A midst
the picturesque surroundings of Maikal mountains and dense forests, the perfect blend of
religious and erotic sculptures, the Bhoramdeo temple, is carved on the rocky stones in
the Nagar style. This temple was built in the period of 7th to 11th century A.D.
The Shiva Linga
in the temple is beautifully carved and the artistic appeal beckons the visitors. The
Bhoramdeo temple has a resemblance with the Sun temple of Konark and The Khajuraho temple
, and that is why it is also called the Khajuraho of Chhattisgarh. The “Madwa
Mahal” near the Bhoramdeo temple is another beautiful
historic monument, worth seeing. Just one km.
away from Bhoramdeo , Madwa Mahal is known as the memorial of the marriage of Nagwanshi
king and Haihawanshi Queen. ‘Madwa’ is a word from the local dialect synonymous
to marriage pandal.
Madwa Mahal was
originally a Shiv temple but due its shape, like a marriage shamiyana, it is known as
“Madwa Mahal”. It is also called Dullhadeo. Nagwanshi emperor Ramchandra Deo has
built it in 1349 A.D. The Shiva Linga is inside the ‘Garbha Grih’ and the
‘Mandap rests upon 16 pillars’.
The erogenous
idols of this temple are also extremely beautiful. On the outer walls there are as many as
54 erotic sculptures in different poses. These asanas from the “Kam sutra”, are
truly an epitome of eternal love and beauty. They are artistically significant too. The
Nagwanshi Kings were believed to be the practitioners of ‘Trantra’ as their
contemporaries in Khajuraho. The traces of turmeric on the walls, indicate that marriage
and other rituals must have been performed here from time to time.
Coming
back to the historic Bhoramdeo temple, in the backdrop of natural beauty, this temple is
also unique for its architecture. Cunnigham had termed it as one of the most beautifully
decorated temple seen by him.
The main temple
here has two parts. One is known as Ishtika made temple and the other is completely
stone-carved. The main Bhoramdeo temple is in front of
atranquil and cool lake. This medieval temple has been constructed upon a
five feet high sprawling platform including a ‘Mandap’(shelter) Antral(Passage)
and ‘Garbha Grih’(The main house of God). This east facing temple three openings
except in the west. In the 60 ft. x 40 ft. area of the temple the Mandap which is square shape having four
pillars in the centre and the rest are in periphery , associated with high roofs. There is
a half shelter also on every entrance. In the 9 x 9 sq. ft sized ‘Garbha Grih’ a
Shiva Linga’ is situated. The top of Grabha
Grih goes straight to the summit of the temple known as
the
”Kalash”. The east side Kalash is open in a circular form, probably to reduce
the weight and maintain the balance of the
structure. Near the entrance on the outer walls, the sculptures of Lord Vishnu and his
other incarnations can be seen, besides those of Shiva, Ganesha etc. The row of idols from
top to bottom have a size of one , one and half , and two feet height respectively The
bottom part of the temple has four structures to keep the main body of the temple intact braving adverse weather
condition. There are only four joints but no ‘kalash’ on the top of the same.
The idols of elephants and lions are queued up on the top give the temple a decorative look. The main idols in the temple are those of
Uma-Maheswar, Natraj , Narsimha , Vaman , Krishna, Surya , Kaal , Bhairava, Nritya Ganesh
, Kartikeya, Tandul, Shivgang, Chamunda, Ambika, Sapta-Matrika and Laxmi-Naryan. The
traces of 'Ram-Katha' are also engraved here in stones. Amidst a variety of idols the
carnal sculptures of the temple are known worldwide for their exquisite carving in
different erotic poses, obviously to reflect the lifestyle of those historic periods.In
the north of the temple, there is a brick structure temple, which has got a superbly
crafted series. On the North East and South
portions of the ‘Garbha Grih’ the right angled projections add attraction to the
site having big one in the middle and smaller
ones on the outer side.
The brick-Structured temple also has similar Garbha Grih, as in main temple but
there is no ‘Mandap’ in the front and only a open projected wall is there called
‘Allinda’. The top of this temple , too , is equal to the Bhoramdeo temple but
the peak is broken mid-way. The entrance of
the ‘Garbha Grih’ is completely stone-carved having one centre pillar and three
adjoining pillars still intact. Inside the main temple there are shiva Linga and idols of
Uma-Maheshwar. The king and queen are standing in the front as the worshippers.
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