Charthana (चारठाणा) is a small village in the Parbhani district of Maharashtra. The local traditions believe that the village’s name derives from Charudatta, who ruled over this village in the long past. The village’s original name was Charuthana or Charukshetra, but it later got corrupted to Charthana.1 The old accounts of the village mention four prominent temples: the Gopaleshwar temple, the Narasimha temple, the Pandhariche Mandir, and the Devi temple. These accounts mention that amongst these, only the Narasimha temple and Pandhariche Mandir have survived more or less intact, but the other two have only survived with debris from their walls. However, the town now has at least six temples in good preservation. Charthana has not yet been studied in detail by the scholar community. Very brief descriptions of its temples are found in two studies, one by P R Deo2 and another by G B Deglurkar3. Most of these temples can be attributed to the late Yadava phase of the 13th-14th century CE.
Narasimha Temple – The temple stands over a terrace and faces west. It consists of a mukhamandapa (porch), a mandapa (hall), antarala (vestibule), and garbhagrha (sanctum). A flight of steps leads to the mukhamandapa. It is open from all sides with no parapet wall. It has a flat ceiling supported by four pillars. The mandapa is a square structure of 20 feet side. It is an open hall with two extra entrances, one on each corner of the lateral side. Due to deep recesses on its later walls, the mandapa looks like a triple-shrine temple. A modern image of Kartikeya is installed in one recess. There are six niches inside the mandapa; all are empty at present. The ceiling is severely plain and supported by ten plain and bulky pillars. There is a mutilated inscription over a pilaster. The mandapa leads to the antarala, which is 10 feet long and 8 feet wide. There are two niches in the antarala; both are empty at present. The garbhagrha is a small square chamber that is 8 feet in size. Though the temple is called Narasimha temple, it has a Shiva linga in the centre. The doorway has two shakhas (bands). One shakha is decorated with a peacock motif, and the other with rosettes. The lalata-bimba over the lintel has an image of Ganesha. The exterior is very plain. The adhishthana has three mouldings, all plain. The jangha is devoid of any sculpture. This plain exterior and unimpressive interior suggest the late Yadava period when temples were built clumsily without sculpture and decoration.
Ganapati Temple – The temple originally consists of a mukha-mandapa, mandapa, antarala, and garbhagrha. The mukha-mandapa has only survived for its two front pillars. The latter was used to make a makeshift porch in the front. The mandapa is a square hall with entrances in the front and lateral sides. One lateral side has not survived, and it has now been converted as part of a residence of the pujari. The front and lateral entrances of the mandapa are exquisitely decorated. These are pancha-shakha (five bands) doorways. The innermost shakha has diamond floral motifs. The next shakha has figures of musicians and dancers. The third shakha is a stambha-shakha. The fourth shakha has vyala figures. The fifth and the outermost shakha have floral creepers in spiral forms. Dvarapalas and attendants are present at the bottom of the doorjamb. The lintel piece of the lateral entrance is missing. The main entrance follows the design of the lateral entrance. It has Ganesha over the lalata-bimba. The dvarapalas carry shankha, gada, chakra, and padma, attributes fit for a Vaishnava temple.
Thus, the temple was initially dedicated to Vishnu. However, it was later reappropriated to Shiva by installing a large linga in the mandapa. The garbhaghra and antarala spaces are closed, and a platform is constructed in the antarala entrance protruding into the mandapa. An image of Ganesha was installed on this platform. There are four central pillars in the mandapa. The pillars are decorated with sculptural panels on a rectangular block below the capital. Scenes belonging to Shaiva and Vaishnava dominate the theme.
Ukandeshwar (उकंडेश्वर) Temple – This temple has survived with its mandapa, antarala, and garbhagrha. There was a mukha-mandapa in the front, but it had not survived. The mandapa ceiling is made of concentric circles with diminishing circumferences. Pilasters on the walls support it. There are four niches in the mandapa, two on either side of the antarala entrance and an additional two on the lateral walls. All niches are empty at present. The garbhagrha doorway is decorated with floral motifs. Ganesha is present over the lalata-bimba on the lintel. A sculptural panel depicting Sapta-matrikas accompanied by Ganesha and Virabhadra is embedded in the mandapa wall. It is not sure if this was the original place of this panel. The panel shows the matrikas with their mounts below.
Gokuleshwar (गोकुळेश्वर) Temple – Early scholars reported this temple in dilapidated condition. The present structure results from significant renovations and repairs to fit the scarce original material and components. The temple stands next to a large tank, suggesting it once commanded considerable influence. Amongst the original components, pillars are prominent. These are decorated with large sculptures at their bases. It is now a triple-shrine temple with subsidiary shrines on its lateral sides. Shivalinga is installed in the central shrine.
Mana (Vijaya/Dip) Stambha – This standalone pillar is locally known as Jhulta Manora (leaning pillar). No definite information is available about this pillar and its erection, but the presence of sculptures of various goddesses suggests that it was erected in honour of a goddess.
Jod Mahadev (जोड महादेव) – This temple is known as Jod Mahadev as it is a double shrine temple, one main shrine and one subsidiary shrine on its lateral side. Most of its external structure has been renovated, while the interior is largely original. The mandapa has two entrances, one in the front and one on the side. Both the shrines have Shivalingas installed inside. Within the same complex stood the Renuka Devi temple. This temple is now the main temple of the village. It is dedicated to a local goddess. As the temple structure has been largely renovated, we skip its description in this article.
1 Deo, Prabhakar Raghunath (1973). Temples of Marathwada, a Ph. D. thesis submitted to the Marathwada University. pp. 177-178
2 Deo, Prabhakar Raghunath (1973). Temples of Marathwada, a Ph. D. thesis submitted to the Marathwada University. pp. 177-181
3 Deglurkar, G B (2019). Temple Architecture and Sculpture of Maharashtra. Aprant. Pune. ISBN 9788194013143. p. 225/p. 234
Acknowledgement: Some of the photos above are in CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain from the collection released by the Tapesh Yadav Foundation for Indian Heritage.