Kiradu Temples

In the Thar Desert of Barmer district stand the ruined Hindu temples of Kiradu, some 35 km from Barmer town and 157 km from Jaisalmer. Kiradu, once called Kiratakupa, was held in the 12th century by small dynasties ruling as vassals of the Chaulukya kings, and inscriptions found here date from 1153 to 1178. Scholars differ on the temples' age: some place them in the 12th century, others in the 11th, and George Michell dates the Someshvara temple to 1020.

Remains of at least five temples survive. The Someshvara temple to Shiva, nearest the road, is the most complete; its tower has fallen and its hall has lost most of its roof, but walls and octagonally arranged pillars still carry carved animals and human figures in place, in the style now called Maru-Gurjara. At the far end stands a Vishnu temple of which only the carved hall pillars remain, with three Shiva temples, mostly reduced to their sanctums, and a stepwell between them.