a lot more like Baluchari 
silk sarees, Bankura clay horse Dashavtar cards, himmiputtu dolls and carved conch
shells from shakhripara  





BANKURA HORSE

          
















Rasmancha

 The Rasmancha Is a historical building
commissioned by Mallabhum king Hamir Malla dev (Bir Hambir) 
in 1600 CE. The base of the temple is made of laterite stone and the upper part is made with bricks. its parallel has not been found elsewhere in India.
This monument is considered the pride of Bishnupur




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Madanmohan temple


Madanmohan Temple

The famed Madanmohan Temple
Madanmohan temple
 of Bishnupur was built by
 the 53rd king of the Mallabhum,
 Durjan Singha Dev (1682 CE to 1702 CE), 
at Shankhari Bazar area of Bishnupur 
in 1694 CE. It is the best 
‘Ekratna’ (one tower) style temple of Bishnupur. The
 architecture of
 the temple with a square 
flat-roofed building,
 carved cornices surmounted 
pinnacle and a single ‘sikhara’ (tower)
 has enabled Madanmohan Temple to
 earn the status of one of the finest
 sculptures of Bishnupur




Shyamrai Temple

Shyamrai temple was built by king Raghunatha Singh (1702-1712) of Mallabhum, in 1643, to honour Lord Vishnu in his form as Lord Krishna.
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TERRACOTTA TILE ON WALL OF
 SHYAMRAI
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TERRACOTTA TILE ON WALL OF 

The inner and outer walls, along with the ceiling, are adorned with terracotta sculptures depicting Krishna Leela and episodes from great Indian epics like Ramayana and 
Mahabharata.









                                       SHYAMRAI

Jor Bangla Mandir


It is also known as Keshta Rai Temple, has a typical architecture that is usually found in the southern region of Bengal. The temple was built by Malla King Raghunath Singha in c.1655. The structure resembles two traditional 2-chala' village huts put together side by side. One of them serves as a shelter and the other serves as a shrine. The curved roof of these huts is surrounded by 4 chala-Shikhar The walls are decorated with terracotta panels describing scenes from Hindu epic the Ramayana and the Mahabharata along with floral and geometrical patterns. The details are so captivating it narrates the whole story visually.



Lalji Temple


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LALJI TEMPLE


Lalji Temple was built in 1658 CE 
by Malla king Bir Singha II in
 Eka-Ranta style. This temple has been devoted to Radha-Krishna. This temple bears similar architectural concepts like many of the earlier temples. It is built on a square elevated plinth, consisting of ornamental plastedecorations on low relief carvings are a typical feature of the temple.





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STONE GATEWAY-PATHAR DARWAJA

Pathar Darwaja

This fine arched gateway was built by dressed laterite stones This was built-in the second half of the seventeen-century byMallabhum king Bir Singha This gateway was the Northern entrance of the ancient 
fort of Bishnupur





















1 comment:

  1. It is a good effort that we see the beauty, knowledge and grandeur of ancient india . And makes indian feel proud.

    ReplyDelete

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