Bishnupur Temples, Bankura
Initially a small region under the Gupta Empire, the town of Bishnupur flourished during the reign of the Malla Kings in the 18th century. The most famous example of their patronage is the several terracotta temples that are located here. The temples were built by the Malla kings who employed various local artisans and craftsmen to build a series of temples dedicated to the various Hindu deities.
Legend has it that during the 7th century AD a disposed king of a small kingdom in North India was making a pilgrimage to South India. During their journey through the present day Bishnupur area the Queen, who was pregnant experienced labor pain. She delivered a male baby in the house of a village brahamin, but did not survive to see her own baby. Abandoning the child the disposed king went on with his pilgrimage.
The child started growing up in the poor brahamin’s house. One day the boy had fallen asleep tending the cows in the field and a huge snake with his hood have guarded the sunlight, which was falling on the boys face. Seeing this miracle the poor brahamin provided the boy with best education along with physical and warfare training.
