Markanda temple Complex (Markanda)

India / Maharashtra / Mul / Markanda
 temple, Shiva temple
Markanda is a must on the pilgrim's itinerary. Situated on the bank of the Vainganga river this town is said to have derived its name from the sage Markandeya who lived and worshipped here. It has an undoubtedly spiritual character with no less than 24 temples in its vicinity, including the Markanda temple. The temples reflect the architectural style of Khajuraho, although no inscriptions exist to indicate their exact age.
The other subsidiary monuments conserved at the Markanda temple complex include the Nagarkhana, Varad Ganesha, a temple without image and a Bhavani temple. Work on Grushneshwar temple is going on.
Conservation of monuments is not at all an easy task. It first requires an in-depth study of the type of architecture, the material used, the source or origin of the material. Sahu informs that while protecting the monument the basic job of ASI is not to conduct any repair works, remove or add anything new to the structure. It is expected to only maintain the monument in 'as and where' and prevent it from further deterioration.
"For this we ensure that we only use the original material used in construction even if we have to transport it from long distances. We can't use modern binding materials like cement for joining the stones," said Sahu. Retaining the basic fabric of construction is what makes the conservation job difficult.
For Markandeshwar, sandstones have been brought from a quarry in Dholpur in Rajasthan. The labours who are doing the work have specially been brought from Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh as they are good at doing this kind of work. "Sometimes if our study of monument doesn't match actual condition or the state of conservation required, we fail to give the right financial estimate about funds. Hence, it requires a lot of detailing and understanding of conservation to get the project going," she said.
"The stones which are falling or about to fall are brought down one by one through a hand operated pulley. Then we use a mortar made from lime, brick powder and various natural adhesives, make it slurry and use it for resetting the stones in their original form. Before dismantling the falling structure we number each stone so that each one goes into its original place,"
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   19°59'39"N   79°51'59"E

Comments

  • Hemadpanthi Style is an architectural style first introduced by a minister named Hemadpanth of Ahmednagar, during the Adilshahi rule in Maharashtra. The construction was done using only the locally available black stone and lime. This style became well known by the name Hemadpanthi style.
  • This is Markanda Temple!
  • A temple with carvings similar to Khajuraho
  • This is not black stone
  • tHE BHAVANI HERE MAY BE ONE OF THE 108 SHAKTHI PEETH
This article was last modified 9 years ago