Late medieval · Hindu · India

Bishnupur Temple Town (Rasmancha & terracotta temples)

রাসমঞ্চ

Bishnupur, Bankura, West Bengal · 23.0680°, 87.3190°

Krishna (Radha-Krishna temples)MallaBengal terracotta (chala/ratna)

Sacred since

1600 CE

first attestation / structure

Standing structure

Rasmancha 1600; Shyamrai 1643; Jor Bangla 1655

patron: Bir Hambir, Raghunath Singha

History & significance

Capital of the Malla kings, who turned to Vaishnavism and built in brick and terracotta what Bengal lacked in stone — pyramid-stepped Rasmancha, the pancharatna Shyamrai and paired-hut Jor Bangla, their walls tiled with thousands of burnt-clay panels of the Krishna lila. The town's Baluchari sarees still weave temple panels into silk.

Sthala katha — the legend

During Ras Purnima all the town's Krishna images were gathered under the Rasmancha's arcades and circled by lamplight — the whole city joining the deities' moonlit dance, a practice that continued for three centuries.

Reaching there

Bishnupur is served by regular trains from Kolkata. The town lies in Bankura district, which is well connected by road with Kolkata and with Asansol, Durgapur, Burdwan and Panagarh. The nearest airport is Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International at Kolkata, about 212 km from Bankura.

Open in Google Maps ↗Wikipedia ↗View on the atlas map