Unfinished roof of Bhojpur Temple. Built by Raja Bhoja - 1882

Photograph of the unfinished dome of the Shiva Temple at Bhojpur in Madhya Pradesh, taken by Deen Dayal in 1882, from the Lee-Warner Collection: 'Scenes and Sculptures of Central India, Photographed by Lala Deen Dayal, Indore.' The colossal temple at Bhojpur was built by king Raja Bhoj of Dhar (ruled 1018-85) of the Paramara dynasty, a celebrated scholar author of the architectural treatise of the Samarangana Sutradhara. The temple is built on a simple square plan and consists of the sanctuary with balconies on the outside supported by massive brackets. The doorway is richly carved and has figures on the sides. Inside four massive pillars 40 feet high support a corbelled dome magnificently carved and a huge polished stone linga is set on a pedestal more than eight metres high. This is a view looking directly up towards the opening in the centre of the dome.

Copyright © The British Library Board