Naresar
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Naresar is a small village with only about 100 inhabitants in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh . There are about 20 Hindu stone temples a short distance from the village .
location
The place is about 18 km (as the crow flies) in a north-easterly direction from Gwalior on an elongated, approx. 185 m high rock hill. The road towards Etawah is paved as far as the town of Baretha, which is about 20 km away , and from there an approx. 5 km long track meanders west and slightly uphill to Naresar.
The following route is recommended for hikers: buses or rickshaws from Gwalior in the direction of Etawah stop about 1 km behind a fenced airport area on request; north of the road is an elongated, almost 200 m high mountain range with a whitewashed and thus easily visible hermit temple approx. 2 km away - from there it is about 1.5 km in a north-easterly direction to Naresar. The temple site is another 1.5 km from the site and can only be reached on foot.
Probably because of their remote location, the temples of Naresar remained undestroyed during the time of the Islamic advance in northern India and are therefore relatively well preserved.
history
There are no written records of the history of the place, which was formerly called Naleshvara , and the temple. In view of the large number of temples ( mandira ), however, one must assume that it was a regionally important center of pilgrimage and pilgrimage in medieval times. It was probably hermit ascetics ( sadhus or rishis ) who withdrew to this remote but adequately watered place, lived in straw or brushwood huts, and thus formed the nucleus for the development of the pilgrimage site.
temple
Most temples face either east or west; only three temples deviate from these classic orientations. Most of the temples have a square cella; Open vestibules ( mandapas ) can only be seen in three early temples - the later ones have laterally closed portal porches ( antaralas ). The shape of the roofs evolves from pyramid roofs to Shikhara towers - both in corbel technique . None of the early temples have a ring-shaped keystone ( amalaka ). None of the temples have Jali windows; The cella is exposed and ventilated exclusively through the always open entrance portal, which in some cases is 'T' shaped - i.e. H. with a widened lintel beam over the door. Access to the temples is blocked by a stone threshold, which was supposed to protect the cella from penetrating water and vermin, but at the same time also has sovereign aspects.
The temples can be divided into three groups: The four 'sea temples' (6th / 7th centuries) form a group on a - partly natural, partly artificially dammed - temple pond , in which there is often water all year round. Four 'way temples' (7th century) form a further group at the entrance of the gorge and to the right of the path leading down on their own terrace. The 'gorge temples' (mostly 8th century) are about 300 m from the pond at the top of a gorge, in which a torrent or even a waterfall forms after heavy or prolonged rainfall. The element of water - synonymous with life-giving fertility - certainly played a major role in the choice of location and placement of the temples.
Sea temple
The four 'sea temples' stand in a row above the drainage level of the pond; Steps ( ghats ), both carved out of the rock and man-made, but mostly destroyed, lead to the water. The temple buildings are architecturally very simple - structural elements and figurative or ornamental building decor are largely dispensed with. However, three of them have a small vestibule ( mandapa ) resting on two pillars , whereby the vestibule and cella of a temple are covered by a common roof. The pyramidal roofs are tiered several times. Yogini figures with short inscriptions were found in two temples, indicating that the figures were made in the 12th century; the yogini sculptures are now in the Archaeological Museum of Gwalior. The temples themselves look very ancient and could also have been built in the 6th or 7th century.
Way temple
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Another group of four adjacent temples ('Wegtempel') is on the right of the path leading down the stairs on its own small terrace. All four temples consist of a square cella without a portico ( mandapa ) or porch ( antarala ); two have stepped pyramid roofs, the other two simple, easily articulated and curved Shikhara towers with no decoration or top. A subdivision of the outer walls or a niche decor cannot be seen. Structured and recessed portal walls are only rudimentary; the architectural decoration is limited to a few simple figure reliefs. A date to the 7th century is therefore likely.
Canyon Temple
The 'gorge temples' are on the other side of a bridge leading over the mostly dry stream and z. Some also side by side on several man-made terraces; for stylistic considerations they can be assigned to the early Pratihara period (1st half of the 8th century). Almost all of them have a square floor plan with a small, closed anteroom ( antarala ) in front . The outer walls are more structured than on the sea or path temples; the - mostly five-part ( pancharatha ) - outer wall structure is continued in the soaring Shikhara towers, which were originally crowned almost without exception by an amalaka keystone.
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- Temple No. 19
The rear part of Temple No. 19 ( Sitalesvara-Mandir ) is carved out of the rock; the much larger part of the building is made of stone. The entire Shikara tower was poorly reconstructed from fragments, the top is missing. The portal shows the two river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna in the base zone; The four-part portal wall contains a rich ornamentation, including small bells hanging on chains, which are still real in many Hindu temples and are rung by the believers when they enter. The lintel of the portal shows an architecture-like structure with the obligatory window niches ( chandrasalas ). Above it runs a decorative frieze made of small hanging garlands, which is led around the entire temple.
On both sides of the portal vestment there is an inscription that mentions the name Naleshvara , a designation probably referring to an epithet of Shiva , from which the name of the place may also be derived.
- Temple # 20
The cella of temple no.20 ( Devi-Mandir ) is not square, but exceptionally rectangular and closes at the top - consequently and in contrast to all other temples of the main group - with a transverse stone end beam, as it is only a few years later on Teli-ka-Mandir takes place in Gwalior. There are four niches with portraits of gods ( Ganesha , Parvati , Surya and Vishnu ) in the outer walls, which are divided into several sections, but are essentially stone-transparent . The portal garments show the obligatory Ganga and Yamuna figures accompanied by guards and servants in the base zone; above it music-making and dancing ganas . In the middle of the crash bar (Lintel) there is a - already badly destroyed - Garuda figure, above which the 'heavenly beings' hold a crown and decorative garlands.
- Temple No. 23
Temple No. 23 (Durga Temple, Mata-ka-Mandir ) is elevated and can be reached by stairs. Of all the temples, it is the best preserved and is still used for cult purposes. He also has a preferred entrance area ( antarala ); Its tower structure shows in the middle register the decorative panels ( udgamas ) common for the Pratihara style, consisting of small window niches ( chandrasalas ) placed one above the other with a large false window in the middle and an amalaka keystone at the top. The cella contains an image of the goddess Durga as a buffalo slayer ( mahisasurmardini ).
meaning
What is special about the temple group (s) of Naresar is their unusual location in rocky terrain and on several man-made terraces. The temples, mostly built in the 7th and 8th centuries, are early examples of the Central Indian Pratihara style and provide comparative insights into the development of North Indian temple architecture during this period.
See also
literature
- RD Trivedi: Temples of the Pratihara Period in Central India. Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi 1990, p. 47ff
- Michael W. Meister, MA Dhaky (Ed.): Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture. North India - Period of Early Maturity. Princeton University Press, Princeton 1991, pp. 5ff ISBN 0-691-04094-X
Web links
- Naresar - photos + text ( ASI , engl.)
- Naresar - short video (span.)
Coordinates: 26 ° 21 '44 " N , 78 ° 15' 36" E