Ancient terracotta temple in Jashore

The temple is 322 years old, replete with terracotta plaques on its outer walls, and its aesthetic beauty and intricate designs have been retained by skilled restoration work carried out in 2008.

This is the Chanchra Shib Mandir, located in Jashore's sadar upazila.

Assistant director of the Khulna archaeology department AKM Saifur Rahman told Prothom Alo, "The temple was renovated in 2008 following UNESCO's archaeology codes and it'll undergo further renovation work shortly."

The 17th-century temple of Hindu lord Shiva is of the traditional ‘at-chala’ (eight eaves) style.

The roof of a ‘char-chala’ (four eaves) temple is truncated and a miniature ‘char-chala’ structure is added on it, transforming it into an ‘at-chala’ temple.

It has three arched doorways, and its exterior is enhanced with simple yet elegant terracotta wall tiles. 

Built with brick and lime mortar, the temple is some four kilometres far from Jashore city's Bhairab intersection and visible from the Jessore-Benapole highway.

An inscription fitted on the temple wall says it was built in 1696 by Raja Manohar.

Historian Satish Chandra Mitra mentioned this temple in his book 'Jessore-Khulnar Itihash' (History of Jessore-Khulna) in 1914.

General secretary of the temple's management committee, Tarapada Das, said that many Hindu devotees come to the temple from distant areas on the occasions of Shibratri and Dol Utsab (Holi festival).

*This piece, originally published in the print edition of Prothom Alo, has been rewritten in English by Imam Hossain