Morena's Marvels: Exploring The Forgotten Temples Of Chambal

I grew up on an unhealthy dose of Bollywood movies on the Chambal Dacoits theme: "Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai," "Mujhe Jeene Do," "Mera Gaon Mera Desh," et al. It affected my travels. I avoided travelling in and around Chambal. But recently, while relocating from Bengaluru to Gurugram, I mustered courage and explored the region around Morena. And what an eye-opener it was.While driving southeast from Morena, my maps app made me take a left. From then on, I was on a meandering dirt track passing through the Chambal ravines. Despite apprehensions, I drove on and reached Shanichara, a Treta Yug Shani Temple, in Barahwali.According to a mythological account, Hanuman had freed Shani Dev from Ravan and installed him here. The temple dates back to King Vikramaditya's reign, and the idol came about from a meteorite that fell here. The devotees have crafted the idol of Shani Dev in Shani Shingnapur near Nashik from the same meteorite.This temple is important as the region is rich in iron deposits, and Shani Dev and iron have a direct link. What is surprising about this old temple is that despite its vintage, it has dual ramps for disabled accessibility.My next stop, Bateshwar Mahadev (also Batesara), was just 9 km from here. As I approached the Bateshwar Mahadev entrance, I noticed an imposing ancient structure with wide stone steps leading up to a stone pavilion. I climbed up and discovered breathtaking stone carvings and sculptures. The monument is unmarked but is under ASI's care. A local told me it was Vishnu Pandal (Vishnu Pavilion). An inscription here reveals the pavilion is from the mid-eleventh century.Here on, Bateshwar Mahadev was only 150 metres away. A cluster of over a hundred temples, Bateshwar Mahadev, dates back to the 6th-9th centuries, the early Pratihara period. When discovered in the 19th century, the entire cluster was in ruins. Today, ASI has already restored almost 80 of these temples.In one of my earlier group travels, Dr K K Muhammed, ex-Regional Director of ASI, shared an interesting story about how his team restored these temples in the 1990s. The Chambal ravines were dacoit-infested, and working here was unsafe. They approached a feared dacoit, Nirbhay Gujjar. He guaranteed the ASI team's safety and urged Dr Muhammed to proceed with the restoration work.While the site looks magnificent today, I am looking forward to when the entire jigsaw gets resolved.Garhi Padhaoli (also Padavali, Padhavali) is just a kilometre from Bateshwar. This 10th-century Shiva temple changed over the centuries. It transformed from a temple to a minor royal's Rang Mahal and became a tiny fortress in the mid-nineteenth century.The structure tells its tale of metamorphosis through its three distinct layers of construction—the earliest bottom layer, built with flat stone slabs; the middle layer, with carved stone; and the top layer, hurriedly put together with uninspiring plain bricks. While it may have lost its original purpose over the centuries, the craftsmanship in stone carvings still takes your breath away. The sculpting is similar in genre to Khajuraho.Less than 5 km away is Mitaoli's 64 Yogini Temple (also known as Ekattarso Mahadeva Temple). According to a 14th-century inscription, Devapala, a Kachchapaghata king who ruled between 1055 and 1075 CE, built the temple.Like most other 64 Yogini temples, the layout is circular, with 65 chambers in a covered corridor along the perimeter—one each for the 64 yoginis and one for Goddess Devi. On a raised platform in the middle is a domed temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.This hilltop temple has survived many earthquakes, so they modelled the old Parliament Building after it. There is another strange story the locals share. They claim no birds fly over this temple and attribute it to its tantrik cult roots.Make your way to these heritage marvels. I have shared some gems I visited. I am sure the region offers more.