File:0122221 5th century Parvati temple, Nachna-Kuthara, Madhya Pradesh 068.jpg

English: The Parvati temple is a 5th-century Shaiva tradition temple, and is the oldest surviving monument at the Nachna-Kuthara site. It faces west and stands on a jagati (platform). It has a mukhamandapa and garbhagriya, with one of the oldest known examples of a pradakshinapatha (circumambulation path) on the platform outside a temple. The Hindu circumambulation tradition is far more ancient, both for worship and rights-of-passage rituals like wedding, as is attested in Vedic texts. The architect of the Parvati temple intentionally designed and included a space around the sanctum to aid the devotee.

The temple's sanctum has a square plan (8.8 feet side). It has a second chamber above the main shrine, confirming that the idea of Hindu temples with a sikhara (superstructure spire) or double-storey were already in vogue by the 5th-century in ancient India. The sanctum doorway is flanked by Shaiva dvarapalas holding trishula. Near them stand Ganga and Yamuna goddesses in a style found everywhere in medieval era South Asia and Southeast Asia. The lalatabimba has vinadhari Shiva sitting with Parvati. The sakhas have mithuna (amorous couple) scenes that are found in hundreds of Hindu temples centuries later all over India. This temple's sacntum was dedicated to Shiva, and the Chaturmukha linga in the Mahadeva temple likely was rescued from the ruins of this temple.

Many of the Parvati temple's original panels were taken out during the restoration efforts of the 1960s. A few of these are in the sculpture shed near the temple, most others in museums such as the Ramban Tulsi Sangrahalaya (Satna). Midst the walkways near the temple are some sculpture found at nearby temple ruins such as the Kumra matha's temple on a hilltop nearby, as well as a few others. Facing the temple, and to its west is the nearby 9th-century Mahadeva temple (Chaumukhnath temple) in active worship and popular with the regional Hindus.

Background:

Nachna is a small remote village in the hilly forested terrain of Panna district of Madhya Pradesh. It is sometimes locally referred to as Kachhagawan. It must have been a prosperous, major town in ancient India given the wealth of temples and archaeological remains found in and near here (Nachna–Kuthara–Lakhorobagh). It is one of the notable, much published Gupta and post-Gupta era sites in India, sometimes referred to as Nacha-Kuthara or Kachhgawan site. The artwork and temples found here, together with other Gupta era sites in India, have provided insights into Gupta era Hinduism and Jainism, the development of Hindu temple architecture in the 5th and 6th century, firmer dating for Hindu and Jain iconography throughout Indian subcontinent, and a window into Indian culture during the Gupta Empire era.

Nachna-Kuthara was a part of the historic Baghelkhand region, which some scholars classify as northeastern Bundelkhand between Satna and Jabalpur. Between the 4th and 7th-century CE, this region was ruled by the Parivrajakas (forest ascetics dynasty) and the Uchchhakalpas (shilpins or artisans dynasty named after their capital). Many inscriptions and copper plate grants found in this region suggest the prosperity and importance of Nachna area as a regional trade and culture hub, particularly to the Uchchhakalpas. Given the array of beautiful artwork and temples here from the ancient period, Nachna may have served as a regional capital of the Uchchhakalpas.

Nachna is famous for its 5th-century Parvati temple. It has several additional monuments from the 1st millennium – in a few cases rebuilt in the 20th-century from parts of lost Vishnu, Surya and Devi temples from the 5th to 9th century. These include the Mahadeva temple and the Kumra matha (also called Teliya Matha, a Hindu monastery). The site has also been a source of about dozen Tirthankara images, in the Sanchi style – so much so that many casually may call it a Buddha, though it is a Jain artwork. The Rupni mandir is an example of a temple rebuilt with a lost 6th-century Devi temple's parts and doorway. Nachna is also famous for its 5th/6th-century panels depicting the epic, Ramayana.