SOAS, University of London (The School of Oriental and African Studies)

Temple architecture and Iconographic Programmes in Eleventh-century North India: the Udayeshvara temple at Udayapur, Madhya Pradesh

In the village of Udayapur (Madhya Pradesh), stands the Udayeśvara temple, the construction of which was completed by the end of the 11th century, under the reign of the Paramāra king Udayāditya (c.1070-1093). The temple is one of the earliest Bhūmija temples surviving in its entirety and is embellished with an abundance of sculpture. The consideration of the distribution of the images on the different parts of the building and the recognition of the principle of paring deities, based on strong thematic and iconographic affinities, lead to the appreciation of the organisation of the divine court.  The mise en scène of the divine results from a great elaboration which emphasises the interaction between sculpture and architecture in the creation of a place dedicated to the meeting of the devotee and the revered deity.