Parvati Temple and Chaumukhnath Temple, Nachna

The site came to scholarly attention through Alexander Cunningham, who described the 'Nachna-Kuthara' temples in volume 21 of the ASI reports, published in 1885. He found the approach strewn with ruins but the two stone temples in good condition. He estimated the Parvati temple at about 400 CE and the Chaumukhnath temple at 600–700 CE. Later scholars, as summarised on Wikipedia, place the Parvati temple in the second half of the 5th century (Michael Meister suggests about 465 CE), while George Michell prefers the 6th century. The Chaumukhnath temple is generally dated to the 9th century.

No foundation inscription has been found at the temples. Two rock inscriptions found nearby at Ganj, dated about 470–490 CE, record a ruler named Vyaghradeva who professed allegiance to the Vakataka king Prithvisena. They show that the area was politically important in the 5th century. Wikipedia records that the Parvati temple's upper storey collapsed after Cunningham's visit and was later rebuilt.

According to the National Monuments Authority list of the ASI Jabalpur Circle, the Parvati temple was notified as a protected monument on 30 April 1953 and the Chaumukh Nath temple on 10 September 1988. Ruins and loose sculpture around the village suggest that several more early temples once stood here.

Architecture and sacred features

The Parvati temple stands on a raised, moulded platform (jagati) and faces west. Its square sanctum, about 2.4 m inside, is enclosed by a roofed circumambulation passage lit by perforated stone screens (jalis). Above is a plain upper storey, and the temple probably had a flat roof. The sanctum doorway is framed by the river goddesses Ganga, on a crocodile, and Yamuna, on a tortoise. Beside them stand trident-bearing Shaiva door guardians, and bands of floral carving and amorous couples (mithunas) surround the opening.

The Chaumukhnath temple, built centuries later, has a square sanctum, about 3.6 m inside, opening to the east, and a slightly curved spire about 12 m tall in the north Indian style. Wikipedia gives the four-faced linga as about 1.4 m high. Its doorway follows the design of the Parvati temple, and jali windows show musicians and the river goddesses.