The Shiva temple flanked by four miniature temples

HATKOTI, 95 km from Shimla in the Pabbar Valley, is one of the few archaeologically rich sites in Himachal Pradesh. The road connecting this ancient cultural centre with the plains of Uttar Pradesh runs along the banks of the Tons river and its tributary, the Pabbar. This holy place situated on the right bank of the Pabbar river is famous for its ancient stone temples. Since it has a fairly large number of temples within a radius of 2 km, Hatkoti, is popularly referred to as the valley of temples.

The architectural masterpieces at Hatkoti represent the Pahari school of art. The beautiful sculptures placed inside and outside these temples speak highly of the unknown artists of the region. The place retains some influence of the Buddhist period too. Most of the temples, which are in ruins now, are of the shikra style and belong to three different periods. The temples of Goddess Durga and Lord Shiva are quite big. It is believed that these temples were founded by Shankaracharya when he was on his way to Kashmir. These temples were re-roofed by Raja Padam Chandra of Jubbal in 1885 A.D. The Shiva temple, which was re-roofed later, has a pyramidal shape and is panchratha in plan and elevation.

The image of Dancing Ganesha dates back to the 10th century.

The image of the principal deity in the Durga temple is made of ashtadhatu. It depicts Goddess Mahishasurmardine with one foot on her vaahan, the lion, and the other on the ground. She is shown in the act of killing the demon Mahishasur with a trident. The goddess has eight arms and holds in her right hands khetaka, bell, bow and chasakpatra and in the left hands a khadga, chakra, shakti and a trident. This is a rare image which shows the chakra in prayogmudra (ready to dispatch). This bronze image is almost life-size. The two-metre high ornamental torna is of immense iconographic interest. Goddesses Ganga and Yamuna are engraved on either side, and several geometrical and animal figures also appear on it. Among the animal figures, an imaginary animal, Sardual is engraved on both sides. The animal’s long legs are like those of an elephant, the middle portion is like that of a lion, while the head is of a dragon. On the top of the torna, sapt-matrikas are engraved on a panel with Ganesha and Shiva on either side of the matrikas. An inscription in the siddha-matrika script recording the name of the donor is engraved on both the sides of the torna. On the basis of inscription, the bronze can be assigned to 9th century A.D.

A sculpture of dancing Ganesha is placed in a niche on the temple wall. The rare sculpture has been artistically executed. He wears a small crown, necklace, bracelet, sarpayajnopavita and a loin cloth. He is shown, as usual, pot-bellied and has a single tusk with the proboscis turned to the left. This deity has eight arms and is shown holding a snake over his head.

Sculpture of Simhavahini Durga

On the lower part two attendants are engraved on either side while on the upper portion of the slab two female figures most probably the two consorts Riddhi and Siddhi, are shown in the relief. This sculpture may be assigned to 10th century A.D. Another sculpture of a four-armed Ganesha is placed in the gavaksha of this temple. The deity wearing usual ornaments is seated on a double- petalled lotus in addhaparyanka pose. In the hands on the left side, Ganesha is shown holding a lotus bud and a parshu. In his upper right hand he holds a radish, while the lower hand he rests on his thigh. The sculpture seems to be of 9th century A.D.

The other interesting and beautiful sculpture of Simhavahini Durga from this place is now exhibited in State Museum Shimla. The goddess has a kumbanda and bleduchur on her head. The deity holds a chasakpatra in her lower right hand, a trident in the upper right hand, a shield in the upper left hand and a bijpurg i.e. the seed of entire cosmos in the lower hand. The deity is seated on her mount of a lion in lalitasna. The sculpture can be assigned to 8th century A.D.

The other temple in this complex is dedicated to Lord Shiva. A large Shivalinga encircled by the yonipithika is installed in the centre of the garbhgriha. An interesting feature of this temple is the wood-carving on its ceiling. Figures of different gods and goddesses like Radha-Krishna, Shiva-Parvati, Mahishasurmardini etc are carved out of a block of wood and made to fit into an ornamental wooden frame. The ruler of Jubbal state in the 19th century got these carvings done.

Some stone sculptures of Vishnu-Lakshmi seated on Garuda, Sheshaivishnu, Uma-Maheshwara and Ganesha have been placed in the garbhagriha of the Shiva temple. These sculptures belong to the surrounding temples which are now in ruins. These have probably been made between the 9th-12th centuries. In addition, some architectural pieces, known as Bhadramukhas, of different temples of this complex are also placed beside the entrance door. All these have beautifully carved floral and geometrical patterns. There are four ancient miniature temples in this complex. These temples have also been built between the 8th and 12th centuries.