Credit : Bitan Roy
Overview and Story
Chaturbhuj temple has a very fascinating story. Once upon a time, Rani Ganeshkuwari had a dream of Lord Rama in which he instructed her to build a temple in his honor. While Ganeshkuwari’s husband, Madhukar, was a devotee of Krishna, his wife was dedicated to Lord Rama. To enshrine the image in her temple, she went to Ayodhya. When she returned from Ayodhya, she kept the idol in her palace during the construction of the Chaturbhuj Temple. Once the construction was completed, she tried to leave the palace, but the idol of Lord Ram hadn’t moved. As a result, Chaturbhuj Temple remained without an idol in its sanctum.
Architecture
It’s a breathtakingly beautiful temple that is known for its tall spires in the shape of pine cones. It’s built on a rectangular, high platform measuring 4.5 meters in height. The temple boasts a height of 105 meters. As the name suggests, Chaturbhuj often resembles the four arms of Vishnu. The Temple has an imposing view that is compared to that of the Basilica. The winding stairway, each of which is about 1 meter in height and number 67 in total, has to be climbed to reach the temple facade. The temple’s main mandapa, or hall, is designed in the shape of a cross or cruciform. The hall is designed in such a way that it is at right angles to the vestibule, a mix of Maru-Gurjara architecture.
The temple’s exterior is beautifully designed with lotus symbols that add to its overall beauty. Inside the temple, there is not much ornamentation. The ceilings of the central area, the mandir, which has several kiosks, are covered with blossomed lotuses. The exterior design includes petal stone moldings, a geometric design cornice supported on lotus bud pendentive brackets, and false balcony projections.
The temple roof once was covered with gold, which over the years has been pilfered due to weather. From the roof, you can see the scenic views of Orchha Town, Ran Raja Mandir, Sawan Bhadon, the winding Betwa River, and Laxmi Narayan Temple, all of which are some distance away.
If you look east, the nearby Ram will fall on its axis, which is inside the Orchaa Fort complex.
Best time to Visit
The best time to visit is during the monsoon and winter months. When the temperature in the region fall.
Timing
9 am – 5 pm