Gyaraspur : A Heritage of Excellence

The valleys of Betwa and Bes in Madhya Pradesh the central state in India have cradled since time immemorial great centres of culture and civilization Gyaraspur which is now just an obscure village in a gorge of low steep hills in one of the valleys had been such a centre The place abounds in relics and ruined temples belonging to Saivism Vaisnavism Buddhism and Jainism Ancient relics and monuments such as Maladevi Temple Hindola Toran Bajramath Athakhamba Buddhist stupas Katarmal Bhairav and renowned sculpture of the nymph Salabhanjika speak a lot about the architectural and artistic splendour of Gyaraspur These monuments and sculptures are of great interest to historians of culture and art They did attract the attention of archaeologists and historians in the past and stray mentions of them appeared in Archaeological and administrative reports but no serious studies have so far been doneThe present author who is an administrator by profession but a historian and archaeologist by choice has tried to convey something new the truth about those monuments to interested public and art historians His approach has been multi-faceted not stereotype While describing all the details of the architechral remains and sculptures in this slender but well-written volume he has thought of philosophy psychology and eco-social environments that acted mystically behind the ripe creation of the monuments under study 104 pp.…