Famous Temples in India

Architecture

The temple built in 1827 is a simple but contemporary structure with an entrance hall and a sanctum sanctorum that houses the main Idol of Yogmaya made of black stone placed in a marble well of 2 ft (0.6 m) width and 1 ft (0.3 m) depth. The sanctum is 17 ft (5.2 m) square with a flat roof over which a truncated shikhara (tower) is built. Apart from this tower, a dome is the other feature seen in the temple (pictured). The idol is covered in sequins and cloth. Two small pankhas (fans) of the same materials are seen suspended over the Idol from the roof. The walled enclosure around the temple is 400 ft (121.9 m) square, with towers at the four corners. Twenty-two towers were built within the precincts of the temple at the orders of the Sood Mal, the builder. The floor of the temple was originally made of red stone but since then has been replaced by marble. The main tower above the sanctum is 42 ft (12.8 m) high and has copper-plated shikhara or pinnacle.

The flowers and sweetmeats offered by the Devotees to the goddess are placed over a marble table of 18 inches square and 9 inches height set in front of the idol in the sanctum floor. An interesting display at the temple premises in the past (but now in an open wall panel) was an iron cage of 8 ft (2.4 m) square and10 ft (3.0 m) in height in which two stone tigers are exhibited. A passage, between the temple and the wall panel has flat roof which is covered with the planks overlaid by bricks and mortar and fixed with bells.