Located 600m west of Lal Bandh in Bishnupur, the Jor Mandir group of temples consists of two large and one smaller temple set within pretty and well maintained landscaped gardens.
All three temples are constructed of laterite on raised platforms, with sloping roofs and surmounted by a single shikara, thus making them Ek-Ratna in architectural style.
Each temple in the complex has been numbered, the southern temple is #1, the northern is #2, and the smaller temple between these two is #3, as per the aerial map below.
The temples are square in plan, temple 1 (south) is 11.8m and 12.2m high, temple 2 (north) is 11.7m and 12.2m high, and the smaller temple 3 (middle) is 7m and 7.6m high.
All three temples have ornamentation carved into the laterite blocks on their entrance sides. Once covered with stucco, most of this covering has now been lost and along with it a lot of the intricate detail that must have once existed. Externally the most decorated temple is the smaller temple 3. Stories of Ramayana, Mahabharata, Purana and Krishnalila are illistrated through these various motifs.
There is much better preserved detailing within the temple porches, where the stucco has been sheltered from the extremes of the weather. There is much to take in within these spaces, so be sure to check them out.
Temple 1 (south)
An inscription on the south-facing entrance of Temple 1 informs us all the temples here were constructed in 1726 CE by Gopal Singha Dev, the 55th ruler of the Malla dynasty, and his wife Dhvajamani Devi. Three years later his son, Krishna Singha Dev, would build the Radha Govinda temple 130m east of here (see above map).
Temple 2 (north)
Temple 3 (middle)
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Categories: Bishnupur, India, Jor Mandir Group of Temples - Bishnupur, West Bengal
Kevin Standage 