Teli Ka Mandir

Getting there

• By air

  Gwalior has an airport with IATA code GWL.

• By road

  The temple is inside Gwalior Fort. Gwalior is connected by National Highways 44 and 46 (Asian Highways 43 and 47).

Why devotees come here

Teli Ka Mandir stands inside Gwalior Fort in Madhya Pradesh. It is dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and the Matrikas, the mother goddesses. It is described as the oldest surviving Hindu temple with a rectangular plan in Central India.

Teli Ka Mandir is dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and the Matrikas, the mother goddesses. Its sanctum plan is rectangular rather than the usual square, which is why it is described as the oldest surviving Hindu temple of this plan in Central India. As per a legend, oil merchants paid for the temple, and that is how it got its name.

The temple is generally dated to the 8th and 9th century, based on art style, design and small inscriptions on the site. A Madhya Pradesh Tourism blog gives the 9th century, under the Pratihara king Mihir Bhoja. Raiding armies under Qutb-ud-din Aibak and his successor Iltutmish badly damaged it in 1232 CE. Repairs began between 1881 and 1883 under Major Keith of the Royal Scots Regiment, who was stationed in Gwalior.

The tower rises 80 feet (24 m) above the rectangular sanctum. The doorway is 35 feet (11 m) high, with a relief of Garuda, the vahana of Vishnu, above it. The temple is approached by a flight of stairs to a banded doorway with sculptures of the river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna. Inside the sanctum stand a Nandi and a lingam. The roof is in the Dravidian style, with Indo-Aryan decoration.

Tips for your visit

• Look up at the Garuda relief above the doorway on the way in.
• The approach is up a flight of stairs to the banded doorway.

Questions people ask