Lalji Temple, Bishnupur

Lalji Temple in Bishnupur, West Bengal, dates from 1658, when Bir Singha Dev, king of Mallabhum, founded it, according to an inscribed plaque at the site. Dedicated to Radha and Krishna, it is one of the town's stone-built eka-ratna temples, crowned by a single tower.

The temple rises from a large plinth on a square plan roughly 12.3 metres a side and is about as tall as it is wide. A covered ambulatory surrounds it, entered through three arches that still show traces of ornament above. The roof slopes gently down on all four sides beneath the tower. The front wall was once decorated, but only fragments of its designs survive. It is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India and has been on UNESCO's tentative World Heritage list since 1998.