MADAN MOHAN TEMPLE OF BISHNUPUR

An oeuvre of the delicate wall reliefs from Madan Mohan temple of Bishnupur

The imposing facade of Madan Mohan temple.Wall-reliefs of identical size adorn the entire surface of the temple.

Madan Mohan temple is one of the finest  terra cotta temples built by  the Malla dynasty of Bishnupur . It was built by Durjana Singh Deva in 1694 AD  and was used for worshiping the royal family's 'griha-devata' .  The temple can be called a classic 'Ek-ratna' temple - I was awed by the sense of proportion.The large 'Nata Mandir' on the south makes photography of the entire facade a little difficult. Yet the 10.7 m tall and 12.2 m wide temple create a very imposing impression .


Very noteworthy are the work on the three pillars too - fluidity of movement of Krsna and  the iconic scene from 'Nouka Khanda'. Seduction of Radha was often an inspiration to the artists of terra cotta panels .  

A section of the wall - reliefs.

I felt that  the  Shyama-Raya, Jor-Bangla and Madan Mohan temples were very  carefully planned - each has an unique visual appeal, an individual character. I have visited numerous terra cotta temples of West Bengal, seen many photographs and read dozens of books and articles on the same. I am yet to come across any critique on the criteria  of aesthetically proportioned temple structure. If any reader can help me in this matter, I shall request him/her to leave a 'comment' on this page....Coming back to Madan Mohan temple, one will find Krsnaleela and dance are the high points of this temple. Also famous is the series of swans . Very watchable are the processions of cows and swans too, much like the 'Ganas' of the cave temples of Badami.

The pillars of the arches are , as expected, are beautifully decorated. The very 1st 'NabaNaareeKunjar' can be found on 'Jor-Bangla' temple - but, the one in this temple is more famous. Please view my blog on this human composite in  http://hubpages.com/hub/icon_ttob_2.  

Those who keenly follow the 'Krsna Leelaa'  wall -reliefs on terra cotta temples, based on Vaisnavite themes, will find that  while creating these panels, the artists have tried to introduce variations. Two 'Nouka Khanda' wall-reliefs at Jor-Bangla and Madan Mohan temples stand out  for their beauty.

Two stages of seduction of Radha. On the RH, Krsna is seen seducing Radha. 

He embraces Radha on the LH side as a Gopini , while rowing, shuts her eyes !

Central pillar - beautifully crafted. 

As lyrical as  writings of  Vidyapati - Candidas 

Dancers and swans run across the length of the temple.

 I suggest the tourists never may not fail capture the panels in their camera.

LOVERS & ONLOOKERS - 'DROLL STORIES' in TEMPLES OF SRIBATI

Social scenes from terra cotta temples  - I : A kaleidoscope of human emotions

An onlooker indeed !The other 'peeping out' panel I have come across is 
in the hexagonal temple @ Ilambazar,Dt _ Birbhum.

Now is the time to look into the social scenes of terra cotta temples - so much about these panels have been written by Zulekha Haque ( photo of the cover of the book  titled 'Terracotta Decorations of Late Medieval  Bengal - Portrayal of a society' not avaible in the Internet. Refer to : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Terracotta-decorations-late-medieval-Bengal/dp/B0000EE2RP/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1284332934&sr=1-2 ) and David McCuchion.

Refer - http://www.amazon.com/Brick-Temples-Bengal-Archives-McCutchion/dp/0691040109

Sribati is avillage 15 km off  the road connecting Calcutta with Katwa.One can reach these temples by car or train/bus - vide my friend Rangan Dutta's article in the Telegraph - http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8929322336097938925.

You will find about these temples' history from Rangan's article. I shall go direcly into the specifics of my subject.The three temple of Sribati are smaller than many of the more famous of this genre - but, what I enjoyed in these temples was is the quality of story-telling I have come across not many times.

Return of the prodigal.The king wipes the tear  from the face of the queen he left behind years ago.

The onlookers have not been placed correctly on this panel - they should have been placed on the right side.

I read about a folk-tale about a  king marrying twice. The second marriage took place when he wandered away to another place .The pining and devotion of the  1st wife  forms a large of the story. The story also describes how she tharted the advance of a local powerful man to entice her to his bed. The king returns after a long time with his second wife t his kingdom. While I was going through the photos I took in the temple, I realised this panel tells the story of the return of the prodigal.

At a courtesans' boudoir.

The other panel I fell in love with depicts  a courtesns' place.  The courtesan on the lefthand side has been wooed by a man while the unsuccessful  bidder looks stands grumpily.The third courtesan is enjoying the process of wooing. The couple in the extreme  righthand corner of this  panel is engaged in a close embrace , oblivious of the people around. All these characters are placed on a very ornate band of abstract motifs.

Resting after the act ?

The above panel was not easy to find......it was nearly hidden under the cobwebs and dust. The features of the man and his lover have been ravaged by weather. The postures -  the woman staring at the face of her lover while her head rests on his lap and the lover's hand touches the thigh of the woman - is very sensuous.No onlookers here - the couple rest in privacy

I end with a panel showing an elderly couple on the bed. We see their faces and upper torsos resting on big pillows, the man trying to caress the face of his old lover,partly undressed, her face shows reluctance to be drawn to the act !

The reluctant partner.

When my wife Ruby I were ending taking photographs, the sun was at the western horizon.A panel on boats caught my notive.... but light was not satisfactory. When I 'photoshopped' the panel, I found a 'story' emerged from the same. Look at the postures of the boatmen -  don't you think they are sharing  'droll stories' ?

What are the 'naughty' stories these whispering boatmen are sharing  ?

Is he reluctant  or afraid that his wife will wake up to catch them  ?

This is a funny situation. The apparently pious husband is being wooed by a very much decked up woman, while his wife is asleep. He appears to be reluctant. Whether it is because he does not want his wife to discover  his  infiedelity or he is genuilely pious and monogamous is left to the imagination of the viewer .

TIMELINE OF SIX BEAUTIES AMONG TERRA COTTA TEMPLES

Those lovely temples......not easy to choose the 'beauties' !


I am very late in starting my 3rd Blog, for the simple reason I could not decide what the 3rd blog would be about.Will it be a blog containing   a selection of wall panels with descriptions  or the Timeline ? Finally, I decided on the Timeline.... and the reader  may kindly excuse me for the error in spelling of 'Raja Ramanath Roy - one of the two patrons of Kantaji's temple.

The hesitation I had is not only because of the problem of editing an 'Excel saved-as Jpeg' file. I was wondering if I am being fare to Pratapeswar temple of Kalna and the cluster of temples of Baronagar.Well, it is very difficult to decide. Eventually, I decided to publish the Timeline I prepared 2+ years ago. It is here :

Tmeline contains temples' photos,Patrons' names and respective years of constructuin.
Please click on this Timeline for having a larger view on your monitor. 

If a person wants to cover all these temples, except for the one in Bangladesh, with her/his hub in Calcutta, s/he must have  atleeast 4 full days in her/his disposal. At least 2 days for Bishnupur and 1 day each for Antpur and Bansberia.

At  and around,Bishnupur, there are more than 3 temples worth visiting plus a very nice , though small, museum which has a very helpful Curator. Mr Chittaranan Dasgupta , a well known figure among Bishupur terra cotta's historians , often cones to the museum in the afternoon - one can visit the temple at Kotalpur       ( different from a village of the same name from in Bankura district). Ditto about Antpur. One word of warning - Photography @ Bishnupur Museum is not allowed . Couple of years ago, I found getting permission for photography at  RadhaGovindjiu's temple at Antpur was difficult too . But, for a serious student of Hindu Iconography, these temples offer rich reward.

Before I close this blog, I would like  to mention  a few specialities of Pratapeswar temple and the cluster at Baronagar. Pratapeswar temple is a Deul type construction , with a distinct style of art.The social scenes stamd out.Baronagar temples' cluster offer a grand display of mythology  and social scenes. More on these temples in later blogs.