Photos

From the upper terraces of the Jahangir Mahal, one can look to the west and see the Chatturbhuj Temple - or is it really a temple? Some have described it as a fort, a palace, a mausoleum, a mosque. It was apparently intended to be the home for the Lord Rama idol brought from Ayodhya. The idol made it no further, however, than its current resting place in the nearby Ram Raja Temple. Raja Virsingh Dev may have employed Muslim architects to design the temple, dedicated as it is to Vishnu a.k.a. Chatturbhuj.

The building possesses a central, smooth dome, but there are also the rising towers, prominent on the chattris. Again there is a court open to the sky, but a sanctum found in Hindu temples. The ceilings are high, much like a basilica.

Many rulers have realized that religion can furnish support to an otherwise supposedly secular régime. This view from on high lends support to the thesis.