| Roda Group of temples | |
|---|---|
 Shiva Temple No. I | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| Deity | Shiva,Vishnu,Surya,Ganesha andNavagraha |
| Location | |
| Location | Raisingpura (Roda) village,Sabarkantha district,Gujarat |
  Location in Gujarat | |
| Coordinates | 23°39′32.4″N73°04′58.9″E / 23.659000°N 73.083028°E /23.659000; 73.083028 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Gurjara-Pratihara orRashtrakuta |
| Completed | Late eighth to ninth century |
| Temple | 7 |
TheKhed-Roda Group of Monuments include eighth-ninth century dated seven Hindu temples built duringPratihara orRashtrakuta period. It also include a reservoir (Kund) and a stepwell. They are located between Raisingpura (Roda) and Khed Chandarani villages, 18 km fromHimmatnagar inSabarkantha district ofGujarat, India.[1] It is located on the bank of the seasonal stream which mergesHathmati River downstream.
Roda literally means brick-bats inGujarati. The site derived its name from these ruins containing brickbats and an old hamlet near the site.[2][3] Khed Chandrani is a nearby village.
The site was not known to the early archeologists. It was first studied by P. A. Inamdar in 1926 followed by U. P. Shah andM. A. Dhaky in 1960s. Dhaky considered these monuments as the "great-grandfather" of theSolanki architecture of Gujarat, also known asMaru-Gurjara architecture.[2][3][4]
There are six temples at the site and the photographic record of seventh exists. All these temples are east facing.[4]
The first two temples are reached by road. The first one is dedicated to Shiva (No. I) and the second is the Pakshi Mandir (No. II) which has no idols but carving of birds hence also known as the bird temple. Temple No. II is the smallest temple among the group. Further 500 metres, there is a large rectangularLadushah kund (stepped reservoir) which may had elaborately carved shrines, one on each of its four corners formerly. Of these, two shrines (No. III and V) are surviving which are dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu respectively and the base of the third (No. IV) is still between these two. Other two lost shrines may have been dedicated to Goddess andSurya. Across the stream, there is another shrine which hasNavagraha depicted on its doorframe so it is known as the Navagraha temple (No. VI). Some steps away, there is a ruined temple (No. VII) which is the largest temple among the group. There are stone steps near the temple No. VII leading to the river but are in dilapidated condition. It has an image ofGanesha so it is known as the Ganesha temple and also known as the Shiva temple. These temples were damaged in2001 earthquake but were restored later. No mortar like fixing material is used for the construction of these temples and the lower parts of these temples are held together by the weight of the spires.[2][3][4][5][6]
The sculptures collected from the site are now housed at theBaroda Museum & Picture Gallery inVadodara. These sculptures depict variousHindu deities including a sculpture of Surya.[3]
The Nagrani Vav (stepwell) is located at the entrance of nearby Khed Chandarani village.[2][4][7]
These temples are classified under the Anarta School of Maha-Gurjara tradition of temple construction. It is the largest group of such styled temples.[8][9]
The Temple No. I isnirandhara shrine with bi-partite offset (dwi-anga) plan configuration. It is situated on east-facingjagati (plinth). The entrancemandapa is ofprag-griva style with four pillars. The inner sanctum is square. The plinth has moldings ofbhita andpattika. The circumvention path (pradakshina) is provided by space on the plinth. The outer walls of the shrine is devoid of ornamentation. Themandapa hasphansana (pyramidal superstructure with decreasing number of mouldings) type roof and thelatina type spire over the main shrine has elaborate boldjala pattern carvings.[8] It is topped by largeamalaka. The Temple No. II It has aphansana styled spire, not usuallatina spire,[8] like shrines found inSaurashtra.[9] The Temple No. III is almost similar to Temple No. I except its tri-partite offset (tri-anga) plan configuration.[8] The Temple No. VII has agudhamandapa with a porch while other temples haveprag-griva as in Temple No. I. Except No. VII, the pillars of these temples are ofruchaka type with carved upper parts. The ceilings are mostly flat with floral or other geometric carvings. These temples has elaborate carvings only on the doorways of small sanctuaries of the temples and porch columns. The carvings of basement is fewer and heavy. The sculptures ofNarsimha,Trivikrama andVaraha is on the walls of Vishnu temple. There is a Shiva temple (No. VII) near the curve of the river. It hasgudhamandapa (closed hall) withphansana styled roof indicating the style of roof developed later in 11th century.[3][4][9] There is also Vishnu temple (No. V). It had ornamented doorway but has no detailed sculptural ornamentation.[3][4]
Thekund is collapsed on the northern side. There are four shrines with small porches and idols in the each corner of thekund. They are dedicated tosaptamatrikas,Vishnu,Ganesha and Goddesses.[10][11] It is an earlier example of suchkund.[9]
There is no dated inscription in these temples. These temples belonged to late eighth to ninth century (post-Maitraka period).[5] Based on style of temples and similarity with other temples, they are built during the rule of eitherGurjara-Pratiharas orRashtrakutas during the two centuries long period oftripartite struggle for control of the region. There is an idol of Shiva-Parvati found near the site (now in Baroda Museum) which had an inscription datedSamvat 1104 (1048 CE). So it is assumed that the construction may have continued at the site for about two centuries. The nearby Nagrani Vav (stepwell) has an inscription of Samvat 1474 (1418 CE).[2][3][4][7]
The site is inscribed as the Monument of National Importance (N-GJ-176) and is maintained by Vadodara Circle ofArcheological Survey of India.[5] Nearby Nagrani stepwell is the State Protected Monument (S-GJ-361) maintained by the Archeology Department of Government of Gujarat.