Jatar Deul- an ancient terracotta temple in West Bengal’s Sundarbans, which has survived the ravages of time for a millennia, is now facing erosion threat due to increase in air salinity.

Jatar Deul

• Jatar Deul also called tower temple (rekha-deul), is located in the numerous rivers criss-crossed by stone-free alluvial and bush landscape of the southern Sundarbans settlements in West Bengal.
• The temple has a curvilinear tower similar to temple architecture of the Nagara order of Odisha temples.
• However, this type of brick temple we can see at Nebia Khera, Uttar Pradesh.
• There is neither a cult nor any other sculptural or inscriptional evidence available also the consecration of the temple is unclear.
• Some believe it was originally for a Buddhist structure; others see it as a building in honor of the Lord Shiva), whose colorful image, is visible at the interior of the Cella (garbhagriha).

How old is it?

• The ASI website states that Jatar Deul is traditionally connected to an inscription, no longer traceable, by one Raja Jayantachandra, purported to have been issued in 975 AD.
• The discovery of Jatar Deul dates back to the middle of the nineteenth century, when land surveyors stumbled upon a towering brick structure in the midst of the Sundarban.

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