page_title: Panduvamshis of Dakshina Kosala
section_title: Religion
hierarchical_section_title: Panduvamshis of Dakshina Kosala / Religion
caption_attribution_description: English: The Laxman or Lakshmana temple is a collection of ruins and a standing Hindu temple predominantly made of bricks. It is dated to the first half of the 7th century CE, built in Kosala dynasty period by a Queen named Vasata. The temple is dedicated to Vishnu, but reverentially features Shaiva and Shakti ideas and iconography. The temple originally consisted of main shrine and smaller shrines, with extensive mandapa all raised above the group by steps from all side rising towards the sky. All except one structure is gone, with only foundation and base structure now visible. The steps to the main structure has been restored to allow visitors to see the standing brick temple. The standing structure shows eroded reliefs that are still intricate. A Seshasayi Vishnu (lalatabimba legend) along with various avatars of Vishnu are visible at the entrance of the garbha griya. Other Hindu celebration motifs of mithuna (love, eros), ratna (jewelry), rasa lila (play of life, particularly using Krishna), and cultural/social themes are communicated by the artists who created it.
context_page_description: The Panduvamshis or Pandavas were an Indian dynasty that ruled the historical Dakshina Kosala region in present-day Chhattisgarh state of India, during the 7th and the 8th centuries. They may have been related to the earlier Panduvamshis of Mekala: both dynasties claimed lunar lineage and descent from the legendary Pandavas.
  After the fall of the Sharabhapuriyas in the late 6th century, Dakshina Kosala appears to have been controlled by some petty chiefs, until the Panduvamshis gained control of the region. The Panduvamshis may have captured a part of the neighbouring Utkala and Vidarbha regions at different times, but their control of these regions did not last long.
  Their capital was probably located at Shripura. The later Somavamshi dynasty, which claimed lunar lineage, appears to have been related to them, but this cannot be said with certainty.
context_section_description: The Panduvamshi kings generally followed Hindu traditions, although they were also tolerant towards Buddhism. Bhavadeva patronized Buddhism, and restored a Buddhist shrine originally built by Suryaghosha. Under his patronage, the monastery attached to the shrine was painted and adorned with a stepped well and gardens. Ishanadeva constructed the Lakshmaneshvara temple at Kharod, and granted some villages for its maintenance. Nannaraja I was probably a Shaivite, as a Sirpur stone inscription of his descendant Balarjuna states that he "covered the earth" with Shiva temples.
  Tivaradeva was a Vaishnavite, as evident by his title Parama-Vaishnava, and his seals featured Vaishnavite emblems. His son Nannaraja II also bore the title Parama-Vaishnava, and his Adbhar inscription records a grant to a Bhagavata, that is, a Vaishnavite. This inscription compares Tivaradeva to Vishnu's incarnation Krishna, and Nannaraja II to Krishna's son Pradyumna.
  The dynasty's inscriptions describe Harshagupta as someone who worshipped Achyuta (that is, Vishnu) all the time. His wife Vasata commissioned the Lakshmana temple at Sirpur: a commemorative stone inscription installed by her has been found at the site.
  Shivagupta alias Balarjuna was a Shaivite, and his seal featured Shiva's bull nandin. He granted a village to a Buddhist monastery at the request of his maternal uncle Bhaskaravarman (a brother of Vasata).
caption: Lakshmana temple, Sirpur
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