| Temples & Legends Of Bengal |
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| Temples & Legends Of India |
THE TEMPLES IN BANKURA |
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| Vaishnavism had
swept the district in the 17th century and this explains a large number of temples
dedicated to Krishna and Radhika in the district particularly outside Bishnupur. The
author of Bankurar Mandir discovered one of the fine images of Vishnu in the anantashayan
pose and this has been preserved in a local museum at Bankura. The image of Vishnu
in this anantashayan pose is extremely rare in Bengal. The temples of Bankura district are of different types. There are some, which are essentially indigenous to Bengal and could be described as "Bangla Mandir", "Panchratna" and "Chala Mandirs" is essentially indigenous to Bengal and would come under the Bangla Mandir group. Others are of Nagara type more common in Northern India. The influence of Orissa is very clear on a number of temples in Bankura district. This is not unexpected as this district provided the road for going to Jagannath (Puri). There is number of Rekha temples in Bankura district and they all follow closely the Rekha type of temples in Orissa. The famous Siva temples at Bahulara, Dihar, Dharapat, Harmasrah, Ghutgariah and Sonatopal and Dihar are considered to be of pre-Muslim time while the other temples are post-Muslim in age.4 4 Bankurar Mandir by Amiya Kumar Bandopadhyaya, p. 90. |
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| About Temples In Bankura | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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