View source for Lakshana Devi Temple, Bharmour

{{Infobox religious building
| name               = Lakshana Devi Temple
| image              = Lakshana Devi temple (6133565074).jpg
| alt          = 	7th century Lakshana Devi temple, Himachal Pradesh
| caption            = 7th century Lakshana Devi temple, Himachal Pradesh
| map_type        =  India #India Himachal Pradesh
| relief             = yes
| religious_affiliation = [[Hinduism]]
| other_names        = 
| proper_name        = 
| coordinates        = {{coord|32|26|32.3|N|76|32|14.7|E|display=inline,title}}
| country            = [[India]]
| state              = [[Himachal Pradesh]]
| district           = [[Chamba district]]
| location           = Bharmour
| elevation_m        = 2135<ref name="Handa2001p136">{{cite book|author=Omacanda Hāṇḍā|title=Temple Architecture of the Western Himalaya: Wooden Temples|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_KmaKomlI-UC |year=2001|publisher=Indus |isbn=978-81-7387-115-3|pages=136–138}}</ref>
| deity      = [[Durga]], others
| festivals= 
| architecture_style = [[Hindu temple architecture|Gupta era]]
| year_completed         = c. 7th-century<ref name="Anand1997p14"/><ref name="Michell2000p64">{{cite book|author=George Michell|title=Hindu Art and Architecture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YVl2QgAACAAJ |year=2000|publisher=Thames & Hudson|isbn=978-0-500-20337-8|page=64}}</ref>
| website            = 
}}
The '''Lakshana Devi Temple''' in [[Bharmour]] is a post-Gupta era [[Hindu temple]] in [[Himachal Pradesh]] dedicated to [[Durga]] in her Mahishasura-mardini form. It is dated to the second half of the 7th-century, and is in part one of the oldest surviving wooden temples in [[India]].<ref name="Goetz1955p75">{{cite book|author=Hermann Goetz|title=The Early Wooden Temples of Chamba|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=gs9axKfRJW4C|year=1955|publisher=E. J. Brill|pages=14, 59–65, 75–83}}</ref><ref name="Anand1997p14">{{cite book|author=Mulk Raj Anand|title=Splendours of Himachal Heritage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-zY2gTcG6yIC |year=1997|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-351-9|pages=14–15}}</ref><ref name="Bernier1997p139">{{cite book|author=Ronald M. Bernier|title=Himalayan Architecture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KXyvjqJoBIcC |year=1997|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press|isbn=978-0-8386-3602-2|pages=139–142}}</ref>

The temple is the oldest surviving structure of the former capital of Bharmour, also referred to as Bharmaur, Barmawar, Brahmor or Brahmapura in historic texts.<ref name="Bernier1983p65"/><ref name=asivolxivchamba/> Its roof and walls have been repaired over the centuries and it looks like a hut, but the Himachal Hindu community has preserved its intricately carved wooden entrance, interior and ceiling that reflects the high art of late Gupta style and era. The design and a late Gupta script inscription below the brass metal goddess statue in its sanctum confirms its antiquity.<ref name="Bernier1983p65">{{cite journal | last=Bernier | first=Ronald M. | title=Tradition and Invention in Himachal Pradesh Temple Arts | journal=Artibus Asiae | volume=44 | issue=1 | year=1983 | doi=10.2307/3249605 | pages=65–91| jstor=3249605 }}</ref><ref name="Thakur1996p89">{{cite book|author=Laxman S. Thakur|title=The Architectural Heritage of Himachal Pradesh: Origin and Development of Temple Styles|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zb8YAAAAYAAJ| year=1996|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal|isbn=978-81-215-0712-7|pages=89–91, 149–150}}</ref> The wooden carvings include [[Shaivism]] and [[Vaishnavism]] motifs and themes.<ref name="Handa2001p138"/>

==Location==
The Lakshana Devi temple is in southern part of Bharmour town, and is one of a cluster of Hindu temples built between 7th and 12th-century. It is set in the Himalayas, along the [[Ravi River]] and ''Dhaola dhar'' range.<ref name=asivolxivchamba>[https://archive.org/stream/reports09indigoog#page/n120/mode/2up Reports of the Archaeological Survey of India: 1878-79], Alexander Cunningham, ASI, pages 109-112, {{PD-notice}}</ref> It is about {{convert|400|km}} northwest of [[Shimla]], about {{convert|180|km}} east of [[Pathankot]] (nearest airport, [[IATA]]: IXP), and about {{convert|110|km}} from [[Dalhousie, India|Dalhousie]]. The town is on Indian Railways network at Bharmar (BHMR) station.<ref>{{cite book|author=Swati Mitra|title=The Buddhist Trail in Himachal: A Travel Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UVfiQwTp8wwC |year=2006|publisher=Good Earth|isbn=978-81-87780-33-5|pages=149–150}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=India Handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-RowAQAAIAAJ|year=2000|publisher=Trade & Travel|pages=518–526| isbn=9780844248417 }}</ref>

==History==
Bharmour was the capital of Hindu mountain kingdom of Champa, also spelled Chamba. There is no known documented ancient history of the region, and the earliest records appear in the form of inscriptions and legendary texts dated to the second half of the 1st millennium CE. Another source that mentions pre-12th century Champa is the Kashmir text ''[[Rajatarangini]]''.<ref name=asivolxivchamba/>

The capital was founded by Meru Varman, and a number of inscriptions in the town and elsewhere in the Chamba valley attest to his rule. The script used and other palaeographic evidence, states [[Hermann Goetz]], dates him to around 700 CE.<ref name="goetz1955p18">{{cite book|author=Hermann Goetz|title=The Early Wooden Temples of Chamba|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kMwUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA73|year=1955|publisher=Brill Academic|pages=18–21, 75–83}}</ref> With the founding of a new capital, Meruvarman commissioned and inaugurated the Lakshana Devi temple. Bharmour is set in secluded mountain valley, one that was difficult to invade and raid. Remote areas such as Bharmour, states Ronald Bernier were "largely spared from the Muslim invasion".<ref name="Bernier1983p65"/> According to Goetz and other scholars, this lack of religious persecution may be the reason why Lakshana Devi temple and others in Bharmour have preserved for well over 1,000 years.<ref name="goetz1955p73">{{cite book|author=Hermann Goetz|title=The Early Wooden Temples of Chamba|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kMwUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA73 |year=1955|publisher=Brill Academic|pages=73–79 with Plates I, II, VI and IX}}</ref>

Alexander Cunningham was the first archaeologist to visit the Lakshana Devi temple in 1839, who published his comparative analysis in Archaeological Survey of India report.<ref name=asivolxivchamba/> Cunningham remarked, that "the pillars, architraves and the pediment of the doorway are all of wood, most elaborately and deeply carved". The door carvings have weathered and difficult to discern. In contrast, wrote Cunningham, the vestibule inside is well preserved and was "beautifully carved".<ref name=asivolxivchamba/> Jean Vogel visited the Chamba state in the 1900s, and wrote about the temple in his ''Antiquities of Chamba State'' in 1911.<ref>J. Ph. Vogel (1911), [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.207525 Antiquities of Chamba State], Archaeological Survey of India, Vol. XXXVI, Superintendent Government Printing, India</ref>

===Date===
The Lakshana Devi temple is dated to around 700 CE based on the temple architecture, plan, artwork, style and the inscription found on the brass statue pedestal in its sanctum.<ref name="Goetz1955p75"/><ref name="Anand1997p14"/> The inscription states:

{{wide image|7th century Lakshana Devi Himachal Pradesh Sanskrit inscription and transliteration.jpg|600px|Sanskrit inscription found in the Lakshana Devi temple, c. 700 CE.}}
{{quote|
<poem>
Om! Born from the own-house (gotra) of Mosuna and from the Solar race, the great-grandson of the illustrious lord Aditya-varman, the grandson of the illustrious lord Bala-varman, the son of the illustrious lord Divakara-varman,

(1. 2) the illustrious lord Meru-varman, for the increase of his spiritual merit, has caused the holy image of the goddess Laksana to be made by the workman Gugga.
</poem>
– Laksana Image Inscription, Translated by [[J. Ph. Vogel]]<ref name="VogelChhabra1994p141">{{cite book|author1=Jean Philippe Vogel|author2=Bahadur Chand Chhabra|title=Antiquities of Chamba State: Inscriptions of the pre-Muhammadan period|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NnhAAAAAMAAJ |year=1994|publisher=Director General, Archaeological Survey of India|pages=141–142}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|[[Alexander Cunningham]] translated the same inscription as, "Aum! this image of Lakshana Devi, for the increase of his own virtue, was dedicated by Meru Varmma Deva, the son of Sri Divakara Varmma Deva, the grandson of Sri Bala Varmma Deva, the great grandson of Sri Aditya Varmma Deva, of the race of Mohsunaswa, and family of Aditya. Made by Gugga."<ref name=asivolxivchamba/>}}}}

The inscription mentions Meruvarman and three of his ancestors attested by other texts found in Himachal Pradesh. The reign of Meruvarman is generally dated to have begun in 680 CE.<ref name="Handa2001p136"/> This, traced with other epigraphic and textual evidence, has helped date this temple to be either from late 7th-century or the early 8th.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Jean Philippe Vogel|author2=Bahadur Chand Chhabra|title=Antiquities of Chamba State: Inscriptions of the pre-Muhammadan period|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NnhAAAAAMAAJ |year=1994|publisher=Director General, Archaeological Survey of India|pages=7–8, 97–98, 138}}</ref>

==Description==
{{multiple image
| align = right
| image1 = Lakshana Devi temple doorway (6133000423).jpg
| width1 = 183
| alt1 = 
| caption1 = The temple's wooden doorway carving.
| image2 = Lakshana Devi temple facade in 1903.jpg
| width2 = 160
| alt2 = 
| caption2 = The temple's entrance in 1903.
| footer = 
}}
The temple shows the Gupta era architecture and artwork in wood.<ref name="Goetz1955p75"/> It faces north and it currently has a rectangular plan with about {{convert|11.6|m}} external length and {{convert|8.73|m}} width.<ref name="Thakur1996p89"/><ref name="Handa2001p138"/> The temple sits on a square wooden ''jagati'', about {{convert|0.45|m}} above the ground. The earlier versions of the temple had a combination of weight bearing wood and non-weight bearing stone walls. The external wall of the temple was later plastered with mud, reaching a current thickness of about {{convert|0.85|m}}.<ref name="Handa2001p138">{{cite book|author=Omacanda Hāṇḍā|title=Temple Architecture of the Western Himalaya: Wooden Temples|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_KmaKomlI-UC |year=2001|publisher=Indus |isbn=978-81-7387-115-3|pages=138–143}}</ref><ref name="Singh1999p72"/>

The entrance and the facade of the temple have been cleaned by the Archaeological Survey of India after 1950s, revealing the finer details that were not visible to Cunningham, Vogel or Goetz. It is similar to the late Gupta style, with three parallel panels surrounding the doorway flanked by river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna.<ref name="Handa2001p138"/> Each band is separated by a thin carving of a floral scroll carved on a convex wood surface. The outer wooden band consists of reliefs of single females standing in ''tribhanga'' posture and of amorous couples. The middle wooden band features Ganga standing on ''makara'' on left and Yamuna standing on tortoise on right, with their attendants. Above them are a series of Hindu deities, including [[Shiva]] with Nandi, [[Vishnu]] Vaikunthamurti, four armed Vishnu and Skanda ([[Kartikeya]]). A goddess and god in this panel are not identifiable because their iconographic signs are too eroded. The inner panel forms the door frame of the entrance. The inner panel is carved with natural motifs such as leaves and flowers, two peacocks with their beak joined, and a pair of amorous couples in a ''mithuna'' scene.<ref name="Handa2001p138"/><ref name="goetz1955p87">{{cite book|author=Hermann Goetz|title=The Early Wooden Temples of Chamba|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kMwUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA73|year=1955|publisher=Brill Academic|pages=87–88}}</ref><ref name="Singh1999p72">{{cite book|author=Mian Goverdhan Singh|title=Wooden Temples of Himachal Pradesh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QgZFhkVINvkC |year=1999|publisher=Indus |isbn=978-81-7387-094-1|pages=72–74}}</ref>

[[File:Lakshana Devi temple interior (6133003259).jpg|thumb|left|Lakshana Devi temple's ''mukhya-mandapa'' and sanctum door.]]
Above the Gupta era-style carved temple entrance doorway, is a triangular pediment. This is notable for its intricately carved triangular pediment highlighting Vishnu and Garuda. This challenged the colonial era assumption that Shaktism, Shaivism and Vaishnavism may have been competing denominations in Indian history. The Lakshana Devi temple, along with other temples in Chamba valley, attest to all of these traditions being revered together in a Panchaupasana or Panchayatana style. The triangular pediment includes niches containing amorous couples in a range of courtship and intimacy ([[kama]] and [[mithuna]]) scenes.<ref name="Anand1997p14"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Omacanda Hāṇḍā|title=Temple Architecture of the Western Himalaya: Wooden Temples|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_KmaKomlI-UC |year=2001|publisher=Indus |isbn=978-81-7387-115-3|pages=144–146}}</ref>

The temple interior currently has a ''sandhara'' plan found in the Hindu texts on architecture. It has an ''ardha-mandapa'', a ''mukhya-mandapa'', a circumambulation path and a rectangular sanctum, about {{convert|3.61|m}} by {{convert|2.52|m}}. The ''mukhya-mandapa'' is a gathering zone in front of the sanctum and marked by six square pillars, each with {{convert|22|cm}} side.<ref name="Handa2001p138"/> The pillars are {{convert|2.2|m}} in height. The roof is pitch gabled, topped with slates. The original roof extended up to the main entrance. A roof projection to act as a canopy was added by the Archaeological Survey of India to protect the Gupta era style wood carvings.<ref name="Handa2001p138"/> According to Handa, the original plan of the temple may have been an open twin-tiered ''hansakara'' plan. The snow and weather may have led the community to add structure to protect the temple, modifying it first into a ''nirandhara'' plan of [[Hindu temple architecture]], and therefrom to the current ''sandhara'' plan.<ref name="Handa2001p138"/>

The sanctum contains a 7th-century brass statue of Durga, locally called Lakshana Devi. She is shown with four arms, holding a ''trishula'' in one hand, a sword in another and a bell in third. Her left front hand holds the tail of the shape shifting deceptive buffalo-demon (Mahishasura). Her right foot is on the head of the buffalo-demon, as she kills the evil demon.<ref name=asivolxivchamba/><ref name="Anand1997p14"/>

==See also==
*[[Masrur Temples]]
*[[Nachna Temple]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Hindudharma}}
{{Hindu inscriptions and arts}}
{{Hindu temples in Himachal Pradesh}}

[[Category:Durga temples]]
[[Category:Tourism in Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:Hindu pilgrimage sites in India]]
[[Category:Hindu temples in Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:7th-century Hindu temples]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Chamba district]]