Category:Shiva temple and monastery, Chandreh

Shiva temple and monastery, Chandrehe 

A 10th century Hindu temple and monastery in Baghelkhand
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Instance of	Hindu temple
Location	Madhya Pradesh, India
24° 17′ 26.8″ N, 81° 27′ 55.1″ E
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The 10th-century Shiva temple and monastary in Chandrehe village (Rampur Naikin) is close to the confluence of Son and Banas rivers in Baghelkhand region of northeast Madhya Pradesh.

The Shiva temple of Chandreh (Chandrehi, Chandrehe) is one of the uncommon examples of:

• a historic circular plan Hindu temple in central India; (such circular-plan historic Hindu temples are far more common in Kerala and parts of Karnataka; circular plan temples are occasionally found in UP/MP/Bihar such as at Masaon, Tenduli, Korari, and the 5th to 6th century Rajgir matha)
• of a Hindu temple with Gavaksha-patterned, perfectly circular sikhara that reminds one of a ultimate limit in the Sekhari style.
• of a 10th-century monument where hollow human-shaped figures were used for an aesthetic appeal as well as hydraulics and rainwater harvesting.

The temple is also notable for being a part of Mattamayura sect of Shaiva monastic tradition whose temples and monasteries are found in Kadwaha, Ashok Nagar district and Survaya, Shivpuri district of north Madhya Pradesh.

The Chandreh temple is relatively well preserved and stands on a high jagati (platform). The outside walls have artwork, but lack typical iconography, rather the simplicity here is quite similar to those found in 9th and 10th century Kalinjar fort temples. From a distance it appears simple and plain. The temple has a Sukhanasi, and it is here that most of the artwork is concentrated. Its plan is so circular that the mandapa and sikhara appear to be a yoni and Shiva-linga. The mandapa pillars and the sanctum doorway are also plain, yet mirror the style of pillars found in the monastery.

The temple complex includes a two-storey monastery made from stone. The site has two Sanskrit inscriptions, and these help date this to 972 CE, attribute it to the Saiva Siddhanta Guru of the Chedi dynasty named Prabodha Shiva. The monastery does include original Hindu iconography such as Ganga, Yamuna, Ganesha and others – but in a minimalist style. The Chandreh temple and monastery is an unusual Hindu historic site, belonging to the Chedi tradition of Hindu architecture. A similar circular Chedi-style temple, though more damaged and from the 10th-century, is found in Mahsaw (north of Goragi, Rewa district, 24°30′47″N 81°25′19″E / 24.513189°N 81.421924°E / 24.513189; 81.421924).