The visit
to this Bhojeshwar Mahadev Temple, one of the UNESCO, World Heritage Sites
(Sites on the Tentative list), Bhojpur, was a part of the “Bhopal, Udayagiri
Rock Cut Caves, Bhimbetka Rock Shelters, Sanchi, Bhojpur, and Khajuraho – of
Madhya Pradesh Heritage Walk” organized by the எண்திசை வரலாற்று மரபுநடைக்குழு, between 25th and 28th December 2024. Visited 2nd time to this temple for the second time, as a part of “Magnificent Madhya Pradesh Yatra - Bhopal / Indore / Mandu / Maheswar / Ujjain”, from Nov 23 to Nov 29, 2025, organised by Mantra Yathra. Thanks to Mr Balaji Davey and his team of Mantra Yatra (website).
HISTORY, SIVA TEMPLE, BHOJPUR.
The temple stands magnificently over the rocky outcrop on the right bank of the river Betwa (ancient Betrouveti). It is about 32
km southeast of Bhopal. This unique but incomplete temple, for some unknown
reason, is ascribed to the illustrious King Bhojdeva (1010 – 1055 CE), Paramara
dynasty of central India, who was a great patron of art, architecture, and
learning. The King Bhojdeva was a renowned author who wrote more than eleven
books, of which Samarangana-Sutradhara, a treatise on architecture, is the most
important.
There is no written evidence of why the temple remained incomplete; only assumptions have been made. Probably, the king died while the construction was still not completed, or King Bhojadev was involved in warfare, causing a lack of funds and manpower.
What we inherited is incredible. In a world scenario, this heritage is evident proof of contemporary construction techniques and methods.
ARCHITECTURE
This lofty West-facing temple is raised on a 106
ft. long, 77 ft. wide, and 17 ft. high platform. The incomplete Sikhara of the
Garbhagriha (Sanctum) is supported on four colossal pillars and twelve
pilasters rising to 40 ft. The sanctum is square on plan and
enshrines a polished Siva-linga. The door-jambs of the sanctum are carved with
figures of the river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna on either side. The bracket capitals of four massive pillars are portrayed with figures of Uma-Maheswar, Lakshmi
Narayan, Brahma-Savitri, and Sita-Ram. Externally, the temple is bereft of any
ornamentation except for the front façade. The balconies on the three facades, although they do not have any functional use, break the monotony of the plain walls.
Probably, these balconies once accommodated deities of the Saiva family, which are now scattered around the temple.
The Siva temple has a garbhagriha and a jagti (the
platform). A great-sized lingam enshrined in the garbhagriha. Garbhagriha is in the plan, a simple square with an exterior dimension of 19.8 meters approximately.
Inside, four massive columns, with double capital (total 11.30 meters high),
support an incomplete but magnificent corbeled ceiling.
The doorway is very high, and its dwarshakha
(doorjamb) is adorned with sculptures.
The walls are approximately 3.30 meters wide and
comparatively plain. Three bands at regular intervals on the wall and blind
ornamented pillared balconies on three sides of the garbagriha also relieve the
monotony of the soaring walls. The ambulatory path surrounding the garbhagriha
is not provided, so it is a nirandhara style of Temple.
The platform in front of the garbhagriha is rectangular
in shape. It has devakoshata and niches on the side walls. There are some
Samadhis of 18-19th centuries of the Gosai constructed on the temple platform.
The steps lead to the platform. The temple was
never completed. It is difficult to surmise the features of the complete temple based on the extant portion. On the available evidence, it is a temple
SPECIAL FEATURES:
It is exhilarating to know that the Sivalinga, with
its Yonipitha rising to a height of 22 ft., is one of the tallest and grandest
in the world. The huge Yonipitha made of a single block of stone broke into two
pieces when a large stone from the ceiling fell down on it. Thus, the
temple remained with a broken Yonipitha and a ceiling open to the sky for
centuries. Later on, the Yonipitha was meticulously joined together, and
the opening of the ceiling was covered with a fiberglass sheet decorated
with an inverted lotus flower, which is exactly like the original architecture
remains of the roof.
The temple survives with a ramp on its back side, which was used for the transportation of large stones to raise the height
of the temple during construction. Nowhere else in the world, ancient building
technology of lifting large-sized stone architecture members to the top of the
structure is extant. The fact that the builders of the temple raised stone
as large as 35 x 5 x 5 ft. and weighed about 70 tonnes to the temple top could
have remained a mystery had this ramp not in existence.
Again, nowhere else, detailed line drawings of the
temple, such as plan, elevation, pillars and pilasters, sikhara, and kalasa have
been engraved as stencils on the rock surface. It speaks that before building
the temple plan and elevation were engraved on the rock.
The process of construction of the temple was at
its peak when it was abandoned, which is a subject of research. A bird's eye view
of the site will tell that the temple remained incomplete. The workers stopped
working midway. The stones quarried in different stages of completion are lying
scattered at the site. Semi-carved architectural members are located in the close
vicinity of the temple, and the ramp is still in place; all these points support
the notion that the project was not completed. Everything came to a standstill, and the construction was never resumed But for the conservation taken up by the Archaeological Survey of India. The presence of ramp engraving on the rock and the
grand Sivalinga enshrined in the sanctum makes it an unsurpassed heritage of
mankind.
Inscription- the name of the sculptor
MYTHOLOGY/LEGENDS
Locally, several folklores are prevalent in
this area. According to folklore, this temple was built by the Pandavas during
their exile. Some people even claimed that Kunti had left Karna somewhere here
along the bank of the river Betwa.
According to folklore, Raja Bhoja was suffering
from leprosy. To get rid of this, he was advised by a sage to gather water from nine rivers and nineteen streams and to take a bath accordingly. Raja Bhoja
constructed a vast lake.
According to another folklore, Raja Bhoja created
the lake by restraining waters from 365 streams.
Ref
Archaeological Survey of India Display board.
LOCATION OF THE TEMPLE: CLICK HERE
--- OM SHIVAYA NAMA ---
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