Madhya Pradesh

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Category: Madhya Pradesh

Kakanmath Temple, Morena

Kakanmath Temple, Morena

Kakanmaṭh is a ruined 11th century Shiva temple located at Sihoniya in Madhya Pradesh, India. It was built by the Kachchhapaghata ruler Kirttiraja during 1015 – 1035 AD. Only a part of the original temple complex now survives. Some of the sculptures from the site are now located at Gwalior.

The temple is located in the interior of a small village called Sihoniya, which is approximately 65 north of Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. The presence of this temple influences the surrounding and the village because of it being a popular place to visit. When one holds the eye on the structure, they may fail to believe that so many stone slabs together piled up forming this mighty structure.

Upon entering the temple on the right side at a raised area there lies this structure which is surrounded by many subparts, which are broken. The pieces are scattered all over the raised land, and it also becomes difficult to reach it. As the terrain is not plain and there lies big holes and stone slabs kept in an unjust manner.

There is a shivling present near the structure. The base is partially broken as seen in the image below. It is on a raised platform with some stone slabs kept on top of each other. 

There are hundreds of small stone slabs, all broken and destroyed. These are just kept piled up on top of each other, the visuals below are from the surrounding of the above garbhagriha.

The tall structure stands still, a true marvellous creation seen upon looking closer it feels that the structure might fall down anytime. At the back side of the main temple there are few rods and support are seen which makes the structure stable from the back side.

These corridors, finely structured with necessary gaps, are quite a piece of architecture. The open sky on top of the temple and these pillars represent beauty. The entire structure is relying on the placements of the stone, and there are no additional cements or any other material used.

Upon climbing the stairs this view opens up to the eyes of the viewers, one might feel inferior in front of these mighty pillars. The dark opening which can be seen below is the main shrine of the temple.

 

This is the center of the pathway to the main shrine and there is a wide opening which is open to the sky. The pillars and stone slabs just balanced on the geometry basis are indeed very captivating and become hard to believe when seen. 

The entrance to the main shrine is on an elevated platform.

The outer portion of the main shrine is engraved with such beautiful stone architecture and portrays the level of architecture that existed back in time, though most of them were broken during invasions but as the time has also passed there condition still remains worth setting as examples. The details and the finishes are astonishing.

There is a single shivling in the main Garbhagriha of the temple, it also consists of the snake around the ling’s neck.

A complete circle around the main garbhagriha consists of these marvel sculptures which are present throughout.

Behind the main garbhagriha there are few rods and supports which are helping the structure to stand and these are just kept in support of some slabs lying there on the floor.


The beautiful sculptures surround the temple and every detail becomes a must see for the visitors. With such precision and absolute skill the artisans might have carved it but it has been mercilessly destroyed during the invasions.


There is a void at a raised section in one of the walls, and it would be possible that there was another marvel sculpture which might have been broken or looted.


The structure of the temple standing at 115 feet and evidently seen as heavily decorated represents nothing but the great Indian Architecture and the quality carvings done.


The mighty pillars surely are a majestic and marvellous creation, by looking at these pictures it is clearly understood the amount of labour and funds it would have taken to create this.

These pictures represent the walls of the outer side of the monument and every bit of it is covered with sculptures and carvings like these, take a moment to please your eyes with these awe spiring visuals. 

We must not forget that the temple is still lying in ruins and needs necessary adjustments and renovation to be done for the safety of the visitors. The stone slabs are just adjusted with the help of basic balance and geometry and there is no fixed cement or liquid which holds it up.

Most of the structures are in pieces and when looking it can be understood there are so many unidentified pieces which need to be kept in their proper place.

There is a mighty gate present approx. to 30m distance from the main stairs of the big structure.

The temple is listed under ASI, there is a pandit and a caretaker who takes care of the temple premises, and there is just ordinary ritual conducted by the pandit.

At the entrance there is an empty space for parking, the road to the temple is not maintained and everyday there are local visitors seen in the premises of the temple. Astonishing fact is that overall the structure of the temple looks like it could fall anytime even with slightest of breeze but is evidently standing strong and it surely needs some renovation for the safety of the visitors and the deity. Th sculptures are not arranged properly and these need to be kept in order.

There are hundreds of unidentified broken slaps and sculptures surrounded in the main premises of the temple.

There is a well which is quite deep in the premises as well as an office which is mostly closed.

The condition of the temple is just at the edge of being somehow existing but it surely needs some genuine fixations along with the presence of strong administration.

Chausath Yogini Temple, Morena

The Chausath Yogini Temple, Mitaoli is an 11th-century temple in Morena district in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Built 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.

The temple is located on a hill about 100 feet (30 m) in height; there are 100 steps to climb up to the entrance. It is circular with a radius of 170 feet (52 m),while inside it has 65 small chambers, each with a mandapa which is open and a facade of pilasters and pillars. The roof of the ring of shrines is flat, as is that of the central shrine to Shiva; the circular courtyard is hypaethral, open to the sky, with an open porch as its entrance. The parliament building of India is said to have been based on this temple.

The entrance of the main structure looks something like this. The picture on the left is the eye level view when one enters the temple through the small entrance shown as in the picture on the right. There is a single opening in the circular structure and it consists of a wooden door affixed at the gate. 

Upon entering it can be seen that it is externally circular in shape with a radius of 170 feet and within its interior part it has 65 small chambers. The outer circle represents the presence of the 65 yoginis out of which 64 are shivlings and the remaining one is of Devi. The inner shrine is also completely circular in structure, all the stone slabs are rectangular in shapes but placed in such a manner that it ultimately appears to be circular.

The 64 chambers look something like this, and most of them are of this structure. These look very identical in appearance, there is also a mention of serial nos. with a chalk probably done by a local or caretaker.

This particular chamber is present at the half of the sphere, and interestingly appears right behind the central shrine. Its design is different from the rest of the chambers but the structure is of exact size, the pillar if noticed has many small engravings designed, this is not found in other chambers. The structures are also broken, probably during the foreign invasions.

The pillars of this temple represent royal elements and their designs, with such pure majesticity it truly brings us back to the 11th century architecture. The structure is purely made of stone and engraved in such a manner that it holds the eye of the viewer. 

Within the main central shrine there are slab coverings which have perforations in them to drain rainwater to a large underground storage. The pipe lines from the roof leading the rain water to the storage are also visible.

This shrine is present exactly at the centre of the whole structure and is magnificently standing, there is a pair of stairs to reach the height of the raised structure. It only holds one main shrine with a wooden door, and is enclosed. According to experts and researchers the main garbhagriha should have been open to the sky but it was seen to be enclosed with a stone slab from the top.

Interestingly at the inner circle there is a shivling exposed open on the raised platform, though it has some cracks at the bottom, this outstands all other shivlings present in this temple, as it appears to be the biggest in size, and also the peculiar location of it makes it more intriguing. On entering the inner circle it appears to be on the right side. 

The main shrine of the temple appears to be inside this main chamber on the inner circle.

There are two shivlings present inside and a raised plinth behind them, the interior is of plain stone slab and does not have any engravings as such.

On the entrance there a wooden door opens into this enclosed chamber, and on the border walls there seems to be something written on ancient texts, but due to rapid changes of weather and many invasions the text appears partial.

It is believed that only a main poojari or a couple enters this shrine and performs the rituals, the size restricts many people from entering together.

Also there should not have been any enclosing from top of this chamber but supposedly the ASI body had kept it that way.

At the hilltop the temple structure appears to be circular, and a raised plinth with a staircase provides the entrance and exit of the temple as one. It is designed in such a way that no one can go behind the structure neither from left nor from right as it stands at the top of the hill. 

Before the entrance there is wide space and at a distance of around 20 metres there is another structure present with a raised platform.

The design of the temple has withstood earthquake shocks, without any damage to its circular structural features, in the past several centuries. The temple is in the Seismic Zone III.
Many of these curious visitors have compared this temple with the Indian parliament building (Sansad Bhawan) as both are circular in style. Many have drawn conclusions that this temple was the inspiration behind the Sansad Bhawan.

The distant structure appears like this, the main circular structure appears behind the raised platform. Thus is a west facing shrine and on the inside it appears to be empty.


The missing deity with ornaments is believed to be present in the ASI museum of Gwalior.

On noticing the doorway of this structure is presented with many small stone cuttings designed beautifully, it appears to be eye pleasing but on the inside as it appears to be empty there is no ritual performed. But the raised structure does not have any boundary or support as it is raised to a certain height and when on top of it certain precautions are to be taken.

The temple at evening has a magnificent view and it just takes away the senses, the beauty of it and the presence of the natural elements and its location all completely serves the purpose of such a powerful temple. 

Though the architecture of the temple appears to be unique, its making serves a greater purpose and not everyone can understand the rituals this temple is capable of. 

  The temple has a great scenic beauty from its hilltop. 

There were no evident caretakers or pandits in the temple, a watchman is seen at the main entrance gate of the hill, the gates close to entry at 5 pm. There are also some lights installed by ASI, but they do not light it up. There is also a local shop opposite the main gate of the temple.