Char Bangla Temples, Baranagar

The Char Bangla Temples are a group of four Shiva temples at Baranagar in Murshidabad district, built by Rani Bhabani of Natore. Each is an ek-bangla temple with a triple entrance, measuring about 31 ft by 15–16.5 ft, and the northern one is dated 1760. The scholar David J. McCutchion noted that, apart from this group, the ek-bangla form barely appears in West Bengal except in passing.

The temples are known for their decoration, drawn from mythology and from everyday life. Two have richly worked terracotta facades, a third carries incised plaster and the fourth is plain. The group is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. The Ganges, which once flowed some way off, has shifted course and now runs within yards of the temples, putting them at risk.