Kalachand Temple

Kalachand Temple
Kalachand Temple
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Bankura
Location
Location	Bishnupur
State	West Bengal
Country	India
Geographic coordinates	23°3′33.17″N 87°19′29.96″E / 23.0592139°N 87.3249889°E
Architecture
Type	Bengal temple architecture
Style	ek-ratna style
Founder	Raghunath Singha Dev
Date established	1656; 368 years ago
Specifications
Length	11.1 m (36 ft)
Width	11.1 m (36 ft)
Height (max)	9.2 m (30 ft)
	Monument of National Importance
	Official name: Kalachand Temple
Type	Cultural
Reference no.	IN-WB-12

Kalachand Temple, Located in Bishnupur in Indian state of West Bengal.

History and architecture

According to the inscriptional plaque found in the temple, the temple was founded in 1656 by Raghunath Singha Dev King of Mallabhum. The Temple is built in the Ek-ratna style temple architecture.^[1]^[2]

on the south bank side of the Lal-bandh. The temple is about 11.1m square on plan and 9.2 m in height. The south-facing Kalachand temple stands with corridor around, with three arched openings on all four sides. The roof of the temple is curved, upon which the sikhara rises upwards and ends with an amalaka on the top. The temple is decorated with low relief carvings and the main subject is Krishna-lila. Apart from Krishna-lIlia scenes there are also representations of Pauranic deities, ascetics and dancers.^[1]^[3]

Twelve such temples are still surviving in Bishnupur, of which two are made of brick and the rest are of laterite. The earliest of the eka-ratna temples is the Kalachand temple (in laterite).^[1]

Currently, it is preserved as one of the archaeological monuments by the Archaeological Survey of India.^[4] Since 1998, the Kalachand Temple is on the UNESCO World Heritage Site's Tentative list.^[5]