Exploring Bhoramdeo Kabirdham Chhattisgarh

Bhoramdeo, is a small village in the eastern part of Chipli forest range situated around 18 km from the town of Kawardha in Chhattisgarh. The villages house the Bhoramdeo temple which is popularly known as the “Khajuraho of Chhattisgarh” owing to the wide variety of erotic sculptures carved on its walls. The Shiva temple was made by the Nagvanshi rulers during 11^th-13^th century.

We started our journey on a Satuday afternoon. Me and my companion Hindol drove the Yamaha from Raipur. We took the bypass road through Kharra, Sardha villages towards the Bilaspur highway (thanks to Google aunty). At Bemetara, we took the national highway (NH 30) towards Kawardha. In 4 hours we comfortably covered 130 km and reached the village. I had already booked a room at a discounted price (monsoon special) at Nagmori Resort, a Chhattisgarh tourism lodge situated on the immediate right of the temple complex.

Bhoramdeo temple Kawardha Chhattisgarh — A short break !!

It was late in the afternoon as we headed towards the temple complex. The lake right next to the temple had a good panoramic view of the jungles around the village. Boating options were available. It had a striking resemblance to Dal lake, Srinagar. We clicked some pictures and headed to the temple.

The historic temple was a popular destination for locals to offer prayer to lord Shiva. We walked through the giant entrance which had tribal art over it. The garden was beautifully maintained with a small lake and a park. A stairway led us to the main temple complex. This 11^th century temple was a classical example of the architecture from the Kalachuri period of Indian history. The temple built on a platform had a Garbhagriha housing the deity. The top had a giant Shikhara. A wide array of erotic architectures and deities were carved out on the wall. The temple seemed to have a striking resemblance with Sun temple Konark and Khajuraho. There was a museum in the park which had sculptures excavated from the adjacent areas.

Next we went to the Mandwa mahal which was a marriage hall/ pandal (known as ‘Mandwa’ in local terms) in the past. As it was getting dark and started to drizzle, we headed to the Cherraki Mahal through the ill defined mud trials. The temple was mostly in ruins and had been grossly repaired.

We headed back to the resort where we had the best ladyfinger curry and roti for dinner. There was no mobile network and we enjoyed the darkness of the jungles from our resort. The first day monsoon ride was a grand success.

Up next- Exploring the Chipli range and Bhoramdeo sanctuary