Category:Nand Chand, Madhya Pradesh

Nand Chand, Madhya Pradesh 

A village with Gupta and Kalchuri era Hindu temples remains
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Instance of	Hindu temple
Location	Panna district, Sagar division, Madhya Pradesh, India
23° 59′ 36.2″ N, 80° 04′ 17.4″ E
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Nand Chand, sometimes written Nandchand, is a historic village and archaeological site in Panna district. It was a flourishing city, pilgrimage site, and arts center between the 5th and 13th-century. Nand Chand, along with other regional Hindu and Jain sites – such as Bilhari, Tigowa, Chhoti Deori, Bargaon, Bahuribund and Bandhogarh – evolved into a distinct central Indian style by the 9th-century. The most impressive of temples and sculptures in this style are found in east Madhya Pradesh, west Chhattisgarh and the region along their border. These flourished and survive as temples, public waterworks and forts of Kalachuri of Tripuri era.

Nand Chand has been an important source of sculpture and temple fragments from the Gupta era through the Kalachuri era. Alexander Cunningham was the first western surveyor to visit it and publish his observations in 1887 (ASI Annual Report XXI). He saw eight temples and temple remains strewn along a historic water tank. Several regional inscriptions, a few as late as 12th century, refer to the temples and the prosperity of Nand Chand. The numerous temples and temple ruins of Nand Chand confirm its historic importance. The historic site was destroyed by Delhi Sultanate invasions and battles after the 12th century.

Nand Chand's current Mritangeshvara temple stands on a hectare-sized archaeological site. This Shiva temple was rebuilt and restored using broken temple pieces and sculpture ruins. During this rebuilding and restoration, a part of the site was excavated and Hindu shrine foundations were unearthed. The temple walls and structures display ruins of several lost temples.

The notable artwork discovered in Nand Chand includes an excellent though damaged and fragmentary Saptamatrika panel, a Gupta-era 5th-century Vaishnavi, a large Shiva linga now in the Mritangeshvara temple's sanctum, and several more Shiva lingas from different centuries. Among the 8th-century sculptures found in Nand Chand are Shiva, Ganesha, Vishnu and his dasavataras, Durga Mahisasuramardini, and Umamaheshvara artwork. A few notable discoveries from Nand Chand are now in museums, such as the Sagar University Museum in Madhya Pradesh.