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Photo: Amitabha Gupta, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
King Durjana Singh Deva built the temple in 1694 AD in the ekaratna style, a square flat-roofed building with carved cornices, surmounted by a pinnacle. Impressive carvings on the walls depict scenes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Puranas. The temple is enclosed inside a high walled complex. Entrance is from the western side through a do chala (sloped roof) gateway. On the southern side is a do chala (sloped roofed) structure, with arched entrances.
Madan Mohan Temple or Madanamōhana mandir is a Krishna temple in Bishnupur town of Medinipur division. In the past, the Hindu deity Krishna was worshiped in the form of Madanamohan in this temple, but currently no worship is conducted. According to the foundation plaque found in the temple, the temple was founded in 1694 CE by King Durjan Singha Dev of Mallabhum. The temple is a unique example of ekaratna temple architecture, which belongs to the Ratna style developed in medieval Bengal.
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Radha Vinod Temple is an at-chala (eight-sloped roof) brick-built temple located west of Madanmohan Temple. It was built in 1659 by the wife of Raghunath Singha. The eastern side has a triple-arched entrance and the south has a single-arched entrance. Traces of terracotta ornamentation can still be seen on the outer walls.
An ekaratna laterite stone temple located east of the Madammohan Temple. It was built in 1665 by Siromani Devi (also called Chudamani), wife of King Bir Singha. The temple stands on an elevated platform. The extended sloped of the temple is supported by four pillars on each side.
Small Stone Gateway
Once the temple town of Bishnupur was surrounded by a high wall complete with bastions. The walls were punctured by gateways gateways providing access to the fortified temple town. The fortified walls have long crumbled to dust and a couple of gateways remain on the northern end of the city. The Choto Pathar Darja (or small stone gateway) is the souther of the two gateways. The small gateway with an arched passageway is built of laterite stone.
Big Stone Gateway, Gate of Old Fort
This is the second of the two surviving gateways of the fortified temple town of Bishnupur. This lies north of the small stone gateway and is much larger in size. Unlike its smaller counterpart, this gateway is not just a passageway but comes with a complete defensive mechanism. The double-tiered gateway comes in with a guard house at the top level whole with narrow slits allowing the archers and the gunmen to fire their shots. North of the gateway is a 17th-century laterite stone chariot, which follows the ekaratna (single-pinacled) style of architecture.
A little away is the Radha Laljiu Temple, built 100 years earlier than the Radhashyam Temple the temple follows a similar single pinnacled structure. Built by the Malla King Bir Singha in 1658 it is considered as the finest laterite stone temple in Bishnupur.
Just opposite the Radhashyam Temple is the Mrinmoyee Temple, the oldest temple of Bishnupur. Sadly the old structure no longer exists and the ancient idol of Mrinmoyee is housed in a newly constructed structure. Mrinmoyee is an incarnation of Goddess Durga and durga puja is performed at the temple.