Bhima Devi Temple Complex, Pinjore

According to Haryana Tourism, Alexander Cunningham found a 27-line inscription of the 10th century during his explorations of 1878–79 that mentions Panchapura, the old name from which Pinjore is derived; the Handi stone inscriptions of 1167 CE appear to refer to the same place. The department concludes that Panchapura, later Bhima Nagar, was a place of considerable importance between the 9th and 12th centuries. Some inscriptions found at the site link the temple to a Raja Rama Deva, possibly a local king who patronised it.

Haryana Tourism states that the temple was demolished repeatedly, possibly by invaders of the period, with the final blow coming in Aurangzeb's reign, and that the adjoining Mughal garden was possibly built using the rubble. Wikipedia records that excavations in 1974 brought the temple back to light, revealing plinths and more than a hundred sculptures, and that the site was then protected under the Punjab Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1964. The finds are now arranged as an open-air museum integrated with the gardens.

Architecture and sacred features

Scientific clearance of the site, Haryana Tourism says, exposed three stone plinths of a large temple; their layout shows that it followed the panchayatana plan, with a main shrine in the centre and four subsidiary shrines placed towards the cardinal directions. Surviving architectural pieces such as chaitya windows, bhadramukha motifs, miniature turrets and figures on pillar brackets indicate the north Indian temple style of the time. The exterior was richly carved with gods and goddesses, musicians, floral and animal motifs and erotic scenes, while the interior is thought to have been comparatively plain.

Wikipedia adds that the sculptures are carved mainly from locally available grey and green sandstone, and that they are now mounted on pedestals laid out in the open-air museum to echo the original panchayatana arrangement.