The temple of Basheshar Mahadev, or the ‘Lord of the Universe’, is one of the most significant stone temples of Himachal Pradesh. Historically as well as archaeologically. This temple is located in Bajaura, a small town near Kullu.
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A masterpiece of stone carvings, Basheshar Mahadev temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
The architectural style of this temple has drawn renowned archeologists, historians and epigraphists to it for centuries. The temple has been studied in great detail by the likes of J Vogel, Odette Viennot, Hermann Goetz, Harcourt and Madanjeet Singh.
And all of them have been full of praises.
Vogel called Basheshar Mahadev, a rare temple in the hills and of great archeological interest.
AFP Harcourt, who served as the Kullu’s Assistant Commissioner of Police from 1869 to 1871, considered the temple most notable for its carvings and figures on the outer walls.
History
There are a number of stone temples in the Kullu valley but Basheshar Mahadev temple is the oldest of them all. It was built more than 1000 years ago.
Historians and archeologists believe that the temple was constructed between the 8th and 9th century, at a time when mainstream Hinduism was being pushed into the Kullu valley by the regional kings.
English writer Penelope Chetwode, who visited the temple in the 1960s, writes in her acclaimed book ‘The end of the Habitable World’ that “the stone temples were built in Kullu in an effort by the then Rajas to popularize the worship of Lord Vishnu in place of the indigenous rites and rituals that more often than not involved animal sacrifice.”


Architectural style
Basheshar Mahadev is renowned because of its architectural style and stonework. Let’s take a look at that now.
The temple has an imposing structure with ‘unusually fat tower’ or shikhra. A repeated pattern of exquisite carvings of pot and foliage runs along the outer walls of the temple. On the four sides, above the porches, rise miniature towers with sunk Bhadramukha in the centre, showing three faces of Lord Shiva (creator, protector and destroyer) on each side.
The exterior of the temple is decorated with carvings of Naga couples with interlaced snake tails, Kinnars in fond embrace, and birds and elephants.
A Shiva Linga occupies the sanctum sanctorum, the place of worship. On the front porch of the temple there are two female figures - Ganga and Jamuna - that personify the two rivers.
On the remaining three corners of the temple are placed in the niches the figures of Lord Ganesha, Lord Vishnu and Goddess Durga.
The south side niche of the temple is occupied by the figure of elephant-headed Ganesha, seated on a lotus throne and supported by two lions.
On the back or West niche of the temple is the beautifully carved image of Lord Vishnu. The third image, placed in the North niche, is that of Goddess Durga in the act of slaying a demon.
Present condition
Basheshar Mahadev is a protected monument, declared by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). But it’s not being properly preserved and maintained. Despite a ban on construction within 100 meters of the temple, houses have come up right behind it.
How well this temple is being maintained can be gauged from the condition of the information board of the ASI at the temple premises. Even this weather-beaten information board requires to be changed and replaced with a new one. If steps are not taken to maintain and preserve such significant places, in future, we may lose them forever.
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