History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c35.s18.9

v3.c35.s18.9

The ruined fort of Dhaner or Nurpur is a very interesting fort near the town of Nurpur and the present Tahsil and hospital are built inside the fort. There are many tanks in the fort which was thus well supplied with water. There is a small temple well-preserved of Mahādeva; but the most interesting structure in this fort is the basement of an old temple the upper part of which is gone, which has been recently excavated from debris. The basement is well-preserved and there can be seen very beautiful figures carved in stone, depicting scenes in the Purāṇas and also of men, elephants, horses, camels, cows as they moved in the actual social life of mediæval Hindu period. The figures are true to nature and prove the great art of the carvers. These carvings are as beautiful, if not more, as the carvings on the pillars used in the Kutub mosque at Delhi. This temple appears to have been a Vishnu temple. The heads of the figures have all been chiselled off by Mahomedan idol-breakers.