ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF CENTRAL INDIA UNDER THE KACHCHHAPAGHATAS: A Case Study of Sihonia

Central India is very rich in terms of art and architecture and its uniform and diverse features, innovation and continuity of forms, and so on. Three families of the Kachchhapaghatas ruled over the northern part of Central India. Of them, the Sihonia-Gwalior branch ruled for a longer period of time (ninth to twelfth century) and built a number of monuments at different places. Remains of their temples and sculptures reveal some unique features like, the bhadra niches of the Kakanamatha temple which take the form of miniature doors with ribbed awnings.

Scholars of historical and cultural studies admit that the study of religious landscape needs to be attempted at a large scale if the rich heritage of our country is to be projected in its totality. Sihonia, the ancient capital city of the Kachchhapaghatas, forms the nucleus of such a sacred landscape as there are remains of more than a dozen temples belonging to different religious beliefs, which cross multiple cultural boundaries, both in time and space, and thus has great potential for a meaningful study of the culture of the Gopadri region in particular, and of Central India in general.

The present volume brings to light the available information in forms of art, architecture, and inscriptions, which has been assimilated. The interpretation of information, in terms of reconstruction of the religious landscape, adds further value to this study.