Menal
| Menal मेनाल |
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| State : |
 India
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| State : | Rajasthan | ||
| District : | Chittorgarh | ||
| Sub-district : | Begun | ||
| Location : | 25 ° 6 ′ N , 75 ° 10 ′ E | ||
| Height : | 512 m | ||
| Area : | 23.14 km² | ||
| Residents : | 356 (2011) | ||
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Menal (Hindi: मेनाल) is a small town with about 350 inhabitants in the Chittorgarh district in the southeast of the Indian state of Rajasthan . It is known for a wall-girded Hindu temple complex from the 8th to 11th centuries , consecrated to the god Shiva .
location
Menal is located in a wooded area near a 100 m deep gorge with a waterfall at a height of approx. 512 m above sea level , which is only active in the monsoon season or after heavy rainfall. d. M. The place is about halfway (each about 85 km driving distance) between the cities of Chittorgarh and Kota .
population
The inhabitants of the place are mostly Hindus . As is common in northern India, the male population exceeds the female population by approx. 20%, which can be due to work-related reasons in addition to the frequent abortions of female fetuses .
economy
The inhabitants of the place mostly live from agriculture. In the Middle Ages, numerous pilgrims came and visited the temple complex. Since the last decades of the 20th century tourism has been added as a source of income.
history
Little is known about the history of the place. Several small temples were built as early as the early 8th century, including a double temple for Ganesh and Gauri (= Parvati or Durga ) with small vestibules ( mandapas ) . Around the middle of the 11th century, the Chahamana ruler Someshvar and his wife Suhavadeva built the great Shiva temple. Around the same time, a third was built between the two small temples mentioned. A rock inscription near the nearby town of Bijolia mentions Menal as an important Shiva shrine. Islamic attacks resulted in the 12./13. Century to severe destruction, of which the main temple was largely spared.
Attractions
- The surviving parts of the early temples are of extremely good craftsmanship quality: several pillars that have survived show rich figural and vegetable ornamentation, in which the lucky motifs of the kalasha jugs play a special role. The Shikhara towers of the two outer temples are largely destroyed; that of the middle temple was renewed.
- The architecture of the Mahanaleshvara Temple, which was built in the mature 11th century North Indian Nagara style and consecrated to the Hindu god Shiva , differs significantly from that of the early temples: a vestibule richly structured inside and out, adorned with figures of gods and covered by a stepped pyramid roof ( mandapa ) leads to the actual cella ( garbhagriha ) , which is enclosed by a colonnade (pradakshinapatha) and raised by a high Shikhara tower with an amalaka ring stone and a renewed kalasha top, accompanied by small turrets ( urushringas ) . In front of the temple there is a small Nandi shrine for Shiva's companion animal ( vahana ) .
- Next to the main temple is a free-standing torana gate.
literature
- Michael W. Meister, MA Dhaky (Ed.): Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture. North India - Period of Early Maturity (approx AD 700–900). Princeton University Press 1991, ISBN 0-8122-7840-2 , pp. 616ff.
Web links
- Menal - Infos (Jatland Wiki, English)
- Menal - Photo + Info ( ASI , English)
- Menal - Photos and brief information (English)
- Menal - Photos and brief information (English)
- Menal - video