Kunda (Madhya Pradesh)
| Kunda | |||
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| State : |
 India
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| State : | Madhya Pradesh | ||
| District : | Jabalpur | ||
| Sub-district : | Bahuri ribbon | ||
| Location : | 23 ° 43 ′ N , 80 ° 8 ′ E | ||
| Height : | 450 m | ||
| Area : | 4.14 km² | ||
| Residents : | 1,508 (2011) | ||
| Population density : | 364 inhabitants / km² | ||
Gupta-Tempel.jpg) |
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Kunda is a village with a population of around 1,700 in the south of the historically significant Bundelkhand region in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh . At the edge of the village - surrounded by fields - is one of the smallest and oldest temples in India.
location
The village of Kunda is located about 8 km northeast of Bahuriband ( Jabalpur district ) and about 5 km east of the archaeologically significant site of Tigawa at an altitude of about 450 m .
Population development
| year | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 |
| Residents | ?? | 1,294 | 1,508 |
The vast majority of the villagers are Hindus . The male part of the population only exceeds the female population by about 5%. One speaks Hindi or Bundeli .
economy
The inhabitants of the village live - largely as self-sufficient - almost exclusively from agriculture.
Attractions
The Shankara Madha Temple is a simple village temple from the Gupta period (around 420). Its structure, which consists only of the actual cella ( garbhagriha ), is not structured and has a flat ceiling. The almost square cella has sides of approx. 3.30 m (outside) and approx. 1.50 m (inside); the windowless outer walls are therefore extremely massive. A - possibly wood-covered - vestibule ( mandapa ) could have been added at a later time - the stump of the pillars in line with the left outer wall in front of the temple could indicate this. The simple building has no figurative or decorative architectural decorations; however, the processing of the stones used for construction is extremely precise. Inside is a Shiva - lingam .
- Surroundings
- About 5 km to the west is the formerly important pilgrimage site of Tigawa with the Kankali Devi temple, also from the Gupta period . It can be assumed that both temples were built around the same time and by the same stone masons.
- In the village of Bahuriband there is a Jain temple with a monolithic Shantinatha figure about 8 m high .
literature
- Michael W. Meister u. a. (Ed.): Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture. North India - Foundations of North Indian Style. Princeton University Press, Princeton 1988, ISBN 0-691-04053-2 , p. 35.