Siddhanath Temple, Nemawar

Siddhanath Temple, also called Sidheshwara, stands on a plinth by the Narmada at Nemawar in Madhya Pradesh. Dating to about the 10th century, it is an important example of Paramara architecture and a Monument of National Importance, and it is still in active worship as a Shiva shrine. Sculptures dug up nearby suggest a cluster of temples once stood here; one unfinished temple of the same period survives on a mound to the north. The temple escaped damage during the Muslim invasions and was managed by Indore State in British times.

The west-facing Nagara temple has a pillared mandapa, an ante-chamber and a sanctum. The main shrine is of yellow sandstone; the mandapa, added about a century later, is of blush sandstone, with three porches, carved niches holding Kali, Ganesha and the Matrikas, and a dome ringed inside with concentric circles. The sanctum doorway carries eight bands of carving and a lintel with a four-armed Shiva holding a veena, while ninety-nine panels of Shivaganas run around the sanctum walls.