English: The Terahi monastery and associated Hindu temples are found together in the Terahi village in Shivpuri distrist of north Madhya Pradesh. This monastery is mentioned as Terambhi monastery in the inscription stone of the historic Rannod Hindu monastery. The temples, monastery and water tank was built by Shiva-tradition monks between 9th and 11th-centuries.

The monastery is a two storey building built from huge cut blocks of stones and cut large slabs. It has an open court, surrounded by corridors with many rooms. Stone steps lead to the second floor. The monks also built a drinking water storage on the northeast side of the monastery, and a drainage management system so that the building does not flood during the monsoons. Some Hindu artwork is included in the monastery. More profuse artwork is found in the temples (most in ruins).

This site likely had at least five Hindu temples. Only one temple survives in a mutilated form, and it stands near the monastery. This is now a Shiva temple, but the lalatabimba has Vishnu. Outside walls includes artwork from all major Hindu traditions (Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti and Saura).

Background:

Terahi (Terāhī, तेरही) is an important historic site and a village in Shivpuri district of north Madhya Pradesh. It was called Terambhi, likely after the Hindu scholar Terambhipala who lived here. He built temples and an important Shaiva monastery for the Mattamayura school of Kadambaguha tradition. Terahi is mentioned in inscriptions and is about 15 kilometers from Category:Kadwaya, Madhya Pradesh – another Mattamayura site.

Terahi is near another important Hindu site named Mahua (Mahuwa), to the north. Mahua has ruins of three additional important temples. The inscriptions and ruins discovered in this region suggest that this region had Hindu monasteries by about the 6th-century.

Terahi – sometimes misspelled as Terai – preserves the ruins of one Hindu monastery and two temples, all from 9th and 10th-century. Like Kadwaha, the monastery and temples of Terahi suffered significant damage after Delhi Sultanate invaded central India.

For additional scholarly discussions see:

• Himanshu Prabha Ray (2022), Monasticism and the Hindu temple, in The Routledge Handbook of Hindu Temples
• Tamara Sears (2014), Worldly Gurus and Spiritual Kings: Architecture and Asceticism in Medieval India, Yale University Press
• Tamara Sears (2009), “Fortified Maṭhas and Fortress Mosques: The Transformation and Reuse of Hindu Monastic Sites in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries,” Archives of Asian Art, Vol 59