Kakanmaṭh is a ruined 11th century

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 ...

temple located at

Sihoniya Sihoniya is a town in Morena district, in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Madhya Pradesh. The town is sometimes referred to as Suhania; in medieval times it was called Siṃhapānīya. The settlement has a long history and a ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

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 ...

. It was built by the Kachchhapaghata ruler Kirttiraja. Only a part of the original temple complex now survives. Some of the sculptures from the site are now located at

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

History

The Kakanmath temple was commissioned by Kachchhapaghata ruler Kirttiraja (r. c. 1015-1035 CE). This can be inferred from a Kachchhapaghata inscription found at the Sas-Bahu Temple in

. The inscription states that Kirttiraja built an extraordinary temple devoted to

Parvati Parvati (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: Sanskrit phonology, /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the Devi, ...

's lord (Shiva) at Siṁhapānīya (modern Sihoniya). According to a folk legend, the temple was named "Kakanmadh" after Kakanavati or Kakanade, who was the queen of one Surajpala. The historicity of this legend is doubtful. One possibility is that the name of the temple derives from the ''kanak'' (gold) and '' maṭha'' (shrine). Originally, the site had a temple complex, with a central temple surrounded by four subsidiary shrines. Only the ruins of the central temple stand now: its outer walls, balconies and a part of its

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

have fallen. This damage probably happened during an earthquake. A

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

-language pillar inscription dated 1 0 VS (1393-94 CE) records the renovation of the Mahadeva temple (that is, Kakanmath) by one Durgaprasada. A 1497 VS (1440-41 CE) pillar inscription records the visit of a pilgrim named Dekhana during the reign of Dungara (a Tomara ruler of

). It states that Dekhana was the son of Kakaka, and a resident of Nalapuragaḍha. Now, the temple has been classified as a

Monument of National Importance A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

by the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...

(ASI).

Architecture

The temple stands on an ornate base (''pitha''). The building includes a sanctum, a vestibule, and two halls (''gudha-mandapa'' and ''mukha-mandapa''). The sanctum has a circumambulatory path with three

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s. The ''gudha-mandapa'' has lateral transepts, and four clusters of pillars; each cluster contains four pillars. The vestibule has four pillars in a row, which are aligned with the four clusters of the ''gudha-mandapa''. The

shikhara ''Shikhara'' (IAST: '), a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India, and also often used in Jain temples. A ''shikhara'' over the ''garbhagriha'' chamber ...

(tower) of the shrine makes it around 30 m high. The steps at the entrance had two large lion statues, which are now located at the entrance of the Archaeological Museum, Gwalior. Many other sculptures have also been taken to Gwalior.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{ref end Tourist attractions in Morena district Shiva temples in Madhya Pradesh 11th-century Hindu temples