This is a 13th Century temple with amazing architecture and sculptures in soapstone (but hard soapstone, not like the countertops we have in our home in Virginia). The overall structure is a 16-pointed star, but I like to call this style a "fractal" temple, because the angles have angles which have angles, and so on.
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| The temple |
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| The exterior is carved with figures from top to bottom. The bottom friezes tell the stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata in pictorial form so that everyone could learn them. |
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| The friezes around the temple. The missing blocks have been "looted" -- sometimes the looting occurred centuries ago, but much of it has been more recent to satisfy the market in "antiquities". |
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| A detail from a frieze. |
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| Krishna leading cows. |
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| Above the friezes are detailed sculptures of deities. This is Saraswati, goddess of knowledge. |
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| The pillars in this temple have been turned on a lathe. Some have then been cut into facets to add further interest. |
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| A magnificent acacia tree outside the temple enclosure. |
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