Located 270m east of the Shyam Rai Temple in Bishnupur, the Kesto Rai Temple is considered as one of the most impressive terracotta temples in West Bengal in terms of elegance of architectural form and the abundance of terracotta ornamentation.
As one of the highlights of Bishnupur, this temple is popular with visitors so some advanced planning may help you get the most out of your visit(s). I was fortunate to be staying in Bishnupur for over a week, so was able to visit the site twice; once in the early morning and again towards closing time at sunset. This meant I was able to record the east, south and west facades at their best, and also get some clean shots of the temple from further away.
The temple was constructed in 1655 by King Raghunath Simha, the 51st Malla King, who also built the nearby Shyam Rai Temple twelve years earlier.
The architecture of the temple is incredibly interesting. It comprises of two large do-chalas joined longitudinally to form a single temple. The low curved roofs with two-way pitching resemble the traditional mud cottages and huts of Bengal. Since the roof, recreated with terracotta bricks, is an identical replica of the traditional buildings found in this part of the country, architects later named it the ‘Bangla Style of Architecture’. A small char-chala, a brick representation of a four-sided roofed hut, towers above at the intersection of the two do-chalas. The southern do-chala serves as a porch, the northern do-chala beyond is the sanctum.
The architects went to great lengths of faithfully reproduce in stone and brick the traditional huts that would have been so familiar to them. This even extends to representing the timber frame of the building on the east and west sides.
While single standalone buildings with Bangla Style roof can be found in many places, the double Bangla roof is very rare. ‘Jor’ is a linguistic deformation of the word ‘Jora’ which means ‘coupled’ or ‘twin’. Since two identical Bangla Roofs are built together making a perfect couple – the temple is also called ‘Jor Bangla’ although its actual name is Kesto Rai Temple. ‘Kesto’ is a colloquial name of Sri Krishna and ‘Rai’ is Radha. So just like the nearby Shyam Rai Temple, Kesto Rai was also dedicated to the same deity.
Facing south, the temple stands upon an almost square platform measuring 11.8m in length, 11.7m in breadth, and rises to a height of 10.7m. A report of 1903–1904 by the Archaeological Survey of India noted that the central sanctum is surrounded on four sides by a gallery and there are few small side chambers, one for the stairs leading up to the tower on top of the terrace.
Middle : Plan of Jor-Bangla (Kesto-Rai) Temple
Right : The temple as photographed by Joseph David Beglar in 1872
In the sanctum is a stucco figure of the six-armed Shri Chaitanya Deva, placed on a high pedestal against the back wall of the northern do-chala. The temple is not in use today, and visitors are not permitted to explore the interior.
The beauty of this temple is not limited to its architectural form. Outstanding terracotta plaques clad all four sides of the structure offering an extraordinary variety of Puranic themes as well of social scenes. Exquisite panels depicting episodes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata dominate the ornamental landscape, quite unlike any other temple in Bengal.
What follows is a short virtual tour of each of the four elevations of the Kesto Rai Temple, but what is shown here is merely scratching the surface. Suffice to say you will need quite some time here to fully absorb all of the imagery on this temple, this is not somewhere to spend 30 minutes and move on ! As I previously observed, if time permits it is well worth visiting the temple twice; once in the morning and again in the evening, perhaps bookending a day of exploring the many terracotta temples of Bishnupur.
Please click on any of the images to view them in a larger format.
West Elevation
This is the side of the temple that first greets you as you enter the temple compound and is best viewed in the morning. The variety of imagery depicted on this elevation is wide-ranging, one could spend an hour viewing these walls unpacking what there is to see.
The Ramayana plates on portray episodes of the following: Sindhu-badh; Risyasringa’s sacrifice; Rama’s walk towards forest led by Visvamitra; Visvamitra performing sacrifice, with Rama standing behind him, and Rama killing Tāḍakā when she tried to spoil the sacrifice; Rama’s Hara-dhanu-bhanga, spoiling the sacrificial rituals by demons (rakshasa).
A cluster of four panels depicts Risyasringa’s performance of the Putrakameshti sacrifice for Daśaratha to beget progeny. As the consequence of the said sacrifice, Agni appeared and gave a plate of sweets to Daśaratha, and Daśaratha is seen carrying the plate of sweets which was provided to three queens.
Right : Ram attacking a flying Taraka Rakkhashi (Demoness)
Further terracotta panels depict the death incident of Andha muni, a blind hermit’s son. Sindhu was filling his pitcher from the river when he was mistakenly shot by Daśaratha with an arrow. He had gone for hunting in the forest beside Sarayu River. Upon hearing the gurgling sound of the water, Daśaratha thought an animal was drinking river water and shot his arrow. But unfortunately, he was the son of a blind, old hermit couple, who were fully dependent upon their son. Daśaratha took the body before them and surrendered his fault. The grief-stricken hermit cursed Daśaratha that he too would face the same grief and that would be the reason for his death.
Bhishma’s bed of arrows, or Śaraśayyā, is probably the most common terracotta Mahabharta panel. Several temples contain this panel including the Madan Mohan Temple of Bishnupur and the Damodar Temple of Joypur, both in Bankura district of West Bengal. This panel is located on the southern edge of the west-facing elevation, and depicts Bhishma lying on a bed of arrows on the tenth day of the Kurukshetra War. Arjuna is trying to quench his thirst with divine water derived from the earth by shooting a powerful arrow into the ground.
The base friezes are more secular in nature, with various hunting scenes involving elephants and tigers, and perhaps most notable for a line of three long river boats with makara prows, propelled by men with oars, and what appear to be Portuguese soldiers holding guns.
South Elevation
Being south-facing, this elevation can be best enjoyed at any time of the day, and is also arguably the most profusely decorated side on account of being the entrance to the temple.
Rather than employing the compelling circular form of the Rasamandala, as so wonderfully done at the nearby Shyam Rai temple, this temple devotes most of it’s south elevation to a narration of Krishna’s primary exploits. Rising up the length of the wall is a progression of paired episodes in Krishna’s life, from his early childhood to the years of his adolescence. At the bottom are his confrontations with Putana and Trinivarta. Next is the kicking of the cart, contrasted with the peaceful scene of the nursing of the baby boys. The third tier pairs the stealing of the butter with the pulling open of Bakasura’s beak, and so it continues
There are noticeably less elephants depicted on the base friezes, being replaced by scenes involving hunting for tigers, plus the appearance of a camel.
One of the panels on this side depicts the killing of Putana, the notorious child killer who was appointed by Kamsa to kill Krishna. She, in the guise of a charming lady, had entered the house of Nanda, foster father of Krishna, to feed milk from her breasts that were coated with poison.
Right : Killing of Putana featured in bottom left terracotta panel
Baby Krishna, realising the evil notion, pulled the breasts forcefully to suck milk. Putana struggled severely but succumbed to her death. The afflicted expression of dying Putana shows the extraordinary craftsmanship of the artisan.
East Elevation
Possibly the least well preserved elevation, possibly due to excessive weathering and the relatively fragile nature of terracotta.
Nonetheless, this side of the temple is completely covered with ornamentation, aside from a side entrance leading to the sanctum.
North Elevation
This is the side of the temple that rarely receives any direct sunlight, so the photography can appear a little flat. This elevation is dominated by scenes depicting the Battle of Lanka, with Rama, Lakshmana, Ravana, Kumbhakarna and hordes of monkeys and rakshas above the archways.
The panels along the base of the temple are in particularly good condition on this side, which perhaps receives less erosion due to weathering.
There’s an excellent image of Kumbhakarna, brother of Ravana, who could sleep for months after months and would eat ravenously when awake. During the battle of Lanka, he fought against the vanara army and killed lots of vanaras before he was defeated and killed by Rama. This terracotta plate depicts him devouring vanara sena after being awakened untimely from his sleep. The panel below depicts the valiant warrior Ravana.
Although I have presented quite a large number of images in this blog post, it is a mere fraction of what there is to see at the Jor-Bangla (Kesto-Rai) temple in Bishnupur. It is arguably one of the most famous terracotta temples of West Bengal, due its stunning terracotta art, distinctive architectural features, and historical significance. Without doubt this is a cultural gem, and a must-visit destination for those interested in the heritage of Bishnupur and West Bengal.
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