Gokulchand Temple, Gokulnagar

The Gokulchand Temple stands in Gokulnagar village, in the Joypur block of Bankura district, off State Highway 2 at Salda. It is a pancharatna, or five-pinnacled, temple and the largest stone temple in the district, rising 64 ft within a complex of 23,500 sq ft. The ASI board on site dates it to 1643, under the Malla king Raghunath Singha, while a badly damaged plate gives a less certain 1639. The scholar David J. McCutchion counted it among the earliest pancharatna temples built by the Mallas.

The temple sits on a base 45 ft square and is built of laterite with stucco figures. Chhatri-like turrets on four columns replace the usual corner sections, and the wall decoration shows avatars of Vishnu, raslila scenes and other episodes from mythology. Neglected and plundered for years, it was taken over in 1996 by the Archaeological Survey of India. The Krishna idol now lives in Bishnupur but returns for five days of worship during Holi, when the complex fills with activity.