Nachna
| Nachna | |
|---|---|
Parvati Temple
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| Coordinates: 24°30′13.7″N 80°44′1.7″E / 24.503806°N 80.733806°ECoordinates: 24°30′13.7″N 80°44′1.7″E / 24.503806°N 80.733806°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Madhya Pradesh |
| District | Panna |
| Population | |
| • Total | ~500 |
Nachna (also Nachana) is a settlement in Panna, consisting of a few houses and several stone temples, including two major ones, in the Indian state Madhya Pradesh. Now a pilgrimage site, it is also referred to by the name of its main shrine, Chaumukhnath.
The village lies about 25 kilometres southeast of the small town Nagod and about 100 km away from Khajuraho. The nearest railway station is located at a 20 km drive northeast in city Satna; the Gupta temple of Bhumara is located about 10 km to the south.
The early history is not well known, since records or building inscriptions are missing. The only two surviving ancient temples that can be accessed, as well as other findings, suggest that the site has attracted significant numbers of pilgrims for centuries, and up to the present day. The Parvati temple dates from the Gupta period (second half of the 5th century); the much better known and revered Chaumukhnath Temple was probably also built during this period, but has been repeatedly altered and restored in the following centuries such that a clear and uniform dating may no longer be possible. From other Gupta temple foundation remains, artefacts and decorative parts were found.
The two most important temples of Nachna are close together. The Chaumukhnath Temple (translated as 'man with four faces') has a sanctuary dedicated to God Shiva, speculated to have been added opposite to 'Parvati Temple'. It is uncertain whether this has to do with the original consecration of the building, as the goddess Parvati undergoes worship throughout India not alone but in the presence of Shiva or in the forms of Kali, Durga, Chamunda, Annapurna etc. A cult statue inside is not preserved, but uniquely shaivite iconography (Kailash, Ganas, Shiva Pratiharas) suggests that the Parvati Temple could also have acted as a sanctuary dedicated to Shiva.
The Parvati Temple has walls over a meter thick walls, oriented to the west—that is, toward the setting sun—and stands on an approximately two meter high platform that is unique in the whole of India: the externally visible stones are smooth axed, however corners and side edges of many stones have been cut off deliberately in such a way that gives the impression that the platform is a rocky landscape naturally evoking associations with the holy mountain Kailash, the mythical abode of Shiva and his consort Parvati in Himalayas.
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Wikipedia