__NOTOC__
Sasbahu Temple, also called the Sas-Bahu Mandir, Sas-Bahu Temples, Sahasrabahu Temple or Harisadanam temple, is an 11th-century twin temple in
Gwalior
Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...
,
Madhya Pradesh, India
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second la ...
.
Near the
Gwalior Fort
The Gwalior Fort commonly known as the ''Gwāliiyar Qila'', is a hill fort near Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India. The fort has existed at least since the 10th century, and the inscriptions and monuments found within what is now the fort campus ind ...
and dedicated to
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
in his Padmanabha form, like most Hindu and
Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
temples in this region, it is mostly in ruins and was badly damaged from numerous invasions and Hindu-
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
wars in the region.
It was built in 1093 by King Mahipala of the
Kachchhapaghata dynasty, according to an inscription found in the larger of the twin temple. The twin temples are situated in the Gwalior Fort.
The temple's tower and sanctum has been destroyed, but its architecture and damaged carvings can still be appreciated from the ruins. The ''jagati'' platform is long and wide, on a square plan.
The temple was three-storeyed, which was one of its distinguishing features and sophistication. It followed a central cluster concept, states Adam Hardy.
[Adam Hardy (2002)]
Śekharī Temples
Artibus Asiae, Vol. 62, No. 1 (2002), pp. 81-137 The surviving elements of the temple are the entrance porch and the mandapa.
According to James Harle, though the ''prasada'' (tower, spire) no longer exists, the triple storey plan with a cruciform foundation and balconies suggests that it had a North Indian
Bhumija
Bhumija is a variety of north Indian temple architecture marked by how the rotating square-circle principle is applied to construct the ''shikhara'' (superstructure or spire) on top of the sanctum. Invented about the 10th-century in the Malwa regi ...
style architecture. This style, states Harle, is marked by a well proportioned superstructure, its "regularly arranged little subordinate sikharas strung out like gigantic beaded garlands".
![Saasbahu Hindu temples plan Gwalior Madhya Pradesh India](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Saasbahu_Hindu_temples_plan_Gwalior_Madhya_Pradesh_India.jpg)
This temple mainly has three entrances from three different directions. In the fourth direction, there is a room which is currently closed. The entire temple is covered with carvings, notably 4 idols of
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
,
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
and
Saraswati
Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati.
The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a go ...
above its entrance door. The pillar carvings show
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
, Shaivism and Shaktism related carvings. The larger temple ornamentation covers all the exterior walls and all surviving interior surfaces.
The twin temple, like elsewhere in India, has locally been called ''Sasbahu temple''. The word Sasbahu means "mother-in-law, bride" or "a mother with her daughter-in-law", an association that implies their being together and interdependent. The Sas temple is typically the larger older temple of the twin. The Gwalior Sasbahu temple follows this style, but both temples are dedicated to Vishnu. Only the Sas temple has survived in some form, the Bahu temple is a shell structure of the original one storey with a highly ornate door frame and its defaced wall reliefs surviving.
The remnants of the Bahu temple at Gwalior suggest that it may have been a smaller version of the Saas temple.
The Sas temple has a square sanctum attached to a rectangular two storey antarala and a closed three storey mandapa with three entrances. The temple main entrance porch has four carved ''Ruchaka ghatapallava''-style pillars that are load-bearing. The walls and lintels are intricately carved, though much defaced. On the lintel of the entrances, friezes of
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
-leela scenes are carved inside, while the outer side narrate legends from other Hindu texts. Above the lintel is ''
Garuda
Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is a ...
'', the vahana of Vishnu.
[Gwalior Fort: Gwalior]
ASI Bhopal Circle, Government of India
The Bahu temple also has a square sanctum with side, with four central pillars. Its ''maha-mandapa'' is also a square with side, with twelve pillars.
[ The temple, like most Malwa and Rajputana historic temples, provides multiple entrances to the devotee. The roof consists of two rotated squares that intersect to form an octagon capped by successive overlapping circles. The pillars have octagonal bases as well, with girls carved but these have been defaced and mutilated. The sanctum has an image of damaged Vishnu, next to whom stands Brahma holding the Vedas on one side and Shiva holding the trident on the other side.][Sas-bahu Mandir]
A Cunningham, pages 361-362
Gallery
;Saas temple (bigger)
File:11th century Saas Bahu mandir, Vishnu Hindu temple Gwalior fort.jpg, The larger of the twin temple
File:Saas-Bahu temple (16134920660).jpg, Adhisthana and stambha designs in the Sas temple
File:Saas-Bahu temple (15702423083).jpg, Wall reliefs on the outer wall of Saas temple (defaced)
File:Saas-Bahu temple (16134913670).jpg, Damaged friezes
;Bahu temple (smaller)
File:Sas Bahu Ka Mandir Fort Gwalior - panoramio - Gyanendrasinghchauha… (1).jpg, The smaller of the twin temple
File:The Bahu temple in the Gwalior Fort.JPG, The lower level sculptures are defaced, some upper level survive
File:Small Sas Bahu temple, Gwalior Fort..jpg, The temple in 1885
File:Saas-Bahu temple (16321376002).jpg, The mandapa entrance pillar carvings of women (defaced)
Artwork
File:India-7375 - Flickr - archer10 (Dennis).jpg, Vandalized artwork. From left: Amorous couple, man with flute, woman with veena
The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.< ...
, man.
File:10th century Sahasra Bahu Hindu temple, carving, Nagda near Udaipur Rajasthan 2015.jpg, Scene with a row of couples surrounded by rows of musicians.
See also
*Siddhachal Caves
Siddhachal Caves are Jain cave monuments and statues carved into the rock face inside the Urvashi valley of the Gwalior Fort in northern Madhya Pradesh, India. There are the most visited among the five groups of Jain rock carvings on the Gwalior F ...
*Telika Mandir
Teli ka Mandir, also known as Telika Temple, is a Hindu temple located within the Gwalior Fort in Madhya Pradesh, India. Dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Matrikas, it has been variously dated between the early 8th and early 9th century CE.
It is an ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*Dehejia, V. (1997). ''Indian Art''. Phaidon: London. .
*
*
*
*Harle, J.C., ''The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent'', 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art,
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{Gwalior topics
Buildings and structures in Gwalior
Temples in Madhya Pradesh
Tourist attractions in Gwalior