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Deogarh,
the Fort of the Gods is situated on the right bank ofthe Betwa river
at the western end ofthe Lalitpur range of hills. Due to its strategic
location on the main route to the Deccan it was a constant bone
of contention, and figures in the history of the Guptas, the Gurjara-Pratiharas,
the Gondas, the Muslim rulers of Delhi, the Marathas and the British.
As a result, it is of great antiquarian, epigraphical and archaeological
value today.
The natural setting of the fort is dramatic, so is its scale, which
takes the visitor by surprise. The fort is entered through a corbelled
gateway in the outer wall. A path has been cleared through the undergrowth
and broken statuary lies scattered about. Within the fort is a remarkable
group of 31 Jain Temples. The site was a Jain centre from the 8th
to the 17th centuries. Within the temples are panels depicting scenes
from Jain mythology, tirthankara images, Manasthamba or votive pillars,
Ayagpattas or votive tablets, Sarvatobhadra Pratima 's or Jain images
visible from all sides and Sahasrakutas or pillars carved with a
thousand Jinfigures.Most important among the group are temples No.
11 and No. 12, the Santinath temple.Among other important structures
at Deogarh are the Varah temple, the rock cut cave-Siddha'ki'-
Gufa, Rajghati and the Naharghati. The jewel of Deogarh however
is in afield by a well close to the hanks of the Betwa. This is
the Dashavatar Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It belongs to the
Gupta period and is dated to about the 6th century AD. It is the
earliest known Panchayatan temple of north India. It bears an inscription
attributable to Govinda, Viceroy of Malwa and brother ofthe great
Kumargupta I. A row of superbly sculpted panels adorn the terraced
basement which rises above the high plinth of the temple. A doorway
with intricately carved figures of Ganga and Yamuna leads to the
garbhagriha or sanctum sanctorum. The temple is particularly well
known for its Rathika panels in recesses along its three side walls.
These fine stone reliefs depict scenes from Vaishnava mythology,
and are identified as the Gajendra Moksh panel, Nar-Narayan Tapasya
andtheAnantasayi Vishnu. Only the lower portion remains of the shikhar,
once the most important part of the temple.
The Gupta age, because of its superb sculptures, is "in the
annals of classical India almost what the Periclean age is in the
history of Greece ". The beauty of the images at Deogarh carved
out of granite and red or grey sandstone bear testimony to this.
General Information
Area : 5sq.km. Population : 350 (1991 census) Altitude : 211 mtrs. above sea level. Season : September-May Clothing (Summer) : Light Cottons (Winter) : Woollens Language : Hindi) Bundeli Festivals : Jain Mela and
Gajrath Mahotasav Local Transport : Bus/Private Jeeps/
Private Cars STD Code : 02904
ACCESSIBILITY
AIR
Nearest airport is at Gwalior : 235 km.
RAIL
The nearest railway station isJakhlaun 13 km, on the Jhansi-Babina
Passenger train route. Lalitpur is another railhead, 23 km from
Deogarh. Some important trains stopping at Lalitpur are: 1078/1077
Jhelum Exp; 1038/1037 Punjab Mail; 1058/1057 Amritsar-Dadar Exp;
1016/1015 Gorakhpur-Bombay-Kushinagar Exp; 8478/8477 Kaluga UtkalExp;
4310/4309 Dehradun-Ujjain Exp; 4068/4067 Malwa Exp; 8238/8237 Chhatisgarh
Exp; 7022/7021 Nizamuddin'Hyderabad Exp.
ROAD
It is connected with bus services to all important centres in the
region. Some of the major road
distances are:Jhansi 123 km, Datia 147 km, Lalitpur-23 km, Matatila-93
km.
