Must Visit 4 Begunia Temples of Barakar, Asansol
We are on our day 5 of our road trip through top attractions of West Bengal. After night halt in Siuri we set off to Barakar in Asansol to see the famous 4 Begunia Temples!
Being a Bengali, the name Begunia made me wonder if the place produces begoon which means eggplant/brinjal/aubergine in Bengali language. But reality is far from that!
Landing at the place after driving through the congested lanes of industrial city of Asansol I found an open space with 4 temples. Each had a queer shape, very different from the terracotta temples I saw in other parts of Bengal.
(All pictures of Begunia Temples taken in April 2013.)
4 Begunia Temples of Barakar are must see if you are anywhere around Asansol.
All four Begunia Temples of Barakar are located in one complex, protected by a big boundary wall, no encroachment should be possible. So it makes the visit easy.
Barakar is easily approachable by road and we arrived here from Siuri, a distance of approximately 100kms. I was intrigued by the name Begunia and one of the priests there clarified my doubt. The temples assume the shape of brinjal (eggplant) hence the name ‘Begunia’.
Yes, they resemble brinjal, that solves the mystery of the name – Begunia.
Google Map for Begunia Temple from Siuri West Bengal
The temples are numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4 by ASI. Two of them are dedicated to Lord Shiva, one to Lord Ganesha and other to Goddess Durga. All the 4 temples have impressive facade details.
All 4 Begunia Temples visible in this picture. The farthest one is the oldest of the four.
Begunia Temple Number 1
Temples 1 and 2 are at the entrance to the complex were built in around 14th to 15 century. They are the most decorated ones. Both these temples are made of black and grey sandstone and are in good condition, with less signs of wearing off.
The shikhara (pinnacles) are decorated with floral designs and mythological figures. These stone temples of Begunia are very different from the ones in Bishnupur and are not from the usual terracotta. They are of typical Bengal architecture, the Shikhar or Rekh Deul style.
The inscription on the walls credits a king named Harishchandra for its construction. It was apparently completed in 1462 and dedicated to Harishchandra’s queen Haripriya.
Lord Ganesha and 3 Shiv Lingam
Begunia Temple 2
Goddess Durga is worshiped in this temple. The stone image looks so worn out, I could hardly decipher the Goddess’s form in this. Both Temple 1 and 2 have forms of seated Nandi in front of the temples.
Temple 3 in Barakar Temple Complex
This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Two Nandis (Lord Shiva’s vehicle) of temples 3 and 4. The stone structures are totally worn out.
Siddheswara Temple Barakar
Temple No. 4, This is the Siddheswara temple; it houses a cell and a vestibule. A shivling, 55 inches in diameter, is worshiped here.
The ‘lingam’ here is called the Siddheshwar Lingam. It was very dark inside. But it was evident that the temple is in regular use and prayers are offered. Of the 4 temples, Siddheshwara Mahadev Temple is the oldest and dates back to 8th to 9th century.
Siddheswara Temple Barakar
This temple has Orissa style of architecture. Plenty of evidences found here in this complex prove that Barakar was once a Jain or Buddhist religious center.
The earliest reference to the temples can be found in a book named History of Indian & Eastern Architecture by James Fergusson.
See more temple details in Facade Details of Begunia Temples Asansol.
Siddheswara Temple Barakar sculptures
Siddheswara Temple Barakar Shiva Lingam
How to reach Begunia Temples of Barakar
Begunia is 17km from Asansol. And it is at 220km from Kolkata. Local transport ply between the cities. Alternately you can hire tourist vehicles too. See the google map in picture.
I m from chirkunda upper bazar.. Known as the border of bengal n jharkhand…. According to the knowledge of a grand people of area barakar we know that temple no. 3 and 4 are naturly came out from depth of earth a early morni g a lady and hen seen that the temple is coming out from inside then 3 and 4 temple stoped coming out and a lady and hen which has seen the temple coming out they beacme statue of stone after that 1 n 2 no. Temple was built by the king and a statue of a lady n hen is kow also available it is kelt beside a pond near temple this is a real knowledge known from common people of barakar.. Hritik singh student of class 10 from S. G. D modern school chirkunda
I am from barakar near this temple
The last picture with the contrasting green and orange was amazing.
Beautiful monuments indeed. Nice post Indrani.
OMG!! temple no.1 is built during 8th to 9th century. Oh, It's wonderful.
Please do let me know the link of your post. I will link it here.
There is a Kalyaneshwari Temple in Maithan, will bring back photos for you. 🙂
Thanks for the wonderful pictures and info…
The structure of the temple in the first pic, that was new to me.. lovely post as always 🙂
Thanks friends for the wonderful comments.
Shantanu, I couldn't visit Maithan. I mostly look out for places with old temples. If there is a next time I will make a visit to this place. Looking forward to your post.
Najm Nisa, Asansol is in West Bengal.
Awesome.Looks like a beautiful place
Never knew a place named Asansol existed , where is this place located ? 😐 nice pics btw.
You Know Indrani, I am from Maithan it's a small place just 3 k.m from Barakar, although Barakar falls in the W.B region and Maithan falls in the Jharkhand Region. I have lived near Barakar for around 18 years and I never saw this place like you described in your post, for me it was just another temple. Beautiful place, I hope you visited the pride of my hometown Maithan Dam too! would love to see a post, also I will be visiting Barakar and Maithan in two-three days will write a post or click some photographs, please visit the blog once to check and review. You know my photography Blog .. many thanks Cheers!!
The photos are wonderful and thanks for sharing the information about the temple..:-)
I really love the way you search out for these undiscovered places
Beautifully captured!
Your temples amaze me…all the intricate sculptural detail…how did they do it…and they have lasted for centuries. Lovely pictures and interesting details.
Wonderful photos of the temples! The details are beautiful. Have a happy day!
the temples are so artistically beautiful.
A beautiful post and beautiful temples and wonderful, interesting information as always, Indrani!! Thank you for sharing!! Hope you're enjoying a great week!!
Good info on these beautiful temples!
Beautiful temples. Nice post, Indrani!
I love this series Indrani! Beautiful pictures .
very pretty.
Very good photo's with nice details.
greetings, Joop
Splendid! The temples in the first pic looks as if they are made of clay. Unique!
Thanks for the beautiful pictures and detailed information.