#vaisnavi

Sculpture of the goddess Vaisnavi, Nand Chand (ca. A.D. 475-500)

The antiquities at Nand Chand (Panna District) and the abundant remains found at nearby sites within the Jabalpur District reveal the existence of a regional style that flourished during the eighth century in a small area of Madhya Pradesh. Not only is this regional style important for its own sake, but it must be considered as playing a critical formative role in the art of the medieval Kalacuri Dynasty of Tripuri (modern Tewar near Jabalpur). Only two important stone inscriptions in this area have survived from the period, and the paleography of the undated records suggests that much of the work at Nand Chand and associated sites can be assigned to the second half of the eighth century. The first inscription, occurring on a sculptural panel that probably belonged to the Sagar region, refers to the Kalacuri ruler Śankaragana. The second epigraph, also referring to the reign of Śankaragana, was found in the village of Chhoti Deori (Jabalpur District). Their locations indicate that the Kalacuri Dynasty extended from at least Sagar in the west to the Chhoti Deori region in the east (see map). 

Nand Chand is especially significant in understanding this regional style. Not only do the sculptures at the site have a strong affinity with the inscribed panel in Sagar, but the abundance and quality of its artistic remains also prove that it was a major center. Nearby villages within the Jabalpur District having a common artistic link to Nand Chand are Chhoti Deori, Tigowa, Bargaon, Bahuriband and Bilhari. A group of temples at Bandhogarh (Shadhol District), about eighty kilometers east of Nand Chand outside this small nucleus, reveals a cognate style that existed in this region.