Sasbahu (Sahastrabahu) Temples, Gwalior Fort

According to Outlook Traveller and Wikipedia, an inscription in the hall (mandapa) of the larger temple, read by Alexander Cunningham, records that construction began in 1093 CE under the Kachchhapaghata king Mahipala; Outlook Traveller adds that it credits work to his brother Padmapala as well. Wikipedia's article on the dynasty notes that Mahipala commissioned the temple and that grants issued by him at Gwalior are dated 1093 and 1104 CE.

The same Sasbahu inscription is one of the main records of the Kachchhapaghata family itself: Wikipedia notes that it names Lakshmana as the first prominent member of the dynasty and says that his successor Vajradaman captured Gwalior. Outlook Traveller reports that the temples were badly damaged under the Delhi Sultanate and were repaired at various times later. Wikipedia includes a photograph of the ruins taken in 1869 and a plan sketched in 1871.

Architecture and sacred features

The larger (Sas) temple stands on a platform which Wikipedia gives as about 30 m long and 19 m wide. Its tower over the sanctum no longer exists, but the surviving entrance porch and hall rise in three storeys, with balconies and a cruciform plan. Wikipedia cites the art historian James Harle's view that the lost tower was probably in the Bhumija style, with rows of small subsidiary spires. The hall has entrances on three sides, and its porch rests on four carved pillars.

The smaller (Bahu) temple survives as a single-storey shell with a highly ornate doorframe. Wikipedia describes a square sanctum and a square hall of twelve pillars, with a ceiling of two rotated squares forming an octagon, capped by overlapping circles. Both temples are built of sandstone, and the carving of figures, couples and musicians on their walls is extensive, though much of it has been defaced.