JamelSkidmore at 07:28, 11 January 2026

2026-01-11T07:28:24Z

New page

{{Short description|Hindu Yogini temple in India}}
{{Infobox religious building
| name = Gadarmal temple
| native_name =
| religious_affiliation = [[Hinduism]], [[Jainism]]
| image = File:Gadarmal Temple Badoh.jpg
| alt = Gadarmal temple
| location = [[Vidisha]], [[Madhya Pradesh]]
| coordinates = {{coord|23.9182813|N|78.2224866|E|region:IN|display=inline,title|name=Gadarmal Devi Temple}}
| elevation_m =
| elevation_footnotes =
| deity = Gadarmal devi, [[Krishna]]<ref name=":1"/>
| festivals =
| temple_quantity = 1
| established = 7th to 8th century <ref name=":1" />
| completed = 9th century
| creator = [[Gadaria people|Gadaria Caste]] <ref name=":1" />
| architecture_style = [[Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty|Pratihara]], [[Māru-Gurjara]]
}}

'''Gadarmal Devi temple''' is a Hindu and Jain temple at Badoh village of [[Vidisha district|Vidisha]], [[Madhya Pradesh]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Ayyar |first=Sulochana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G9eHPXL6UE0C&dq=%22temple%22+++%22gadaria%22&pg=PA10 |title=Costumes and Ornaments as Depicted in the Sculptures of Gwalior Museum |date=1987 |publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=978-81-7099-002-4 |page=10 |quote=The Gadarmal temple is the most important monument in the twin villages. The temple is not preserved in its original form. ... ["According to a popular legend current in the locality, the temple is said to have been built by a shepherd (gadaria) and hence its name Gadarmal."]}}</ref> Also called Gadarmal Temple of the Mothers, it is one of India's [[yogini temples]]. It has 42 niches for yogini statues, unusually arranged in a rectangle; it must originally have been [[hypaethral]].

== Description ==

Gadarmal Devi temple dates back to the 7 - 8th century, it was built by the [[Gadaria people|Gadaria caste]]<ref name=":1" />. The architecture of this [[yogini temples|yogini temple]] is a fusion of [[Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty|Pratihara]] and Parmara styles. It is built similar to [[Teli ka Mandir]] in [[Gwalior fort]]. This temple houses both Hindu and Jain idols.{{sfn|ASI|Gadarmal Temple}} The temple is made of sandstone with seven small shrines surrounding the main shrine.{{sfn|Mitra|2012|p=26}}

It is a 42-niche [[Yogini temples|yogini temple]]. 18 broken images of the goddesses that once fitted into grooves in the temple platform are preserved from the waist down. It is composed of a rectangular shrine and a tall and massive [[Shikhara]]. [[Vidya Dehejia]] writes that as a yogini temple, it must once have been [[hypaethral]], open to the sky.{{sfn|Dehejia|1986|pp=141–145}} The temple was supposedly built by shepherds (''gadariya''), and is therefore called Gadarmal Devi Temple among locals.<ref name=":0"/>

The archaeologist [[Joseph David Beglar]] photographed a colossal [[bas-relief]] sculpture of a mother and child inside the temple in 1871–2. He called it a figure of [[Maya Devi]] and the infant [[Buddha]].<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Beglar |first=Joseph David |author-link=Joseph David Beglar |title=Report of a tour in Bundelkhand and Malwa, 1871-72 |publisher=[[Archaeological Survey of India]] |volume=VII |location=Calcutta |year=1878 |page=70}}</ref>

<gallery mode=nolines heights=180px widths=180px class="center">
File:Gadarmal-devi-temple5.png|Idol of [[Vishnu]]
File:Gadarmal-devi-temple3.png|A ceiling with Idols of Hindu goddesses
File:Gadarmal-devi-temple4.png|Doorway decorated with Hindu deities and human figures
</gallery>

==See also==
[[Gadaria people|Gadaria Caste.]]
* [[Vidisha Jain temples]]
* [[Khajuraho Group of Monuments]]
* [[Nachna Hindu temples]]
* [[Siddhachal Caves]]

==References==

{{reflist}}

== Sources ==

* {{cite book |last=Dehejia |first=Vidya |author-link=Vidya Dehejia |title=Yogini Cult and Temples: A Tantric Tradition |publisher=National Museum, Janpath, New Delhi |year=1986 |url=https://archive.org/details/YoginiCultAndTemplesVidyaDehejia}}
* {{cite book |last=Mitra |first=Swati |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=THW_OkoTuE4C |title=Temples of Madhya Pradesh |publisher=Goodearth Publications |isbn=978-9-3802-6249-9 |edition=1 |year=2012}}
* {{cite web |url=http://asibhopal.nic.in/monument/vidisha_badoh_gadarmaltemple.html |title=Gadarmal Temple |publisher=[[Archaeological Survey of India]] |ref={{SfnRef|ASI|Gadarmal Temple}} }}

==External links==
* [https://www.teamgsquare.com/2017/03/mp-diaries-badoh-pathari-ruined-twin.html Photo-reportage of the temples on the site]

{{Hindudharma}}
{{Hindu inscriptions and arts|state=autocollapse}}
{{Yoginis}}

[[Category:Hindu temples in Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Vidisha district]]
[[Category:Yogini temples]]

Gadarmal Devi Temple - Revision history

JamelSkidmore at 07:28, 11 January 2026