Bateshwar Temple

Bateshwar Temple or Bateswar Temple (Bengali: বটেশ্বর মন্দির) is a Hindu temple in Mainaguri in the Jalpaiguri Sadar subdivision of the Jalpaiguri district in the state of West Bengal, India.

Bateshwar Tample
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Jalpaiguri
Deity	Shiva
Festival	Maha Shivaratri
Location
Location	Mainaguri
State	West Bengal
Country	India
Architecture
Creator	Varman rulers 17 century (Reconstructed by Koch Rulers)
Date established	Unknown

Location

Bateswar temple is situated in Uttar Madhabdanga between the middle of Maynaguri and Jalpesh Temple is another Siva temple. The temple is situated 3 Kilomiters away from Maynaguri town and 4 km from the Jalpesh Shiva temple.

History

Looking at its architectural style, we can understand that the temple is contemporary to the Jatileswar temple and it was also founded by King Jalpeswar Varman. At present, the temple is in ruined condition with only three walls and Garbhagriha remaining. Many slabs have been scattered and relief paintings or sculptures were engraved on these slabs.

The most attractive are the ruined of Bateshwar Temple which reveals a square sanctum with three symbolic projections and stupendous heap of remnants of its Sikhara carved with Amalakas, Purnaghatas, foliated scrolls, Gavaksha or Chaitya-windows, Sankha-Padma and a Brahaminical deities amongst whom a seated Kubera Sculpture had been recovered of a Kirtimukha flanked by a meandering scroll-work.The decorative stone blocks bear masons marks signs of tenons and one example shows in relief a pair of Shrines in both Northern and Southern style. It is not possible that the temple of Bateshwar was dedicated to Shiva besides is architectural style belongs to the early Pala Period. The ground plane of motif is Chaitya-Window and Purnaghata as also the depth of volume of Kubera being reminiscent of the Late-Gupta convention.

Distroyed by

During the battle of the second Anglo-Bhutanese War in 1864 some British soldiers who belonged to the Jalpesh cantonment thought that the Bhutanese army hide huge amounts of gold and money in this place before leaving the village named Bhotepatti. So, during the war time the British troops destroyed this temple. In 1865 British Surgeon Renee come to the army camp of Jalpesh and ordered to covered this broken temple with soil.