Mediaeval Temples of the Dakhan c13.s1: Bārsi Täkli
Mediaeval Temples of the Dakhan c13.s1
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Bārsi Täkli
c13.s1.1
THE few Hindu remains in Berār may be included in the temples of the Dakhan, since they are well within the limits of the Dakhan as the term was understood in mediæval times, and are of the same nature and style as those to be found further west. It is only, however, in the southern districts of the province that they are found in any numbers, the northern districts being remarkably bare of remains.
c13.s1.2
On the outskirts of the town of Bārsi Tākli, twelve miles to the south-east of Akolā, the famous cotton centre, is the compact little black-stone temple of Bhavānī. It consists of a *maṇḍapa* and shrine, both being freely decorated upon the exterior with bands of mouldings and images. The *maṇḍapa* is curiously arranged with regard to the shrine, being attached, as it were, sideways to it, or, in other words, the hall may be described as having its entrance on one side instead of at the end opposite the shrine as is usual. The entrance to the hall is thus at right-angles to that of the shrine. The plan of the hall is rectangular while that of the shrine is star-shaped, which is carried out in the plans of the four decorated pillars which support the central ceiling. A broad band of images runs round the outer walls, the principal ones in which, excepting Ganapati, being females, Mahākālī and Mahiṣāsuramardanī occupying important positions. This is what might be expected in a temple dedicated to a *devī* or goddess, and shows that Bhavānī is not a recent installation in the shrine. The walls are not free from indecent representations. The ceiling is particularly well decorated, the marginal panels being very much like those of temple No. 1 at Balsāne in Khāndesh. The *śikhara* of the shrine and the roof of the hall have disappeared. (Plates XCIX—CI.)
c13.s1.3
Fig 14—Pillar in Kālikā Devī's temple.
c13.s1.4
Within the temple, engraved upon the back wall, is a long Sanskrit inscription which is, unfortunately, very much damaged by the peeling of the surface of the stone. It is dated in *Śaka* 1098 (A. D. 1176), which, from the style of the temple, may be taken as about the date of its construction.
c13.s1.5
There is a second temple at Bārsi Tākli, that of Śrī Koleśvara Mahādeva, of comparatively late work, in the debased mixed Muhammadan style. Its interior is much below ground level and is always full of water, which percolates through from the adjacent rivulet.