Mundeshwari Temple

Mundeshwari Temple

Kaimur district , Bihar

The Mundeshwari Temple is located at Kaura in Kaimur district in the state of Bihar, India on the Mundeshwari Hills. Travelling on the Grand Trunk road between Varanasi and Gaya, one is sure to find boards which invite one to visit the oldest Hindu Temple at Mundeshwari.

Mundeshwari temple on a summit of an isolated hill about 600 feet high, at village Ramgarh, seven miles north-west of Bhabua is the oldest monument in Bihar and the earliest specimen of Nagara type of temple architecture in Bihar. While the locals are now quite aware about the existence of the ancient temple on the hilltop at Bhagwanpur in Kaimur, Bihar, most travelers are still not aware about the importance of the temple and the legends associated with it.

The temple has been witnessing a growth in the number of tourists every year, now around 12 to 14 lakhs, and there is also an annual celebration of Mundeshwari Mahotsava, which sees several artists of the region participating with full spirit and vigor.

The temple once had four entrances containing exquisitely carved door frames, bearing, on the lower portions of the door jambs, the usual figures of river goddesses on the eastern side, two figures of Shiva on the western one, a representation of Durga and female figure on the northern side, and the dwarapalas or doorkeepers on the southern.

According to Bloch, there were originally only two entrances, that on the east, being the main one; while there was another opening on the west, which was, perhaps, closed when he saw the ruins. On the north and south there were latticed windows according to Bloch. On each of the other four sides of the octagon, on the exterior, there are three carved niches, flanked by decorative pilasters bearing ‘vase and foliage’ designs.

The images which were once kept in these niches have since disappeared. Inside the temple is a linga with four human faces, other images and two large stone vessels meant, perhaps, for keeping offerings. The original roof of the temple, which was probably pyramidal in shape, is lost and now replaced by a flat roof of stone flags.

In the course of clearance of the debris numerous carved pieces and sculptures were found which can be seen lying in the premises. They include mostly representations of Shiva-Parvati, Ganesha, Mahishsura Mardini Durga, Surya, Kartikeya etc. The absence of Vaishnava figures is rather striking.