Sculptures on the Main Doorway : The front entrance and the main doorway is richly ornamented and serves as an early example of evolving temple architecture in North India. Getting a feel of the dresses and jewellery of the times, one is sure to prominently notice Vishnu seated on Sheshanag (the serpent), with Lakshmi sitting down and caressing his feet, flanked by two incarnations of Narasimha (the man-lion form) on the right in reverence with Anjali posture, and Vamana (the dwarf form) on the left, all carved on the doorway (Lalatabhimba in Sanskrit), which is built with four receding bands. The two extreme-most bands on either side are resting on a figure of a lady, who from her clothing and jewellery seems to be of some high gentry, who is accompanied with a pot-bellied gana (dwarf) holding a pot which resembles characteristic pot-and-foliage Gupta style.

Above this pot rises the first band with carved dhatura foliage along with its fruits, the top part of which is cut-off with the sculptures of Ganga mounted on makara on the left and Yamuna mounted on a tortoise on the right. These figures mark the vertical end of this band, which from here continues horizontally over the lintel of the door. The presence of Ganga and Yamuna on top of the door-jambs is usually seen in early Gupta temples, while later temples generally display them at the basement.

To be continued.......