By: David H.
Submitted: 2009-10-13 01:04:47 | Word Count: 645
Gwalior is home to holy places of religious rites such as the Sasbahu Temple, Teli Ka Mandir and Surya Mandir. They reflect impressive architectural designs and styles, and are crowded by a large number of pilgrims as well as regular tourists every year.
Gwalior is a city rich in architectural marvels. The city was constructed out of gratitude of the King Suraj Kund to the hermit Gwalipa for curing his fatal disease named Leprosy. The city can be visited during the months of September to November and February to March. It can be reached through the domestic airport which has connections to Delhi, Bhopal, Bombay and Indore.
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It is famous in housing best temples regarded as prime destination of the land. These holy places in Gwalior Madhya Pradesh are very old. They also display exceptional architectural brilliance.
The best temples of Gwalior are the Sasbahu Temple, Teli Ka Mandir and Surya Mandir.
Sasbahu Temple of Gwalior is famous in having rare skillful architectural designs and exhibiting a wonderful worship. King Mahipala completed the construction of this temple in the year 1092 AD. He dedicated the temple in honor to Lord Vishnu, the most kind hearted among the Hindu Gods for granting overall success and prosperity to his kingdom. The temple got its name from Sahastrabahu, the one with many hands, incidentally also called to Lord Vishnu. The name Sahastrabahu was later on changed into its present day name, Sas Bahu.
The gate of Sass Bahu Temple features a caption in Sanskrit. Its doorway provides a fabulous sight of the Indian Trinity. These are Lord Brahma known as the creator, Lord Shiva also called the Destroyer and Lord Vishnu referred as the Preserver.
It is referred to the two fabulous temples in different sizes that stand next to each other. The larger one of these structures has been beautifully adorned and embellished with lovely sculptured statuettes. The roof of larger temple looks very fascinating in its impressive lotus carving. The pillars of this temple display skillful work of architecture. Its walls have also inscriptions of graceful symbols and figures.
Teli Ka Mandir Temple also called oilman s temple is the most impressive and tallest temple in the Gwalior Fort. This temple stands of about 100 feet and is an instance of a Prathihara Vishnu temple.
The structure has unique layout plan and design. This tall temple does not have mandapa or pillared hall compared to the other temples of Gwalior. Apart from this, the temple has a sanctuary along with a porch and a doorway that leads into the inner portion of the temple the chamber.
Further more, the roof of the temple has Dravidian appearance. The sculptures within the temple are practically examples of Indo Aryan. There is amazing figure of Garuda that crowns the high doorway of this interesting structure of Gwalior.
Some images on displayed at Teli Ka Mandir complex would include: flying Garuda the vehicle of Lord Vishnu, coiled serpents, passionate couples and figures of river goddesses.
Lastly, Surya Mandir is also known as Sun Temple situated at a distance of approximately 5 kilometers from the city center of Gwalior. It was the renowned industrialist of India, G.D Birla who built this beautiful temple in 1988. The well known Sun Temple at Konark in Orissa was the inspiration of the architectural style and pattern of this marvelous creation.
The main gate of this newly constructed temple displays images of the sun. The pillars of the temple have sign of the swastika designed on earthen pot called the purnakumbha. This Hinduism symbolic object represents God and is commonly used during various religious worships and rites. The temple has exteriors constructed from red sand stone and while its interior was built out of white marble.
At the premises stands the beautiful sculpture of Lord Surya. There is also well maintained garden within the landscape around the temple.
