Category:Ballaleshwar temple, Un

Ballaleshwar temple, Un 

A mid-11th century Shiva temple
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Instance of	Hindu temple
Location	Khargone district, Indore division, Madhya Pradesh, India
21° 49′ 25.9″ N, 75° 27′ 03.4″ E
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The Ballaleshwar temple of Un is a mid 11th-century Shiva temple in Un village, southwest Madhya Pradesh. It stands out as the only monument in Un with an Islamic-style dome like structure on top of it.

The Ballaleshwar mandir – sometimes spelled Vallaleswar or Ballalesvara temple – is a much damaged, repeatedly repaired temple. The masonry on the outer wall and the dome top are additions made centuries later from a series of different construction materials. The dome was already present when the British archaeologists visited this site in the 19th-century. No available records mention when or who damaged or repaired the Ballaleshwar temple, or why a dome was used instead of a sikhara recommended by Hindu architectural texts.

This temple faces east. Its inner floor plan is square, the outer pancharatha plan forms a stellate-like structure by rotating a square. The oldest layer of construction is from a uniform quality stone. Ruins of the same stone were reclaimed and reinserted back during repairs later (some ruins are scattered around the temple premises). The original mandapa of the temple was destroyed long ago, leaving behind traces of the walls in front of the temple.

Its garbhagriya is sunk below the ground level, a style quite common in historic temples of east Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Odisha. The sanctum has no Shiva linga, only a svambhu-style jaladhari that looks like Shiva linga. The sanctum doorway has Ganesha on the lalatabimba. Other mutilated artwork includes those of Chaturbhuj Shiva in tribhanga posture, Saptamatrikas of the Shaktism tradition, Shiva playing vina, Nataraja along with the typical maladharis, vidyadharis, etc. There is an inscription outside, but this was added much later (but before the 18th-century).

In the niches of the pillars are carvings which include another set of Saptamatrikas (seven mother goddesses), Vishnu, Saraswati, Rudras, and other Hindu deities. The jangha artwork includes Natesa-Shiva, Tripurantaka, Chamunda and others. Before its destruction, this must have been a profusely carved temple associated with some monastery-college.