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Vishnupur (Bishnupur) Pop:
62,000 This peaceful place, situated 152km west of Calcutta, has beautiful terra-cotta carved temples. From here the Hindu Malla rulers governed the area from the late 16th century to the late 18th century. There are over thirty brick and stone temples here dating from the 17th to 18th centuries, mostly dedicated to Radha and Krishna. Because there is no stone in the area, the temples were built from brick and laterite. There are eight large tanks, locally known as bandhs, most of which were dug between 1657–77. Vishnupur
rose to be an important place under the Malla ruler, Bir Hambir. He
was at first considered cruel, but later he became a Vaishnava (devotee
of Vishnu) by the association of Shrinivasa Acarya, a follower of Shri
Chaitanya. The Museum is interesting (10 am to 12 noon and 2 to 6 pm). You can hire a car at the Tourist Lodge. The Pathar Darwaza, is a ruined gate of an old Malla fort. There is a stone chariot which is believed to date to the 13th century. The Jahpan Festival in August honors Manasa, the daughter of Siva, who is the goddess of the serpents. Snake charmers perform feats with poisonous cobras, vipers, and other snakes. Shopping Most of the major temples in Vishnupur, such as the Radha-Govinda Temple, Kalachand Temple, Madhava Temple, and the Nandalala Temple, are along the south bank of the Lal-bandh, within a fort built by Muslim rulers. The Patpur Temple is on the bank of the Krishna-bandh. There are four distinct styles. The first has a single tower. The second is a single tower resting on a square building with a curved roof. Examples of this are the Madana-Mohan, Lalji, and Radhe Shyam Temples. The third type is seen in the Shyam Raya Temple, which has five towers. The fourth type resembles two huts joined by a small tower, as seen in the Krishna Raya Temple, built in 1726. Bir Hambir built the Rasa Mancha in 1587. It is a pyramidal structure in the center of town, where the Vaishnavite Deities from the other temples are brought in a procession on the occasion of the Rasa Festival. A passageway surrounds it. There are some large cannons near the Rasa Mancha dating back to the Malla rulers. The Lalgiri Temple has a single tower and was built around 1658. The Madana-Mohan Temple (1694) is brick with beautiful panels depicting Krishna’s pastimes. It is one of the largest temples. The Shyam-Rai Temple (1643) and Madana-Gopal Temple (1665) are of the pancha-yatana style, temples with five towers. The Syama-Rai Temple, dedicated to Radha-Krishna, is especially outstanding because of the carvings on its walls depicting pastimes of Lord Krishna and the Ramayana. Another interesting temple is the beautiful Jor Bangla Temple (1655). In
the Mrinmoyee Temple (997) is a clay deity of Durga.
Within the courtyard of the Mrinmoyee Temple there is the holy Nababriksha,
nine trees growing as one tree. There
are cheaper places such as the basic Tarama Lodge,
Rangini Lodge, Bharat Boarding House, and the Lali
Hotel, Poka Bandh, North Side. From the Esplanade Bus Stand on Chowringhee Rd. in Calcutta (5 hr) there are three buses in the morning before 9 am and another bus at 2.45 pm. From Calcutta it is quicker to go by bus than by train. There are buses to Durgapur from Krishnanagar, and from there you can catch another bus to Vishnupur. You can go to Vishnupur on one of the Government of West Bengal tours. The tour lasts for three days and goes to several other places. If you know of a informationthat is not correct or if you would like to help update our listings, please e-mail us at:
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