Jatar Deul is located in district South 24 Parganas of the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. This is a brick temple and is datable between the 10th and 11th century on the basis of its architecture. However, this type of brick temple we can see at Nebia Khera,

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

Location

The Jatar-Deul stands isolated near a village named jata (from which the name comes from) in the surroundings of the locality Kanakan Dighi, about 5 km east of the small town of Raidighi in the Mathurapur II community development block in the

Diamond Harbour subdivision Diamond Harbour subdivision is an administrative subdivision of South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Overview Diamond Harbour subdivision is a rural subdivision with patches of urbanization. Only 14.61% of the populat ...

of the district of

South 24 Parganas South 24 Parganas (Pron: pɔrɡɔnɔs; abbr. 24 PGS (S)), or sometimes South Twenty Four Parganas and Dakshin 24 Parganas, is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Alipore previously, with its Zilla Parishad now in Ba ...

History

The temple is known by the name of "Jatar Deul ". This brick temple is traditionally connected with an inscription (not traceable now) of one Raja Jayantachandra, purported to have been issued in 975 AD. It was probably dedicated to Mahadev or Siva, who also goes by the name of Jatadhari. The Archaeological Department board at the temple site places establishment around 11th century. However, there was no deity inside the temple. The discovery of Jatar Deul dates back to the middle of the nineteenth century, when land surveyors stumbled upon a towering brick structure in the midst of the

Sundarban Sundarbans (; pronounced ) is a mangrove forest area in the Ganges Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Hooghly River in India's state of West Bengal to t ...

Consecration

What purpose it served is now a matter of conjecture. There is neither a cult nor any other sculptural or inscriptional evidence available, it is also the consecration of the temple is unclear – some believe it was originally for a Buddhist structure; others see it as a building in honor of the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

God

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

(Mahadev).Ghosh, Binoy, ''Paschim Banger Sanskriti'', , part III, 1980 edition, pages 152-155, Prakash Bhaban, Kolkata

Architecture

It towers nearly 100 ft. above the plain. The entrance which is on the east is 9.5 ft. wide and is spanned by a pointed arch. The inside is about 10 ft. square and the walls are about 10 ft. thick. No plinth is visible and the floor is some six feet below the ground, and is reached by a flight of steps. According to the

List of Monuments of National Importance in West Bengal This is a list of Monuments of National Importance (ASI) as officially recognized by and available through the website of the Archaeological Survey of India in the Indian state West Bengal.

Jatar Deul is an ASI listed monument.

References

External links

''Jatar-Deul – photos + Infos''
(English)
''Jatar-Deul-floor plan, photo + short info''
( ASI, English)
''Jatar-Deul – Satellite photo + Infos''
(English)

{{Hindu temples in West Bengal Shiva temples Hindu temples in West Bengal Monuments of National Importance in West Bengal Tourist attractions in South 24 Parganas district Hindu temples in South 24 Parganas district 11th-century Hindu temples