Nīlakaṇṭheśvara temple, Udaypur, Madhya Pradesh

The Nīlakaṇṭheśvara temple, Udaypur is a large medieval temple dedicated to Śiva in the town of Udaypur, Madhya Pradesh. The temple is a Protected Monument of National Importance under the Archaeological Survey of India, number N-MP-289 in the List of Monuments of National Importance in Madhya Pradesh/East. The temple, also known as the Udayeśvara, was built by king Udayaditya (circa 1070–1093 CE) in the second half of the eleventh century. It is the only surviving royal temple of the Paramara kings.

Nīlakaṇṭheśvara temple at Udaypur, Madhya Pradesh, from the west, as documented in 1982.

Dedicatory inscription of the Nīlakaṇṭheśvara temple, inscribed on a lintel in the entrance porch, dated VS 1137.

Udaypur
Town
Udaypur Location in Madhya Pradesh, India
Coordinates: 23.900177°N 78.056655°E / 23.900177; 78.056655
Country	India
State	Madhya Pradesh
District	Vidisha
Languages
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	464221
Telephone code	91-7594
Vehicle registration	MP-40

Dedicatory Inscription

An inscription in the eastern porch records the building of the temple in Vikrama Saṃvat 1137 or 1080-81 CE.^[1]

The translation of the text is as follows:

Left half:

From every quarter, O King, we recite the Veda that is primordial and the bestower of siddhis, so that the lord of the earth, Udayāditya, may bring the earth under a single umbrella. Upon his head the earth prospers, thus he is renowned as the Earth-Bearer.

At the sun’s passage (into another zodiac?). This is the verse of Paṇḍita Mahīpāla, son of Paṇḍita Gṛhavāsa. Saṃvat 1137 on the bright fortnight of Vaiśākha. Completion of the raising of the flag of Śrī Udayeśvaradeva. May there be auspiciousness! May there be great fortune!

Right half:

It was the celebrated one who has no superior, the Self-Born (Śiva), who ordained that the city, lord, ocean, etc. of the lord of the earth, Udayāditya, have the epithet ‘Udaya’. What is the use of many other Vedas? What is the use of many other hymns of praise? Extol the Veda that has but one ruler; it grants success in all things. The verses were engraved by sūtradhāra Dhīradev, brother of the illustrious Madhusūdana. May there be auspiciousness! May there be great fortune!

Annex below: These verses—engraved by sūtradhāra Dhīradev and composed by Paṇḍita Śrī Mahīpāla—are fit for all things.

Architecture

Although of the same date as some of the buildings at Khajuraho, architecturally speaking, the temple spire belongs to a class known as bhūmija, or 'earth born,' a mode of temple construction that originated in the Mālwa region.^[2] Other temples of this type are found at Nemawar and Un (Khargone district).

Iconography

The complex Śaiva iconography of the temple was studied by Doria Tichit.^[3] Subsequently a detailed analysis was prepared by Anupa Pande and published in 2018.^[4] In 2023, Saurabh Saxena published an richly-illustrated study in Puratattva, accessible online.^[5]

Nīlakaṇṭheśvara temple, exterior of the sanctum showing mouldings and niches with Śaiva deities, as documented in 1982.

Votive and Pilgrim Inscriptions

Nīlakaṇṭheśvara temple, sample of the votive and pilgrim inscriptions inside the eastern entrance.

Nīlakaṇṭheśvara temple, eastern entrance porch, engraved with a host of pilgrim and votive records.

The temple is unique in north India for the many inscriptions on and in the building, with a particular concentration being found in the eastern entrance. In addition to the consecration record, located on a lintel on the left (south side) of the porch and dated Vikrama year 1137 or 1080-81 CE in the time of Udayāditya, the porch carries more than sixty votive records.^[6] Not yet studied in a systematic fashion, these form a continuous sequence from the time of the Paramāras – Devapāla (circa 1218–39 CE) is mentioned – through the period of the Tughluq dynasty, the Mughals and their successors.

An early votive record from the time of the Tughluqs is dated Vikrama year 1394 (1323-24 CE) and records the homage paid by two brahamins named Mādhava and Keśava. It is engraved on the sculpture of an elephant just inside the entrance (see figures). Another important inscription, documenting the co-existence Hindu and Muslim religious activities at the site, mentions a festival (yātrā) of the god Udaleśvara in 1338, the same year as the Tughluq inscription recording the construction of the mosque in the temple precinct.^[7] For the Tugluq inscription, see Tughluq Shāhī mosque, Udaypur, Madhya Pradesh. Udaleśvara is a local spelling of Udayeśvara, the main deity in the temple, named eponymously after the Paramāra king Udayāditya.^[8]

References

1. "Foundation record of the Udayesvara temple". SIDDHAM: the Asia Inscriptions Database. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
2. Krishna Deva, "Bhumija Temples," in Studies in Indian Temple Architecture, ed. P. Chandra (Delhi: AIIS, 1975): 90-113; Adam Hardy, Theory and Practice of Temple Architecture in Medieval India: Bhoja's Samarānganasūtradhāra and the Bhojpur Line Drawings, with translations by Mattia Salvini (New Delhi: IGNCA, 2015)
3. Doria Tichit, "Le programme iconographique du temple d’Udayeśvara à Udayapur, Madhya Pradesh, XIe siècle," Arts asiatiques 67, no. 1 (2012): 3-18. Available online: http://www.persee.fr/doc/arasi_0004-3958_2012_num_67_1_1770.
4. Anupa Pande, The Udayeśvara Temple : Art, Architecture and Philosophy of the Śaiva Siddhānta. (Delhi: Aryan Books International, 2018).
5. Saurabh Saxena, "Udaipur – Epoch of Parmara Architecture," Puratattva 08 September 2023, online at https://puratattva.in/udaypur-epoch-of-parmara-architecture/. Retrieved February 2024.
6. The records are listed in Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy (1961-62), section C, nos. 1611-1677. For the dedication inscription, see Nīlakaṇṭheśvara temple, Udaypur, Madhya Pradesh.
7. Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy (1961-62), section C, no. 1625.
8. The eponymous naming of temple deities is explained in M. Willis, The Archaeology of Hindu Ritual (Cambridge: University Press, 2014; first published 2009), pp. 137-40.