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[[File:6th 7th century Bhima Kichak Temple, Malhar Chhattisgarh India - 2.jpg|thumb|The Bhima Kichak Temple in Malhar, Bilaspur district. It is dated to c. 6th–7th century CE]]
'''Malhar''' is a small town situated in [[Bilaspur district, Chhattisgarh|Bilaspur district]] of [[Chhattisgarh]], [[India]]. A historically important site that once was a major city and served as a capital in the 1st millennium, it has been referred to as Mallar, Mallari and Sarabhapur in inscriptions and Indian literature. In contemporary times, it is more village like with mounds and ruins of an ancient fort, two restored Shiva temples and a museum with the ruins of major group of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples. It has [[archaeological]] significance. It is about 30 kilometers southeast from Bilaspur in a rural terrain, connected with a feeder road from India's National Highway 49.

==Oldest Vishnu==
The oldest known sculpture of Vishnu with four-arm figure holding shankha, chakra and gada dated to c. 200 BCE was found in Malhar, Chhattisgarh.<ref name="Krishna2009">{{cite book|author=Nanditha Krishna|title=The Book of Vishnu|date=2009|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-306762-7|pages=25–6}}</ref>

== Legends ==
[[File:12th century Pataleshvara Temple, Malhar Chhattisgarh India - 3.jpg|thumb|left|The 12th century Pataleshvara Temple in Malhar]]
In ancient Indian literature as well as the epic ''[[Ramayana]]'', ''[[Mahabharata]]'' and ''[[Puranas]]'' there are many references to the ancient [[Kosala Kingdom]] of northern India. Surya Vanshi [[Ikshvaku dynasty]] kings ruled [[Kosala]] with [[Ayodhya]] as their capital. Sri Ramachandra was a king of that clan, based on whose character and activities, the ''Ramayana'' was written. This work mentions that after [[Rama]], the kingdom was divided among his two sons, [[Lava]] and [[Kusha (Ramayana)|Kusha]]. North Kosala went to Lava as his share with Shravasti Nagari as his capital while Kusha received South Kosala. He established his new capital, Kushasthalipura on the riverKushavrate near the [[Vindhya]] mountain range, which divides north and south India. Kushasthalipura is identified as near [[Malhar]] in the present-day [[Bilaspur district, Chhattisgarh|Bilaspur district]] of [[Chhattisgarh]] state.

As part of his military campaigns, [[Sahadeva]] targeted the kingdoms in the regions south of the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]]. Vanquishing the invincible Bhismaka, Sahadeva then defeated the king of Kosala in battle and the ruler of the territories lying on the banks of the Venwa, as well as the Kantarakas and the kings of the eastern Kosalas.<ref>Mahabharata, Book 2, Chapter 30</ref>{{Page needed|date=July 2015}}

==Archaeological Sites==
In Malhar, many ancient temples have been found, such as the Pataleshwar temple, the Devri temple & the Dindeshwari temple. Ancient deposits and [[Jain]] memorials were also found here. The four handed idol of [[Vishnu]] is significant. The remains found here are of the period from approximately 1000 BCE to the [[Kalachuris of Ratnapura|Ratnapura Kalachuri]] regime. Temples of the 10th and 11th centuries are also conspicuous. Among them, the Pataleshwar Kedar temple is one, where the Gomukhi [[lingam|Shivling]] is the main attraction. The Dindeshwari temple of the Kalachuri regime is also significant. Artistic idols are present in the Deor temple. There is also a museum in Malhar, being managed by the Government of India, having a good collection of old sculptures.
[[File:Temple Carvings in Malhar Bilaspur Chhattisgarh 2009.jpg|thumb|Temple Carvings in Malhar Bilaspur Chhattisgarh 2009]]
The excavation at Malhar found past history of many kingdoms of South Kosala:<ref name="omprakash">{{cite book|author=Om Prakash Misra|title=Archaeological Excavations in Central India: Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh|date=2003|publisher=Mittal Publications|pages=134–135}}</ref>
# Period 1 - Protohistoric (c 1000 BCE to 350 BCE)
# Period 2 - [[Maurya Empire|Maurya]], [[Shunga dynasty|Shunga]], [[Satavahana]] (c 350 BCE to 300 CE)
# Period 3 - [[Sharabhapuriya dynasty|Sharabhapuriya]] and Somvavamshi (c 300 to 650 CE)
# Period 4 - Later [[Somavamshi dynasty|Somavamshi]] (c 650 to 900 CE)
# Period 5 - [[Kalachuris of Ratnapura|Kalachuri]] (c 900 to 1300 CE)

Malhar is in the list of "Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains of National Importance" maintained by the [[Archaeological Survey of India]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110929102132/http://www.bilaspur.nic.in/ Welcome to Bilaspur]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060228054756/http://www.chhattisgarh.com/bilaspur/bilaspur.htm Map of Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060313204529/http://www.chhattisgarh.com/bilaspur/travels/bilaspurtravels.htm#RATANPUR Tourist places of Bilaspur District]
* [https://glibs.in/Politics/Bilaspur-city-moving-forward-towards-becoming-a-smart-city-43456.html/ Bilaspur becoming smart city]
* [https://www.amritopinion.com/2020/08/malhar-bilaspur-chhattisgarh.html Malhar Bilaspu]

{{Coord|21|53|38|N|82|17|6|E|display=title}}

[[Category:Tourism in Chhattisgarh]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Chhattisgarh]]
[[Category:History of Chhattisgarh]]

{{chhattisgarh-geo-stub}}

Malhar, Chhattisgarh - Revision history

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