File:Ruins of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist monuments, Malhar Chhattisgarh India - 7.jpg

English: Malhar is a village found southeast of Bilaspur. In the 1st millennium, it was once a capital and later the second largest city for Somvanshis and Kalchuris. The Maurya, Shunga, Satvahana (pre-300 CE), then Somavamshi (c. 300 to 900 CE) and later Kalachuri dynasty (10th to 14th-century) developed a kingdom where Hindu (Shaivism), Jain and Buddhist communities thrived. Malhar (Mallar) was on the trade route linking the northwestern Indian kingdoms and Koshambi with those in the southeast, particularly Puri and major ports along the modern Andhra Pradesh.

Each of these eras built exquisite temples and artistic items (pottery, statues, stambhas, gateways, coins) whose remains and ruins are seen from northern Chhattisgarh through western Telangana. Malhar and nearby area features an ancient mud fort, two old temples from about the 6th century and the 12th century, as well numerous temple ruins and mounds.

The Malhar ruins represent a large collection, a part of which is in the village museum and the others piled up outside the museum exposed to the elements. Some damage is intentional, but the effect of erosion has damaged the ruins much more. The collection consists mostly of temple parts and statues of Hindu deities and tirthankaras of Jainism, along with a few that are from the Buddhist tradition.