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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2022}}
[[File:Udaipur Temple, west side.jpg|thumb|Nīlakaṇṭheśvara temple from the west, as documented in 1982.]]
The '''Nīlakaṇṭheśvara temple''' is a large medieval temple dedicated to Śiva in the town of [[Udaypur, Madhya Pradesh|Udaypur]], in the state of [[Madhya Pradesh]], India. The temple is a [[List of Monuments of National Importance in Madhya Pradesh/East|Monument of National Importance]] under the [[Archaeological Survey of India]], numbered N-MP-289. The temple, also known as the '''Udayeśvara Temple''', was built by king [[Udayaditya]] in {{circa|1070–1093}} [[Common Era|CE]]. It is the only surviving royal temple of the [[Paramara dynasty|Paramara]] kings.

[[File:Dedication.jpg|thumb|right|Dedicatory inscription of the temple, on a lintel in the entrance porch, dated VS 1137.]]
==Dedicatory inscription==
[[File:Udaipur temple.jpg|thumb|The temple exterior of the sanctum showing mouldings and niches with Śaiva deities, 1982.]]
[[File:Temple inscriptions.jpg|thumb|right|A sample of the votive and pilgrim inscriptions inside the eastern entrance.]]
[[File:Udaypur eastern porch.jpg|thumb|Eastern entrance porch, engraved with a host of pilgrim and votive records.]]
An inscription in the eastern porch records the building of the temple in Vikrama Saṃvat 1137 or 1080-81 CE.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://siddham.network/inscription/inpar1501/|title=Foundation record of the Udayesvara temple|website=SIDDHAM: the Asia Inscriptions Database|access-date=19 Feb 2020}}</ref>

The translation of the text is as follows:

Left half:

From every quarter, O King, we recite the Veda
that is primordial and the bestower of siddhis,
so that the lord of the earth, Udayāditya,
may bring the earth under a single umbrella.
Upon his head the earth prospers, thus he is renowned as the Earth-Bearer.

At the sun’s passage (into another zodiac?). This is the verse of Paṇḍita Mahīpāla, son of Paṇḍita Gṛhavāsa. Saṃvat 1137 on the bright fortnight of Vaiśākha. Completion of the raising of the flag of Śrī Udayeśvaradeva. May there be auspiciousness! May there be great fortune!

Right half:

It was the celebrated one who has no superior, the Self-Born (Śiva),
who ordained that the city, lord, ocean, etc. of the lord of the earth, Udayāditya, have the epithet ‘Udaya’.
What is the use of many other Vedas? What is the use of many other hymns of praise?
Extol the Veda that has but one ruler; it grants success in all things.
The verses were engraved by ''sūtradhāra'' Dhīradev, brother of the illustrious Madhusūdana. May there be auspiciousness! May there be great fortune!

Annex below:
These verses—engraved by ''sūtradhāra'' Dhīradev and composed by Paṇḍita Śrī Mahīpāla—are fit for all things.

==Architecture==
Although of the same date as some of the buildings at [[Khajuraho]], architecturally speaking, the temple spire belongs to a class known as ''[[Bhumija|bhūmija]]'', or 'earth born,' a mode of temple construction that originated in the Mālwa region.<ref>Krishna Deva, "Bhumija Temples," in ''Studies in Indian Temple Architecture'', ed. P. Chandra (Delhi: AIIS, 1975): 90-113; Adam Hardy, ''Theory and Practice of Temple Architecture in Medieval India: Bhoja's Samarānganasūtradhāra and the Bhojpur Line Drawings'', with translations by Mattia Salvini (New Delhi: IGNCA, 2015)</ref> Other temples of this type are found at [[Nemawar]] and Un ([[Khargone]] district).

==Iconography==
The complex Śaiva iconography of the temple was studied by Doria Tichit.<ref>Doria Tichit, "Le programme iconographique du temple d’Udayeśvara à Udayapur, Madhya Pradesh, XIe siècle," Arts asiatiques 67, no. 1 (2012): 3-18. Available online: http://www.persee.fr/doc/arasi_0004-3958_2012_num_67_1_1770.</ref> Subsequently a detailed analysis was prepared by Anupa Pande and published in 2018.<ref>Anupa Pande, ''The Udayeśvara Temple : Art, Architecture and Philosophy of the Śaiva Siddhānta''. (Delhi: Aryan Books International, 2018).</ref> In 2023, Saurabh Saxena published an richly-illustrated study in ''Puratattva'', accessible online.<ref>Saurabh Saxena, "Udaipur – Epoch of Parmara Architecture," ''Puratattva'' 08 September 2023, online at https://puratattva.in/udaypur-epoch-of-parmara-architecture/. Retrieved February 2024.</ref>

==Votive and pilgrim inscriptions==
The temple is unique in [[north India]] for the many inscriptions on and in the building, with a particular concentration being found in the eastern entrance. In addition to the consecration record, located on a [[lintel]] on the left (south side) of the porch and dated Vikrama year 1137 or 1080-81 CE in the time of [[Udayaditya|Udayāditya]], the porch carries more than sixty votive records.<ref>The records are listed in ''Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy (1961-62)'', section C, nos. 1611-1677. For the dedication inscription, see [[Nīlakaṇṭheśvara temple, Udaypur, Madhya Pradesh]].</ref> Not yet studied in a systematic fashion, these form a continuous sequence from the time of the Paramāras – [[Devapala (Paramara dynasty)|Devapāla]] (''circa'' 1218–39 CE) is mentioned – through the period of the [[Tughluq dynasty]], the [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]] and their successors.

An early votive record from the time of the Tughluqs is dated Vikrama year 1394 (1323-24 CE) and records the homage paid by two brahamins named Mādhava and Keśava. It is engraved on the sculpture of an elephant just inside the entrance (''see'' figures). Another important inscription, documenting the co-existence Hindu and Muslim religious activities at the site, mentions a festival (''yātrā'') of the god Udaleśvara in 1338, the same year as the Tughluq inscription recording the construction of the mosque in the temple precinct.<ref>''Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy (1961-62)'', section C, no. 1625.</ref> For the Tugluq inscription, see [[Tughluq Shāhī mosque, Udaypur, Madhya Pradesh]]. Udaleśvara is a local spelling of Udayeśvara, the main deity in the temple, named eponymously after the Paramāra king [[Udayaditya|Udayāditya]].<ref>The eponymous naming of temple deities is explained in M. Willis, ''The Archaeology of Hindu Ritual'' (Cambridge: University Press, 2014; first published 2009), pp. 137-40.</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:Monuments of National Importance in Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Vidisha district]]

Nīlakaṇṭheśvara temple - Revision history

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