Udaipur - Vishnu Mandir Group

In the wide spectrum of religious life of Tripura, the holy temple groups, like Hari temple, Jagannath temple, Lakshminarayan temple take pride of place and furnish adequate proof of the architectural patterns and sculptural styles existing in the seventeenth century, when they were erected by the theist kings. The archeological findings reveal that the temple construction was influenced by the trends of Muslims and Jains, as evidenced by the existence of minarets and stupas predominating the entire structures. This harmonious blend, of course, reflects the religious tolerance of the rulers, and deemed the greatest contribution of Tripura to the history of Indian architecture. The construction began in the later part of 15th century under the patronage of Maanikya kings and ended in the 18th century. And most of them are in and around Udaipura, the then capital of Tripura, and they can be classified into Char-Chala stupa sirsha and three-storeyed temples. Among them, Hari mandir and Jagannath mandir deserve space here though they are in ruins. Their well preserved state highlights certain basic facts.

The Vishnu temple, or Hari mandir as it is called popularly faces fast. The main edifice stands on the brick paved vast walled courtyard and possesses a porch, ambulatory path and garbhagriha. Its torana is surmounted by dochala roof. The garbha griha is square shaped but converted into a circle towards the top. Although fallen, it gives a clear picture of construction with all parts well preserved.

The Jagannath temple regarded as the most important monument of Tripura was built of stone, yet shares all the feature of brick temples. The sanctum has a square base but like the Vishnu temple converted into a circle at the top to form the inner vault with a series of eight arches. The niches are bereft of images. It was built by Jagannatha Deva in 1661 and was dedicated to Vishnu. The Lakshmi Narayana temple furnishes more details regarding the process of erection of roof and adornments. As many parts are not traceable, exactitude in anything evades full description. The temple faces west and is provided with staircase. It is exquisitely decorated and possesses all essential parts.

They are accessible by bus from Udaipura or Tripura, the capital of the state of same name commanding all types of transport facilities.

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