Narayanpal is a village in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. It is situated on the east bank of the River Indravati. In the south of the town, Indravati meets the River Narangi, forming a confluence. The village is known for its Vishnu Temple, which has survived with all its components intact. It is one of the most important temples in Bastar because of its octagonal mandapa and high Nagara latina shikhara. The temple has appeared in the studies carried out by Kamta Prasad Verma1 and Vivek Dutt Jha2.
Vishnu Temple — The temple is constructed over a high jagati and faces east. It consists of a rectangular garbhagrha, antarala, and mandapa. Stone pilasters at the four corners of the garbhagrha support its octagonal ceiling. The antarala is a rectangular chamber with a pyramidal roof above. The mandapa is a closed octagonal hall with transepts in its north and south. It has sixteen stone pillars resting on the inner parapet walls, supporting its ceiling, consisting of concentric circles with reduced diameter as you move up. Mandapa doorway has plain jambs. Ganesha is present on the lalata-bimba. The corresponding sculptures on the left and right terminals are missing, and there are empty cavities.
The garbhagrha doorway has three shakhas (jambs). All the shakhas are decorated with floral and foliage designs. Ganesha is present on the lalata-bimba. Sarasvati is present on the left terminal of the lintel, and the image on the right terminal is mutilated, Verma says it is Gaja-Lakshmi.3 A four-armed Vishnu image is installed inside the garbhagrha. The status is made of black stone. Vishnu carries shankha (conch) and chakra (discus) in his upper arms, and his lower arms are damaged. He stands below a five-hood serpent canopy. Naresh Kumar Pathak claims that the images were installed later.
The vimana follows sapta-ratha design and has adhishthana, jangha, and shikhara. The adhishthana has multiple moldings. The jangha is divided into two tiers of exact sizes. Niches are provided on all the rathas, but these are empty now. Like jangha, the kapili also has niches in two tiers. Only a single niche has an image, the upper niche on the southern kapili wall. The image is of Ganesha standing holding a parashu. The shikhara is a nagara latina curvilinear tower. Its tiers are demarcated with bhumi-amalakas on the karna-ratha of each tier. Four images of yogis, one image in each of four directions, are placed below the griva of the shikhara. Above the griva are amalaka, stupi, and kalasa, all survived in their original state.
Inscriptions:
- Stone inscription of Queen Gundamahadevi4 – The inscription is written in the Nagari characters and the Sanskrit language. It records the grant of the village Narayanapura to God Narayana and some land near the Khajjuri tank to god Lokeshvara. The record is dated in the Saka year 1033, equivalent to 1111 CE. Gunda-mahadevi, the chief queen of Maharaja Dharavarsha, the mother of Someshvaradeva, and the grandmother of Kanharadeva issued the grant. Kanharadeva was ruling after the death of his father. The dynasty claims to belong to the Nagavamsha and had a tiger with a calf as their crest and lord of Bhogavati. A postscript in the inscription mentions Dharana-mahadevi, the widow of Someshvaradeva, who gave the land.
1 Verma, Kamta Prasad (2002). बस्तर क्षेत्र के स्थापत्य का अध्ययन (Bastra Kshetra ke Sthapatya ka Addhyayan), Ph. D. thesis submitted to Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur. pp. 139-145
2 Jha, Vivek Dutta (1980). The Archaeology of Baster Region, Ph. D. thesis submitted to the University of Saugar, Sagar. pp. 188-189
3 Verma, Kamta Prasad (2002). बस्तर क्षेत्र के स्थापत्य का अध्ययन (Bastra Kshetra ke Sthapatya ka Addhyayan), Ph. D. thesis submitted to Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur. p. 144
4 Epigraphia Indica, volume IX. pp. 161-162
Acknowledgment: 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.