Boodi Chanderi

About Boodi Chanderi

During the 10th century AD this was a prosperous town, and even now the scale of the ruins suggests how rich it must have been. It was originally known as Chandra Puri and served as the capital of the Chedi Maha Janpath. A sati pillar found here carries an inscription dated 1488 which refers to the place as Nasirabad.

The German historian Claus Boon, working with M. B. Gardey of the Gwalior Heritage Society, documented the ruins of 55 Jain and Hindu temples at the site. Most are in the style of the 10th and 11th centuries AD, and their art and foundations resemble Chandela Dynasty work of the kind seen at Khajuraho and nearby Deogarh. Today almost all of them lie in complete ruin, standing in dense forest with no roads or trails reaching most of the temple sites. The Indian Archaeological Department has gathered as many temple fragments as it could find and installed them in the Chanderi Museum, partly because the site has been pillaged in the past. In 2006 looters sawed off and stole the head of a major Jain statue from one of the few intact temples left here.

Sites still standing

The Jain monastery

A Jain monastery with temples inside it is one of the two noteworthy survivals at Old Chanderi. It is also the kind of structure that has attracted theft, which is why so much loose sculpture has been moved to the museum in town.

The Fort of Shishupal

The ruins of a Hindu palace known locally as the Fort of Shishupal stand at the site. Its architecture places it in the 14th or 15th century AD, but installed within it are pillars that date to the Chandela period, several centuries earlier.

Temple fragments in the Chanderi Museum

Much of what can actually be examined from Boodi Chanderi is no longer at Boodi Chanderi. Carved fragments collected by the Archaeological Department are displayed in the new museum in Chanderi town, and seeing them first makes the overgrown site easier to read.

Planning your visit

This is a forest site 18 kilometres from Chanderi with no roads or trails to most of the temple ruins. It needs local help rather than a map.

• Arrange a local guide in Chanderi before setting out.
• Wear closed shoes and full sleeves for undergrowth.
• Carry your own water, as there are no facilities at the site.
• See the Chanderi Museum first to understand what the fragments were part of.

Best time to visit

The dry months from October to March are the practical window, since the site sits in dense forest and the approach depends on walking. Monsoon growth makes the scattered temple sites far harder to reach and to see.