Baidyapur Jora Deul, Kalna

 

Baidyapur Jora Deul is a 16th-century temple at Baidyapur in Kalna of Purba Bardhaman district, West Bengal.

Baidyapur Jora Deul was built in 1550 by Subhananda Pal. However, the temple seems to have lost its shape and was probably rebuilt at a later date.

According to the List of Monuments of National Importance in West Bengal the two ancient temples (joined together) at Baidyapur is a monument of national importance.

Baidyapur Jora Deul consists of two deuls joined together(jora = joined together) by a passage. The main temple faces east and the smaller one south. “Exterior walls of the temple are richly ornamented with decorative bricks. The ornamentation is predominantly floral and geometric patterns but figurative designs are also there.”

Other temples at Baidyapur

David J. McCutchion mentions the Bengal deul (1598) with terracotta designs on four sides, the Jora Shiva temple and Shiva temple of the Nandi family (1802) with rich terracotta façade, the straight corniced navaratna temple (1845) of Vrindavana Chandra with plaster festoons and the brick-built, ridged twin deul Krishna temple (1598) with rich terracotta on all sides. He also mentions the navaratna dolmancha with "baroque" vase turrets at Amdabad, near Baidyapur.

He further elaborates that in the tradition of Odisha, the porch or jagamohona (a kind of assembly hall) is under a separate roof. It is as large as or larger than the main shrine in base dimensions. It is attached to the main shrine by a passageway (antarala). Similarly, a natmandapa or a bhogmandapa could be attached. The shrine or deul is in rekha style and the other buildings are in pirha style. This tradition had a strong influence on the medieval temples in Midnapore and Bankura. The pirha style is generally used for the tower of the jagamohana and rarely for the main shrine. Sometimes, the jagamohana is reduced to an entry porch. It can also be the other way around. At places such as Kharar and the 17th century Radha Kanta temple at Muninagar and earlier at Baidyapur, the porch is almost as high as the main shrine, giving the impression of twin deuls.

Image & Text: Collected