Category:Bijamandal temple, Vidisha

This is a category about ASI monument number N-MP-272.

Bija Mandal, Vidisha 

An 11th century temple converted into mosque in 17th century
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Instance of	mosque
Location	Vidisha, Vidisha district, Bhopal division, Madhya Pradesh, India
Heritage designation	Monument of National Importance
23° 31′ 42.91″ N, 77° 48′ 04.17″ E
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The Bijamandal temple in Vidisha (Bhilsa) is a massive temple-ruin, one of the largest in central India. The ruins survive in the form of a very large and high platform, a mosque on one end of the original platform, a step well, piles of temple parts stacked up and scattered, and a small site museum building that retains some of the better preserved discernible parts of the original temple. The platform has steps on three sides to enter the temple, along with bands of artwork. A high mound hides one side of the platform, with some temple parts sticking out of that mound.

The original temple was built in 11th or early 12th century, based on a Sanskrit inscription found at the site that mentions king Naravarman (1093–1134 CE). The inscription includes a short hymn in praise of goddess Caccika (Durga) and Shiva. The piled up ruins and debris, along with the inscription, suggest that this was originally a Hindu goddess tradition temple, possibly with a shrine for Shiva. The scholar Michael Willis dates the original temple to early 11th century built by a royal patron, to which the Naravarman inscription was added later. He further states that this massive temple must reflect the immense importance of goddess worship (Shaktism) in 11th century central India (M. Willis, South Asian Studies, 17, pp. 41-53).

The Bijamandal temple was destroyed by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in late 17th century (Source: Rafia Khan (2021), Histories, 1, p. 293). He had a mosque built from the temple parts and its pillars. These pillars retain the Paramara era form, some retain parts of the original Hindu Sanskrit inscriptions they had. In front of the mosque on the platform is a large open space for gathering. The ASI conducted a partial excavation of this site between 1971 and 1974, which revealed additional temple parts, inscribed slabs and broken statues.

This temple and site is a national monument of India, protected and maintained by ASI.