What is Bishnupur terracotta? Bishnupur is a town in Bankura district, West Bengal. Its temples are built of brick and covered in carved clay panels. Terracotta means baked clay. The Malla kings built these temples in the 17th and 18th centuries.
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What is Bishnupur terracotta?
Bishnupur lies in Bankura district of West Bengal. It is known for temples with walls of carved clay. The carvings are called reliefs. A relief is a picture that stands out from a flat surface.
What do the carvings show?
They show scenes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. They also show the childhood of Krishna. The Malla kings were Vaishnavas, so most temples honour Krishna.
What is the memory hook?
Bishnupur: Bankura, Malla, clay, Krishna.
Sources: eSamskriti, the Bishnupur temples; Bankura district site, Jor Bangla.
Who built the temples?
The Malla dynasty built them. The Malla kings ruled from Bishnupur. Their great building age was the 17th and 18th centuries.
Which temples should I know?
Rasmancha dates to about 1600. King Bir Hambir built it. It stands on a laterite plinth. Jor Bangla, also called Kesta Rai, dates to 1655. King Raghunath Singh built it.
Which king built which?
Bir Hambir built Rasmancha. Raghunath Singh built Jor Bangla. Exams may swap them.
What is the memory hook?
Ras with Hambir; Jor with Raghunath.
Sources: Sahapedia, Bishnupur temples; eSamskriti, dates and kings.
Why clay, not stone?
Bengal lies on the Gangetic delta. This land is made of river mud. It has little good building stone.
What did builders do?
They burned local clay into bricks. They also made carved clay panels. Clay became the main material for both walls and decoration.
Why does this matter?
The shortage shaped the whole style. Terracotta was a choice forced by geography. It then became an art form.
What is the memory hook?
No stone, so clay.
Sources: Banglapedia, temple architecture; Bankura district site, stone shortage.
What are chala temples?
A chala temple copies a Bengal village hut. Its roof curves down like thatch. Chala means roof.
How many roofs can it have?
A do-chala has two sloping roofs. A char-chala has four. An at-chala repeats a smaller roof above to gain height.
Where is Jor Bangla?
Jor Bangla is in Bishnupur. It joins two hut-shaped roofs into one temple. The name means “twin huts”.
What is the memory hook?
Chala: curved roof like a hut.
Sources: Banglapedia, chala types; Sahapedia, Jor Bangla.
What are ratna temples?
A ratna temple has small towers on its roof. Ratna means jewel. The number of towers gives the temple its name.
What are the main kinds?
An ek-ratna has one tower. A pancha-ratna has five. Four sit on the corners and one on top. Madan Mohan, from 1694, is an ek-ratna temple. Shyam Rai is a famous pancha-ratna temple.
How is ratna different from chala?
Chala is about the roof’s curve. Ratna is about the towers above it. Some temples, such as Jor Bangla, mix both ideas.
What is the memory hook?
Chala: roof shape. Ratna: tower count.
Sources: Sahapedia, ratna temples; Banglapedia, pancha-ratna.
What is the Bankura horse?
It is a clay horse with a long, arched neck. Potters of Panchmura village in Bankura district make it. Panchmura is its main centre.
What is it used for?
Villagers offer such horses to local gods, such as Dharmaraja. Many homes also keep one as a lucky symbol. It is a craft, not a temple.
Why is it famous?
It was the crest motif of the All India Handicrafts Board. The craft now has a GI tag. A GI tag protects a product’s place name.
What is the memory hook?
Panchmura horse: long neck, board crest, GI.
Sources: INTACH heritage archive, Bankura horse; Deccan Herald, Bankura horses.
What do exams ask?
Exams ask where Bishnupur is and who built it. They also ask the roof styles and the horse.
What are the common questions?
Which dynasty built the temples? The Malla dynasty. Which material was used? Terracotta, or baked clay. Which village makes the horse? Panchmura. Which style has curved hut roofs? Chala.
What traps do exams set?
Some options call chala a flat roof. Chala is curved. Some options give Rasmancha to Raghunath Singh. Bir Hambir built it. Some options mix the temples with the horse. They are two different crafts.
What is the memory hook?
Malla, clay, chala curved, Panchmura horse.
Sources: Banglapedia, roof styles; Sahapedia, the Malla kings.
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