Temples

It is said that the temples at Bateshwar were no less than a hundred and seventy in number. A figure of one hundred and one is still oft quoted and repeated. It is difficult to assess the exact numbers but given the widespread ruins that exist and the stories that persist, there were certainly more than the forty odd temples that still stand today.

No single and definitive style, time period or patron may lay claim to these temples. The temples vary in size and grandeur; have been built over a period of many centuries by victorious rulers, pious queens, valiant commanders, conquering armies, magnanimous merchants, and god-fearing villagers. Many have inscriptions glorifying their builders but most do not. These anonymous and largely ignored edifices to the glory of Shiva speak with a touching simplicity.

A connection with God before it was complicated by ritual.