The valleys of Betwa and Bes, in Madhya Pradesh the central state in India, have cradled, since time immemorial, great centres of culture and civilization. Gyaraspur, which is now just an obscure village in a gorge of low steep hills, in one of the valleys, had been such a centre. The place abounds in relics and ruined temples belonging to Saivism, Vaisnavism, Buddhism and Jainism. Ancient relics and monuments such as Maladevi Temple, Hindola Toran, Bajramath, Athakhamba, Buddhist stupas, Katarmal Bhairav and renowned sculpture of the nymph Salabhanjika speak a lot about the architectural and artistic splendour of Gyaraspur. These monuments and sculptures are of great interest to historians of culture and art. They did attract the attention of archaeologists and historians in the past, and stray mentions of them appeared in Archaeological and administrative reports but no serious studies have so far been done.

The present author, who is an administrator by profession but a historian and archaeologist by choice, has tried to convey something new, the truth about those monuments to interested public and art historians. His approach has been multi-faceted not stereotype. While describing all the details of the architechral remains and sculptures in this slender but well-written volume, he has thought of philosophy, psychology and eco-social environments that acted mystically behind the ripe creation of the monuments under study.

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