Baijnath group of temples is about a 30-45 minute drive from Bagheswar and Kausani. It is a small town. Temples are, like most earlier period Hindu temples, situated on the banks of
a river in this case Gomti. U see an overview of the temple complex.
Board inside temple. Consists of 18 temples with the main temple being dedicated to Shivji. The main temple is Pancharatha whose shikhar (spire) has collapsed in the past.
We have presented the pics as the way I walked through so you get to see the temples. These are assigned to 9-12th century a.d. and probably built by the Katyuri rulers. First lot of
temples as you enter the complex.
Note the Shikharas have no carvings on them unlike the temples of Dwarahat but are similar to the Sun Temple Almora which also have no carvings.
In front of the main temple referred to earlier (that you see behind the tree) are these images.
Entrance to the main temple Pancharatha. U can see the 4.5 feet image of Goddess Parvati but are not allowed to take pictures. There is no shikhar since it collapsed in the past, instead
the temple is covered with tin sheets.
A front view of a select group of temples - in pics 1 and 2 u saw a side view.
This is called Brahmani Devi mandir 12th century a.d. Note vertical pieces of stone are used to close the joints in the flat structure in front of the Shikar. Closure of joints in a similar way
was observed in the temples at Aihole, Karnataka which u shall see in the next picture.
Temple at Aihole, Karnataka. Note that pieces of stone used to close the joints like what you see at Baijnath. Note the distance between the two places. One up North in hills and the other
in Karnataka.
View of the temples and the main temple Pancharatha taken as you enter the temple complex.
Close up view of the back side of the first two temples that you saw.
A close view of the dome, reminds me of a tiger or bagh which was the symbol of the then rulers.
Lots of fish in river Gomti. Devotees love feeding the fish.
Mosque on top of hill ie opposite the Baijnath temple complex. In Bageshwar, Nainitial and now here noted that there is always a mosque very close to a temple. By design or accident?