Duttapara Terracotta Temple in Joypur India

Because of the extraordinary work on terracotta panels on its walls, the Duttapara Temple ranks high in the list of top 10 temples of Joypur near Bishnupur. They tell innumerable mythological stories. Though the panels and terracotta idols in the roof has lost out to ravages of weather and time, the wall panels are pretty much in good shape.

Glad that these are still free things to do in Joypur. But on second thoughts I felt they should take some kind of donation from tourists at least for the maintenance of these treasures till some government help comes. West Bengal Tourism should step in before they reduce to dust and merge with Mother Earth!

See the previous post on Duttapara Temple: Navaratna Terracotta Temple Duttapara in Joypur Bankura

Roof of Duttapara Temple

Arches on the roof has overgrowth of moss, worn out at many parts and dark gray with negligence. They desperately need a good scrub. I wonder when it was last somebody climbed up there for renovation.

Notice the seated musicians on the arch? Not all nine musicians on the arch are in good form. It is sad to see them in headless form.

Musicians on arch of roof Duttapara Temple

Musicians on arch of roof Duttapara Temple

Worn out Terracotta idols

Worn out Terracotta idols, hard to make out whom these idols represent

Walls of Navaratna Duttapara Temple

There are two triple arched entrances to the temple. Front facade is better maintained. The walls of the front side of the temple are better maintained. Seemed like they were given a white coat along the lower portions of the walls.

Duttapara Terracotta Temple in Joypur near Bishnupur India

Duttapara Terracotta Temple in Joypur near Bishnupur India

Central Arch of the Front Facade

The central terracotta panel has scenes from Mahabharata and Ramayana the two sacred Hindu religious texts. Lord Krishna and Radha with gopinis in the top most row. In the second row, there is Lord Ram, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman.

Left Arch of the Facade

 War between Lord Ram and Ravan (right panel).
Duttapara Terracotta Temple in Joypur near Bishnupur India

Right Arch of the Facade

The battle between Arjun and Karna in Kurukshetra, Lord Krishna is the charioteer. (left panel)

Duttapara Terracotta Temple in Joypur near Bishnupur India
Duttapara Terracotta Temple in Joypur near Bishnupur India

Mahogany Wood Door of Duttapara Temple

This 300 years old Mahogany wood door has withstood the test of time. It is the oldest fixture of the temple. Worn out at many places so many of the carvings are faint remains of what they were once. The sharpness of the features gone, it was hard to name the characters depicted on the wooden panels.

With a history and character like this it has a place in the list of Doors of India! Unfortunately the temple had closed after the daily payer rituals and the door was firmly shut. I found the door details interesting soon I was clicking them.

Doors of India in Duttapara Joypur

Door details damodar temple duttapara

Lord Rama carved on the mahogany wood door of Duttapara temple

Pin this for later…

Save this post, and share with your friends if you plan to go on a Terracotta Temple Trail in West Bengal India.

Terracotta Temples of Joypur

10 Interesting Facts of Vivekananda Setu in Kolkata
Tantalizing Tulips from Ducal Gardens in Modena, Italy

47 Responses to “Duttapara Terracotta Temple in Joypur India

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.