Places of Interest
Deogarh – Ancient Temple Town
133 km from Jhansi, Deogarh, in district Lalitpur, is of great antiquarian, epigraphical and archaeological importance and has figured in the history of Guptas, the Gurjara – Pratiharas, the Gondas, the Muslim rulers of Delhi & Kalpi, the Marathas and the British. It is situated on the right bank of the river Betwa, at the western end of the Lalitpur range. The cliffs everhanging the bank rise to a height of 300 feet and form a long steep ridge of red sandstone. The river takes a deep curve to the west at this juncture and passes though an extremely picturesque country side.
Dashavatar Temple : This Gupta period Vishnu temple is the earliest known Panchayatan temple of north India. The terraced basement above the high temple plinth is adorned with a continuous row of sculptured panels. A highly carved doorway with Ganga_Yamuna figures lead to sanctum sanctorum or the garbhagriha. Three big Rathika Panels – Gajendra Moksha, Nara-Narayan tapasya and the Anantshai Vishnu – set in the side walls depict Vaishnava mythological scenes carved in high relief. The temple is noted for being the first north Indian temple with a spire or shikhara. Erotic panels are an added attraction.
Jain Shrines: A later-era group of 31 Jain temples located here also worth seeing. Once a jain centre, from the post Gupta times till the 17th century ,these temples have panels depicting scenes from jain mythology including Tirthankara images , a Manastambha(votive pillar),Ayagpatta(votive tablet) Sarvatobhadra Pratima (jain images visible from all sides) and Sahastrakuta(pillar carved with a thousand Jain figures). At one particular place, more than 2000 sculptures can be seen.
Varah Temple : This temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu’s Varah incarnation, is now in ruins.it is situated in the forest on the banks of Betwa River.
Archaeological Museum: The museum has a fine collection of sculptures. Other attractions are Nahar Ghati, Raj Ghati, Siddha Gufa on Betwa River bank within the forest.
Jain Museum: A new jain museum on the entry of the jain complex has come up recently. It has got very good collection of sand stone jain sculptures and paintings related to Jainism.
Neelkantheshwar Trimurti (Pali)
This is 45 kilometers south from Lalitpur and 11 kilometers from Jakhlaun railway station. Between dense forests there is a SHIV Trimurti Temple of Chandel times. Just on its front of the entrance a Param Shiv Trimurti is placed on a huge Kailash (like Elephanta) and near on the ground is a “Mukhling”. Height of Mukhling is 77 centimeters and diameter is 1 feet 30 centimeters.
Chanderi (M.P.) : A town famous for its gossamer Chanderi saris also has some of the finest examples Of Bundela , Rajput and Malwa sultanate architectures. A magnificent Mughal fort dominates the skyline. Among the worthy sites here are the Koshak Mahal, an old palace the Badal Mahal Gate, Jama Masjid, the Shahzadi ka Rouza, Parmeshwar Tal and a number of ancient Jain Temples.
Dhaujari : 25 km. from Deogarh , and reachable via village Dhaurra , this place has the ASI protected Ranchhoreji Temple on the bank of Betwa river.
Muchkund Cave : 5 km. from of Dhaujari , 30 km. from Deogarh and approachable by a forest road , these natural caves situated in a valley are believed to have sheltered Saint Muchkund who lived and Meditated here. Lord Krishna is also said to have visited these caves during the Mahabharat era.
Dudhai: 40 km. from Deogarh , Dudhai has a magnificent 56 feet high rock cut sculpture of Narsimha Avatar carved on a hillock in the forest area.
Rajghat Dam : 55 km. from Deogarh, it is a huge water reservoir on Betwa River.
Fort of Talbehat : The Fort is situated on Jhansi-Lalitpur four lane road. Raja Mardan Singh ruled here from this fort & he fought alongwith Rani Laxmi Bai against the Britishers in 1957. The Fort has got three temples inside, dedicated to Angad, Hanumanji & Narsingh Bhagwan . The Fort have massive structures and is situated on the bank of massive Mansarovar Lake. This lake is suitable for various water sports activities. At present the facility of boat club with paddle boats is available, there is Ghat Jetty & Restaurant also. In the premises there is Hazaria Mahadev Temple on the banks of Lake.