Masroor Rock-cut Temple

Known for its monolithic rock-cut temples, Masroor is 38 km from Kangra Town. There are 15 rock-cut temples in Indo-Aryan style and are richly carved. It is a unique monolithic structure in the sub-Himalayan region and is a protected monument.

The main shrine contains three stone images of Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita. The temple complex is located on a hill and also has a large rectangular water pond. The view of the snow-clad Dhauladhar is amazing from the temple premises.

The nearest visitable places include Pong lake near Nagrota Surian, 10 km from Masroor, and hot water springs at Tattwani village, on the bank of Gaj rivulet near Salol village on Lunj- Gaggal road, 15 km from Masroor. It is accessible from Gaggal (30 km) on the Nagrota Surian link road and 22 km from Ranital road.

Before dealing with the questions of its builders and the time of its construction, it is important to discuss the rock-cut technique and the place this temple complex occupies among the rock-hewn monuments in India. The rock-cut style started in the reign of the Pallava king Narsingha varman I Mahamalla (630-668 A.D.) during the first half of the seventh century. It reached its climax in the Kailasha temples at Ellora which were taken in hand during the reign of the Rashtrakuta King Dantidurga (753- 756 A.D.) and finished during that of Krishna I (758-773 A.D.). Though rock-cut caves are common in South India, temples cut out of freestanding rocks, known to archaeologists and art critics, are only four in number-'Rathas of Mammalapuram', 'Kailashas at Ellora', 'temple-complex at Masrur in Kangra' and the 'Dharmnatha temple at Dhamnar', 65 miles to the South-East of Jhalra Patan in Rajasthan. The Rathas and the Kailashas are built in the Dravidian style, whereas the Masrur and Dhamnar ones are in the Nagara style. Masrur beats its Nagara rival in situation, size, and execution. The Masrur complex has 15 temples, the Dhamnar has only 8. At Masrur temples are not separate from it surrounding the central shrine, but at Dhamnar the smaller ones are entirely separate from the main one. Carvings and ornamentation at Masrur are of a much superior order than at Dhamnar and the length of the latter is one-third of the former. The Dhamnar group has been built in a pit-like hollow, whereas the Masrur group is on top of a 2500 feet high hill range. One looks below, the other looks up. One depresses, the other elates. In the point of situation, Masrur beats the other two also. Ellora Kailasha are built in a pit a hundred feet. However, Kailasha at Ellora is a supreme creation, one of the wonders of the world.

Rock-cut style is much more difficult than the structural one. In the latter, the artist shapes the material as he likes, whereas in the former the Material determines the way the artist should move. The limitation makes an artist's creation out of a rock a most difficult task and the ability with which the remote artist of the seventh and eighth centuries carried out their purpose is superhuman. Only a few of the original shikhara stand and some of the most beautifully carved panels are now in the state museum, Shimla. The main shrine dominates the center. Although the remote location of these temples protected them from the invading army of Mahmud Ghazni and their stone construction prevented severe damage in the 1905 earthquake.