Jor-bangla temples

Jor-Bangla temples are prevalent throughout Bengal. These are comprised of two roofs of huts adjoining one other. Simple yet elegant, there are made of mud baked brick, adorned with sculpted images on the mud walls and on the mud bricks, both inside and out. The Madan Mohan temple at Bistupur and the Shree Dhar temple at Sonamukhi in Bankura district are two good examples of this style. Images from the story of Krishna are seen on the pillars and walls of the Jor-Bangla temple at Bistupur.

The Jor-Bangla temple structure is described thus by the Archeological Survey of India: "Also known as Kesta Rai Temple, it erected by the Malla King, Raghunatha Singha, in AD 1655 as evidenced from the inscription affixed on the front façade of the temple. The temple, facing south, is raised on a square platform in the form of a pair of hut-shaped structures with sloping roofs joined together and surmounted by a charchala sikhara on the top. Both the exterior and interior walls and ceiling of the temple depict exquisite and elaborate terracotta ornamentation. These terracotta panels narrate scenes from the epics, Krishna lila, hunting scenes, various other depictions of contemporary social life, etc. The excellent quality of art on this temple endows it as one of the finest among the terracotta temples of Bengal."