[sach.sri]

Chambal !! - this is a name that evokes images of barren ravines and gangs of Baghis ruling over them.

But, not many of us know that once the area was ruled by Gujjar Pratihar dynasty and was on a flourishing trade route, leading to some very amazing temple complexes.

I have been meaning to visit these temple complexes for some time now, and finally got the chance to do so during the Dussehra weekend. We took Friday and Monday off, to make it a long weekend and planned a trip to MP.

But, not for the normal - Hindustan Ka Dil - kind of trip. We were the explorers of the era gone past riding on our steed(s) through impossible terrain cutting across dense Jungles and nothingness to pay our homage to the flourishing temple complexes of the era. The stars in our eyes matched the stars that we found shining bright in the dusty, remote and unreachable places

Majestic structures and awe evoking sights humbled us when we finally laid our eyes on them! The question we had in our minds is how magnificent are these structures that our ancestors built and left for us, and what are we leaving for our future generations!

Just imagine the glorious past that we had, the height of construction, engg, astrology; it is simply mind bending!

AND - makes my chest swell with pride to the proverbial "52 inch ka seena"!

So - the plan

Day 1 - Gurgaon to Panna. Start early (4.30 am) and reach Panna for afternoon Safari.
Day 2 - Khajuraho Temple complexes. But again, the focus - not the famous Western Group of Temples - but the relatively obscure - Eastern and Southern group.
Day 3 - Western Group of temples; drive to Dholpur.
Day 4 - The real objective of this trip - Bateshwar, Mitawali, Padhawali and Naresar group of temples.
Day 5 - Back to Gurgaon.

We tried to also do some more on Day 2 - goto Kalinjar and Ajaygarh fort, but had a misfortune on road and could not go there.

Please note - this will have tonnes of pictures, I typically like trying to show what i have seen and dont skimp on pictures, so if you (the reader) want; you can read the text and skip the "multiple 1000 words " But end of the day - pictures are what make the TLs interesting is my view.

Some Details

From Wikipedia

Bateshwar Hindu temples, Madhya Pradesh

The Bateshwar Hindu temples (romanised: baṭeśvar; /bəʈeːɕvər/) are a group of nearly 200 sandstone Hindu temples and their ruins in north Madhya Pradesh in post-Gupta, early Gurjara-Pratihara style of North Indian temple architecture.[1] It is about 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Gwalior and about 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of Morena town. The temples are mostly small and spread over about 25 acres (10 ha) site. They are dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Shakti - representing the three major traditions within Hinduism. The site is within the Chambal River valley ravines, on the north-western slope of a hill near Padavali known for its major medieval era Vishnu temple. The Bateshwar temples were built between the 8th and the 10th-century.[1] The site is likely named after the Bhuteshvar Temple, the largest Shiva temple at the site. It is also referred to as Batesvar temples site or Batesara temples site.[2][3]

Garhi Padavali Temple

The Garhi Padhavali temple of Madhya Pradesh survives only partially, yet it is one of most profusely and beautifully carved Hindu temple mandapa in India from pre-12th century era. This Padhavali site is from early 10th century (c. 925 CE, Kachhapaghata dynasty). The site was damaged before the 18th century. In the 18th century, Jat rulers from eastern Rajasthan built a small heavy fort just to protect this monument.

Padhavali was an ancient city, but now is a small village. Well over 15 inscriptions have been found near Padhavali, most pre-dating 14th century. Of these, the earliest mention of the importance of Padhavali is in a 7th century inscription. It is repeatedly mentioned through 8th to 12th century as a part of a college-monasteries complex along with the nearby sites of Mitawali (Chausath Yogini temple site) and Bateshwar temples (a site with 200 Hindu temples).

The Garhi Padavali temple faced west. From the ground evidence, it once consisted of a mukhamandapa, an ardhamandapa, a mahamandapa and a garbhagriha. The mahamandapa was later walled up and converted into a structure with a dome on top. The walls and dome were removed in late 1920s by the princely state of Gwalior to reveal the original mahamandapa.

The entire temple stood over a platform. The surviving mahamandapa has sixteen pillars, a high plinth and a vedika. It is open on two sides.

The mahamandapa is notable for its exquisite carvings and reliefs of pillars, ceilings, architraves and pretty much every surface. Some of these are miniatures yet with extraordinary details. The mandapa celebrates all major and some minor traditions of 10th century Hinduism – Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism, Sauraism and some esoteric tantra traditions. Vedic legends such as the samudra manthan are included in the panels. Some of the particularly remarkable panels are of the Saptamatrikas, Natesa-Nataraja, Shaiva legends such as of Andhakasuravadha, Krishna legends, Vishnu dasavataras, Surya, Navagrahas, Chamundi, Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Mitaoli

The Chausath Yogini Temple, Mitaoli, also known as Ekattarso Mahadeva Temple, is an 11th-century temple in Morena district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Build during Kachchhapaghata reign, it is one of the well-preserved Yogini temples in India. The temple is formed by a circular wall with 65 chambers, apparently for 64 yoginis and the goddess Devi, and an open mandapa in the centre of a circular courtyard, sacred to Shiva.[1]

Context: Yogini temples
Main article: Yogini temples

Infographic on significance of Yogini temples, showing design for communion with yoginis, thought to be capable of flight[2]
The Yogini shrines are usually circular enclosures, and they are hypaethral, open to the sky, unlike most Indian temples.[3] This is because they were designed for communion with yoginis, thought to be capable of flight.[2] Inside the circular wall are niches, most often 64, containing statues of female figures, the yoginis. Their bodies are described as beautiful, but their heads are often those of animals.[3] Yogini temples normally stood somewhat outside the main group of temples, and at the highest point of the site.[4]

Kakanmath

Kakanmaṭh is a ruined 11th century Shiva temple located at Sihoniya in Madhya Pradesh, India. It was built by the Kachchhapaghata ruler Kirttiraja. Only a part of the original temple complex now survives. Some of the sculptures from the site are now located at Gwalior.

History
The Kakanmath temple was commissioned by Kachchhapaghata ruler Kirttiraja (r. c. 1015-1035 CE).[1] This can be inferred from a Kachchhapaghata inscription found at the Sas-Bahu Temple in Gwalior. The inscription states that Kirttiraja built an extraordinary temple devoted to Parvati's lord (Shiva) at Siṁhapānīya (modern Sihoniya).[2][3]

According to a folk legend, the temple was named "Kakanmadh" after Kakanavati or Kakanade, who was the queen of one Surajpala. The historicity of this legend is doubtful. One possibility is that the name of the temple derives from the kanak (gold) and maṭha (shrine).[4]

Originally, the site had a temple complex, with a central temple surrounded by four subsidiary shrines. Only the ruins of the central temple stand now: its outer walls, balconies and a part of its spire have fallen. This damage probably happened during an earthquake.[5]

Nareshwar Temple Complex

The Naresar temples – also referred to as the Nareshwar temples – are a group of about 20 small to moderate sized Hindu temples about 25 kilometers north of Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. The original Naresar temples site was likely a larger collection of temples as the extant site evidences many empty temple platforms. Made from stone, these temples include Shaiva, Vaishnava, Shakta and Saura traditions of Hinduism.

The Naresar site was likely one of the hubs of Shaivism in north Madhya Pradesh. Some sanctums here are empty while many sanctums have a Shiva linga. Given the iconography on the lalitabimbas, the original dedication for some was likely Vishnu and Durga, for others, Shiva. These temples date from about the 8th-century.

The Naresar temples are notable for several reasons:

One of the temples in the lower level cluster is one of the few surviving examples of "Sala-sikhara" architecture described in historic Sanskrit literature of Hinduism. These are also referred to as the "wagon-vault" roofed Hindu temples, or variations of the "Valabhi" (oblong vaulted) Hindu temples. The other pre-10th century relatively uncommon examples of this design in Hindu monuments are found in Bhima and Ganesha ratha at Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu), Khimeshwara temple in Gujarat, Jageshwara temple in Himachal Pradesh, Vaithal Deul temple in Odisha, and Teli-ka-mandir in Gwalior (also Madhya Pradesh).
Several of Naresar temples are rare examples of Hindu temples that do not follow the square principle, or other classical plans for Hindu temples (apsidal, circular, etc). A few of the Naresar temples explore rectangular floor plans. Yet remarkably, the Naresar temples have certain rhythmic geometric ratios in their plans and proportions, ratios such as 2:1:2:1:2, 3:5, 7:10, 2:5, 3:4, 4:9 and others. For more details, see Michael Meister's peer reviewed publications.
The Hindu iconography seen here are useful in the comparative studies with major Hindu sites in Morena region, such as at the Batesar, Mitawali and Padhavali sites.
The Naresar temples group are one of the early surviving example of passageway and temple construction with elegant hydraulics and natural water stream management. The upper cluster of temples is near a small lake. The water from it, particularly during monsoons, flows into a scenic waterfall that is directed through an 8th-century manmade passage along the lower clusters of temples. Stone bridges and stone walkways were built over the water streams and between temples to manage how the water flows and how day to day life can continue smoothly without water flooding, water damage to the temples, or other problems.

Out of these - Naresar and Kakanmath were the most "remote".
These are all clustered in a circumference of 30 odd KMs showing how this was on a important trade route in the past

Bateshwar, Mitaoli & Padhwali are tightly bunched together - 5KMs in distance with Naresar and Kakanmath on either side.



Logistics

Distances


Toll

Total Toll paid: Rs. 2630/-


Final Trip Summary



In this travelogue (or Photologue) i will not go linear, will not give a day 1 to day n account; will group the locations / temples from my interest perspective. Essentially going by what i think should get most coverage (or highlight) to the least. Showcasing the lesser known monuments in the beginning and then the more widely known or famous ones.

[sach.sri]

Day 1 - As is customary, the start of a trip always has work the previous day and this was no exception.

We had taken Friday off, and were planning to start very early on Friday - but between office / packing / getting the car ready, i slept very late and that pushed out our start time by atleast 1.30 hrs.

We finally started around 6am ish with cool weather and all the anticipation of the holiday to come.

Day 1 was primarily driving for 600 odd KMs and the target was to reach Panna in time for evening safari.

However, during the ride we thought that we cannot make it on time and decided to explore any places that we find along the route and not rush to try and make the evening Safari in Panna.

While on NH 44 / 19 - we saw a fort like structure in Datia, deviated to try and go there. But due to narrow approach roads could not make it to the fort. Just clicked a couple of record pics from the car.



We also made a quick pitstop at the fort on Barua Sagar. This fort is not very well known - but we very pleasantly surprised by the gardens in the fort complex. Fort itself was not huge and not much remaining + it was the place for college kids to.

We quickly snapped some pics and got back on road.












What is interesting is that the statue above does not look from the same era as the fort, fort seems to be much from a much later era where bricks were used, the statue looks to be much older; made from stone carving. So i guess, if they excavate - they will find something more older there?

The good thing is that even with these 2 deviations, we were able to reach Panna in time for the evening Safari.
<insert Safari pics>

Did not see much in the Safari. That done, we pushed off to Khajuraho and our Hotel in Khjuraho for the next couple of days

The Road travelled


More or less a good drive; even with the couple of detours we covered the distance till Panna in about 9.30hrs and my XUV 500 was wonderful in taking us in comfort and style. I have driven 1000 odd KMs in both my Scorpio (previous car) and XUV 500 and can vouch for the comfort and the fact that i dont feel tired even after such big distances. They both get a bad rep (especially Scorpio) but in my view - if you know how to anticipate and drive a SUV (high CG, bad aerodynamics, etc) they are simply great on the roads that we drive on.

[sach.sri]

Day 2 - Khajuraho: Eastern and Southern Group of Temples

When i planned for this trip, my main objective was to see and explore some obscure and not very well known monuments. You will then wonder - how come Khajuraho?

Khajuraho in mind gets most of tourist traffic specifically for one purpose. Yeah, you guessed it; and the Western Group of temples - because they are in a sort of a complex and the main attraction of people who get there.

The Eastern and Southern Group of temples dont get that much footfall and tourist traffic, infact even in these groups - there are 5 temples that people dont mention - Brahma Temple, Jevari Temple, Vaman Temple, Ghantai Temple and Beej Math (these 2 are totally without any tourist traffic)

And you guessed it, we started with these

Brahma Temple - This is the oldest temple in Khajuraho and is actually a Shiva temple, but the Shiv ling inside has four faces of Shiva in different expressions and hence the people got confused and started calling it Brahma temple.

The Brahma, Jevari and Vaman Temples are close together

Shiv ling with 4 faces of Shiv






On the bank of a waterbody. Dont know if it is a man made lake that has been there since time immemorial?




Amazing Sculpture, placed just outside of the temple

[sach.sri]

Javeri Temple - this is the temple of Lord Parashurama. The sad part is that bhagwan's idol does not have the head, lost in antiquity.

Note how the idol is bathed in light causing a natural halo effect. Such a clever play with natural light

The garbh griha. Look at how the sun rays light up the idol
The intricately carved chaukhat is a feature in all the temples. Simply love it






The fellow in the middle bearing the weight of the temple is called "Keechak". He is powerful enough to bear the weight




This is the "grah shanti" yantra. Legend has it that the Chandel kings used to stand beneath this to pray for grah shanti before embarking on any wars or starting anything new. Look closely, you will see 9 depressions - from each depression there was a "yantra" hanging. Today only that of Shani remains


Such intricate carvings on the back of the idol. Amazing. Also look at how the floor resembles a lotus




Torand at the entrance. We use mango leaves and genda flowers, this is carved in stone










Love the backs of these temples. Look like an art gallery







The horse or dragon shaped being is called Shardul and it denotes our greed, etc and the fight to control them

[sach.sri]

Vaman Temple (outside view)- a temple for the Vaman avatar of Lord Vishnu
Again - amazing temple. Simply loved it and loved the fact that we were the only people there when we reached. A couple more families came in while we were there, but no rush!

Side view - the opening you see if a balcony, that allows light into the inner sanctorum




The entrance - different from Javeri temple - but look at how ornate it is with all those carvings, and look at the "shikhar" on top. Does it not look like a "Rotor" that can create enough centrifugal force to lift this off. Does it not look like a craft, a "Vimana"






We - thoroughly enjoying ourselves


The top half of the dome is made during restoration and is so obvious

[sach.sri]

Vaman Temple (inside view)

Keechaks are in every temple, the weight bearers. there is an interesting story behind, which i forgot




Looks like water damage


What intricate design, look at the features, ornaments. This is a God figure, i think Lord Vishnu?






This would have been such an amazing statue had the top half also been there. Even without it, just look at the grandeur


Right pillar of the ornate door frame for th garbh griha


top with Keechak in the middle




Vaman avatar of Lord Vishnu, look at how the sun light illuminates the idol. it would have been surreal when people would first seen this






Jai !! Can anyone remain unmoved in face of such amazing and awe inspiring spectacle?

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Dhillon]

What an amazing TL. Thank you for sharing such amazing pictures.

[sach.sri]

Post the Vaman Temple - we saw two virtually deserted temples - Ghantai Temple and Beeja Math

Ghantai Temple was just a sort of pavilion, with an ornate and carved doorway but no deity or the temple structure and Beeja math was just an excavation site with a huge Shivling on top. They have excavated it, but dont have enough pieces to re-build. So it will remain as such.

Ghantai Temple

The ornate door frame. Looks like a picture frame. This is such a nice location for a wedding photo shoot


Perfect for a photo op


or a SRK pose




Beeja Math


Look at the huge structure, this would have been a big temple in its hay days








Only the Shivling was visible initially before excavation

We had planned to spend the first half of the day visiting these temple groups and the second half i wanted to goto Panna to dekho the Baldeo Temple, it is the only 1 temple in India that is in a Cathedral style and also goto Kalinjar fort, but we still have some more temple to visit and it was already noon.

We had to rush for the next temples in order to have any chance of keeping up the itinerary. We next went to see the Jain temples - there are 3 temples there - main Jain temple, this is still in use and worship happens there plus there are two other temples called Parshavnath and Adinath

[sach.sri]

Jain Temples - we got to Jain temples post lunch in Ramada hotel. Sun was beating down harshly and all the respite due to Oct end weather had evaporated.

Typically, I am not really interested to visit active temples when on a trip as a tourist, that is reserved when we visit temples for that specific purpose - or if we are undertaking a trip for the express purpose of visiting active temples and paying our homage.

However, these temples are again from the same era, and have the same architecture, carvings, etc so we decided to see them as well. When we got there one of the temple guards attached himself to us and started explaining the history, etc. I was quite happy, but later realised that he expected us to tip him (which unfortunately, we did not do :( )

Anyways, the legend has it that the Prime Minister of the Chandelas was a Jain and he was the reason behind these Jain temples (but if you listen to local guides, these were also orignially Hindu temples which were later converted to Jain temples) whatever the history - we saw the wonderful statues and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. One thing though - these temples were "built" with bricks - where ever the older structures had fallen, in that sense these were dissimilar to the other temples, that were purely "re constructed" by ASI

Main Jain Temple; follows the same pattern as the other temples






Highly polished statue of the lord (I am sorry, i dont remember the exact name). As per the guard who had attached himself with us, this is because of constant wiping and cleaning that the stone has become so highly polished


The main statue, this was a huge statue in the inner sanctorum where only people in pure white clothes were allowed










The Parshavnath temple, all the same architectural details














The main idol with sun light illuminating it
























The Adinath temple

[sach.sri]

The last 2 remaining temples in the southern group - Dulhadeo and Chaturbhuj.

Dulhadeo Temple - Legend has it that this is the temple where Shiv and Parvati got married and even today people carry on the tradition.
The Shivling in this temple has 11001 small Shivlings carved on it.

This is also not in a very good shape - restoration wise and a lot of statues have been either vandalised or eroded over the centuries, gone with the flow of time

The entrance, look at how the dome is just haphazard pile of stones and the high tower in the back is not fully completed, but it looks like a Rocket with different stages and the external support, doesnt it


Different statues eroded over time






Shivling with 11001 small shivlings carved on it


Intricately layered dome


Ganesh and Parvati statues, being worshipped








Outer wall - will amazingly detailed out statues. look at the blank pieces in the middle, these are "new" stones put in as part of restoration


Oh, the symmetry. Such amazing precision




Love the back panel!

This is also here that we faced an uncomfortable situation, there were a bunch of youngsters clicking pictures and i did not realise but my wife told that they also clicked her picture - made her very uncomfortable.
I just hate this kind of stuff and dont understand why dont people have basic decency

Anyways this was the one and only dark spot in an otherwise great trip.

[sach.sri]

Chaturbhuj Temple - this temple has a resplendent Shiva statue as the main deity. And it is that the statue has Shiva's head, Vishnu's Torso and Krishna's legs (dont ask me, this was the story that i was told)

The amazing deity!








The steps here are for pujaris to climb for cleaning and abhishek. The only temple where i saw this arrangement










Look at the upper statue in this picture. It is a idol with a cat face? Does this point to an Egyptian link? Indians went to Egypt
On a serious note - anyone knows anything about this? i have never seen anything like this in any temple?

With this, we finish the tour of Eastern and Southern group of temples in Khajuraho.
Next up is the "pièce de résistance". The main motive behind this trip, the not so known treasures!

[bullock-Car]

Really wonderful travelogue, thanks for bringing out the hidden treasures of chambal. I was planning a trip this side but your travelogue is perfect guide. Beautifully framed pictures of these magnificent temples, but time and again feel sad at the missing heads and limbs. The destruction of art is not the mark of any civilised kingdom/dynasty.

[sach.sri]

We had initially planned to start early in the morning from Khajuraho on Day 3 and make our way towards our next pit stop - Dholpur in a leisurely manner; stopping in between to visit Jhansi and Gwalior forts.

But because we were not able to finish Khajuraho till Day 2, the plan changed and we visited the Western Group of Temples in Khajuraho early morning on Day 3 and then started towards Dholpur. This meant - no more Jhansi or Gwalior forts. We simply drove all the way and reached our destination - Raj Niwas palace - by evening.

I must say here that the roads till now had been fantastic, and the traffic sparse, but when we turned onto NH 44 - it was simply chaos. So much traffic that it reminded me of NH 48!

We were feeling that we are driving in a city and not on a highway!

I had chosen Raj Niwas Palace - as it was the only notable place to stay in Dholpur and a heritage property. Though the rooms / villas were not in the main palace. The main palace is shutdown for renovations and the only rooms / villas were newly constructed ones.

It lived up to the billing and our expectations - the staff was amazing, and the accommodation lovely and the best part - it is not heavy on the pocket. Good heritage property without the pretentious airs of some other heritage properties and within range


As soon as you enter the compounds - you get transported from the hustle bustle of town into a calm oasis. The whole atmosphere is one of lazy elegance and some amazing hospitality. There are no boundations on meal timings like other places, staff looks after you and gives you the deferential treatment that just feels amazing.

Trivia - Vasundhara Raje Scindia spends her Navratries there. though we did not get to see her.

Also a lot of films have been shot around Dholpur; most recently - Sonchiriya and i think also Pan Singh Tomar.

The plan for next day was to get up early and start our day of exploration of the wonders of yore and the rough cut gems of Chambal - Bateshwar, Mitawali, Padhwali and Naresar.

But first - before reaching Dholpur, we did take a detour to see the Kakanmath temple.


Kakanmath


from wikipedia

Kakanmaṭh is a ruined 11th century Shiva temple located at Sihoniya in Madhya Pradesh, India. It was built by the Kachchhapaghata ruler Kirttiraja. Only a part of the original temple complex now survives. Some of the sculptures from the site are now located at Gwalior.

History
The Kakanmath temple was commissioned by Kachchhapaghata ruler Kirttiraja (r. c. 1015-1035 CE). This can be inferred from a Kachchhapaghata inscription found at the Sas-Bahu Temple in Gwalior. The inscription states that Kirttiraja built an extraordinary temple devoted to Parvati's lord (Shiva) at Siṁhapānīya (modern Sihoniya).

According to a folk legend, the temple was named "Kakanmadh" after Kakanavati or Kakanade, who was the queen of one Surajpala. The historicity of this legend is doubtful. One possibility is that the name of the temple derives from the kanak (gold) and maṭha (shrine).

Originally, the site had a temple complex, with a central temple surrounded by four subsidiary shrines. Only the ruins of the central temple stand now: its outer walls, balconies and a part of its spire have fallen. This damage probably happened during an earthquake.

Legend has it that this temple was built in a night by ghosts of lord Shiv's disciples. They could not finish it fully and when the day broke they ran away leaving the temple unfinished

The entrance arch, and the Temple view. Notice the Spire of the temple - looks like rubbles piled on top of each other





As mentioned in Wiki article, there are 4 subsidiary shrines - only 1 has a partial structure now with another one having only an exposed Shiv ling





Garbh Griha with the Shivling, it is still worshipped. And the pillars forming the "parikrama"




Some iconography from the temple






























contd. in the next post with more pictures from Kakanmath

[sach.sri]

Kakan Math pics contd.

Starting with a largely Intact Ganesh idol, I am seeing such huge ears on Ganesha for the first time

Figures on the temple pillars





Various statues from the temple





Looks like Brahma ji in the middle










Love the Shardul figure




Still lots and lots of excavated figures and tablets lying around waiting to the restored to their original place and glory

A fabulous sun kissed picture of the temple to end

IF you notice, there is still scaffolding on the temple structure - but the sad part is that there is no work ongoing because of paucity of funds. ASI does not have funds to complete the restoration.
Makes me real sad, but also gave me an idea - can we - the enthusiasts and mango people contribute? and do something about this? shape the destiny of this magnificent structure?
I am very interested to do something about this - but dont have contacts in ASI to see if this is something that can work.

Call out to any ASI officials on the forum, please PM me to discuss if something is possible - we can setup a crowd funding page / patreon page and try to get funds for these and other such restoration projects