City and Country Temples in Early Medieval Gopagiri and Its Hinterland

Between the eighth and eleventh centuries, the historical region of Gopakṣetra and its principal city Gopagiri (Gwalior) in northern Madhya Pradesh witnessed an efflorescence of temple architecture. Previous studies have analyzed these temples according to typological conformity, dynastic suzerainty, and regional conventions. This essay explores the temples of northern Gopakṣetra vis-à-vis the nexus between Gwalior and its hinterland. Utilizing case studies of Gwalior’s best-known early medieval temples, I argue that these edifices can be fruitfully understood as both shaping and reflecting their urban or agrestic spatial contexts. The first analyzes the notional urbanism apparent on the walls of the eighth-century Telī kā Mandir as a counterpoint to roughly contemporaneous country temples at Naresar, while underscoring the connections between them. Next, I marshal epigraphic and archaeological evidence to interpret the Caturbhuj temple (875 CE) as a “commuter temple” connecting the urban environment atop Gwalior hill to that of the plain below. Finally, I show how the orientation, dedication, and elevation of the Sās Bahū temples (1093 CE) of imperial Kacchapaghāta patronage distinguish them as city temples. Furthermore, I suggest that their socle moldings indicate the influence of Māru-Gurjara architecture on their design.