Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh

One of the Earliest Temples of India

Atop a picturesque forested ridge on the banks of the Vetravati (Betwa), in an obscure corner of Uttar Pradesh, is located a priceless gem surviving from the Gupta age. Seldom visited by tourists even as it marks one of the earliest phases of temple architecture in India, the artistic magnificence of the sculptures at the Dashavatara Temple in Deogarh is sure to transport the spellbound visitor into a flashback journey to those times which are often addressed as having been the Golden Age of Indian Culture. 

This temple had lied forgotten for centuries in the wilderness, and was first noticed by Captain Charles Strahan during the topographical survey in 1870-71. Cunningham, however, was the first to describe it in detail after his tour of 1874-77, and referred to it as the “Gupta Temple” since no other name was then found for this temple. It was subsequently renamed as Dashavatara Mandir  since several incarnations of Vishnu like Rama, Krishna, Balarama, Narsimha, Vamana etc., were found depicted in the various panels which originally may have contained representations of all 10 avatars, and also locally as Sagar Marh (meaning: the temple by the well).

To be continued....