Parvati Temple, Nachna-Kuthara

01A temple with a second floor

The Parvati temple stands on a raised and moulded plinth. Its square sanctum is wrapped by a passage for parikrama, lit through screens of pierced stone, and above it sits a smaller upper chamber with its own doorway, a rare thing among early temples. The door to the sanctum is framed by Ganga on her makara and Yamuna on her tortoise, an emblem the Gupta builders made standard. The rough-cut stone of the plinth is carved to look like rock, with animals peeping from it, as if the temple sat on Kailash.

02Ramayana in stone

Panels found at Nachna show scenes from the Ramayana: Ravana coming to Sita disguised as an ascetic, Sita in the Ashoka grove, the monkeys at war. They are among the earliest surviving Ramayana reliefs anywhere. Close by stands the Chaturmukha Mahadeva temple of the 9th century, with a four-faced linga still worshipped. Most other temples here are ruins. Their exact date is debated; comparison of style places the Parvati temple in the 5th or 6th century.

The life of this place