Udaipur, Madhya Pradesh

Udaipur
Udaipur
town
	Udaipur Location in Madhya Pradesh, India
	Coordinates: 23.900177°N 78.056655°E / 23.900177; 78.056655
Country	India
State	Madhya Pradesh
District	Vidisha
Languages
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	464221
Telephone code	91-7594
Vehicle registration	MP-40

Udaipur is a town in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh near Ganj Basoda. It is the site of a well-preserved Śiva temple, a monument of national importance protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.

History

Udaipur's history reaches back to at least the ninth century, but it became famous and appears to have assumed its present name under the Paramāra king Udayāditya (c. 1060-87). It continued to be important in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, and was an important town on the north-south trade route.

Geography

Udaipur is located at 23°54'2"N 78°3'29"E.

Transport

Udaipur is connected by bus service from Ganj Basoda railway station 93 km from Bhopal Junction towards Jhansi (203 km) and 604 km from New Delhi Jn.

Monuments

The monuments of Udaipur were first studied by M. B. Garde and published in the reports of the archaeological department of Gwalior state. The data in these reports was compiled into a list prepared in 1952.

Śiva temple, 1080 CE

Śiva temple, Udaipur, exterior of the eastern porch that contains the dedicatory inscription and a large number of pilgrim and votive records.

The most important temple at Udaipur is that dedicated to Śiva and known today as the Nīlakaṇṭheśvara. It is a Protected Monument of national importance under the Archaeological Survey of India, number N-MP-289 in the List of Monuments of National Importance in Madhya Pradesh/East. The temple was built in the second half of the eleventh century and is the only surviving royal temple of the Paramara kings. An inscription in the eastern porch records the building of the temple in Vikrama Saṃvat 1137 or 1080-81 CE.

Foundation record of the Udayeśvara temple at Udaipur, inscribed on a lintel in the entrance porch, dated VS 1137.

Inscriptions

In addition to the dedicatory inscription, entrance porch of the temple has a series of more than sixty votive records. Not yet studied in a systematic fashion, these form a continuous sequence from the time of the Paramāras – Devapāla (1218–39) is mentioned – through the period of the Tughluqs and beyond. For example, one inscription mentions a festival (yātrā) of the god Udaleśvara in 1338, the same year as the Tughluq inscription recording the construction of the mosque in the temple precinct.

Architecture

Architecturally, the temple spire belongs to a class known as bhūmija, or 'earth born,' a mode of temple building that originated in the Mālwa region.

Iconography

The complex Śaiva iconography of the temple has been studied by Doria Tichit.

Tughluq Shahi mosque, 1338-39 CE

Directly next to the temple is a small mosque constructed during the reign of Muhammad ibn Tughluq. A pair of inscriptions record the building of this structure in 739 AH (i.e. 1338-39 CE).

Islam Shah Suri mosque, 1549 CE

A short distance to the south of the Shiva temple is a mosque with an inscription recording its construction in the time of Islam Shah of the Sur Dynasty in 1549. The inscription is placed directly over the mihrab. The shows the continued importance of Udaypur on the north-south route to the Deccan in the time of the Suri rulers.

Shahi Mahal and Shahi Masjid, 1617–32 CE

Directly east of Nīlakaṇṭheśvara is a large palace complex known as Shāhī Maḥal, which served as the residence of the local governor during the Mughal rule.