Khajuraho Pratapeshwar Temple, Madhya Pradesh

Address

Khajuraho Pratapeshwar Temple temple Road, Sevagram, Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh 471606

Diety

Pratapeshwar

Introduction

Pratapeshwar Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva located at Khajuraho town in Chhatarpur district in Madhya Pradesh, India. The Pratapeshwar Temple at Khajuraho is likely to be either the first or last temple the circular route around the western group complex. The Pratapeshwar Temple is by far the newest temple here, built over 800 years after the other temples surrounding it.

Puranic Significance

This Temple was built by Raja Pratap Singh in 19th century CE. The temple was closed in 1956 due to the States Reorganization Act, and the state archaeology department was unable to take care of the building thereafter. So, the doors remained locked until late 2016. That building is the chhatri of Raja Pratap Singh, who built the Pratapeshwar Temple as a memorial to himself, essentially to immortalise his name. Raja Pratap Singh died in 1854, so we can date this monument probably to within a couple of decades before that.

The Pratapeshwar Temple is an interesting conglomeration of three Hinduistic architectural styles. It has a Rajputana dome in the front, a pagoda style of ceiling in the middle, and then a typical brahminical Shikhara at the back. The shikhara is very reminiscent of those that can be seen crowning the fantastic chhatris at Orchha. Inside the temple is quite plain as one would expect, with a single black polished linga in the far room. Usually kings after creating monuments like this in their name would install some sort of mythological statue for the sake of its protection. The temple was closed in 1956 due to the States Reorganisation Act, and the state archaeology department was unable to take care of the building thereafter. So the doors remained locked until late 2016.