Natesa: Pratihara Style of Rajasthan

Natesa: Pratihara Style of Rajasthan

Natesa, a rare sandstone idol from the 9th century belongs to the Pratihara Style of Rajasthan. A hand-made Natesa idol is presently installed in the Parshvanath Jain temple of Ranakpur in Rajasthan.

About Natesa

The Natesa icon on display at the Indian High Commission in London was originally from the Ghateswar Temple at Baroli, Rajasthan. Ghateswar is one of the most famous temple complexes in northern India. The icon of Natesa is a local tradition and it is claimed to be very old, dating back to several decades ago.

The sandstone Natesa figure stands tall at almost 4 ft. in a rare and brilliant depiction of Shiva. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Ministry of Culture should use this restitution as a much-needed impetus to go after thousands of artefacts stolen since the 1960s.

Pratihara Style

Pratihara Style Temple Architecture is a famous style of Hindu temple architecture belongs to the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty of Rajasthan, India. They ruled much of Northern India from the mid-8th and 11th century.

There are many main features of Nagara Style of temple Architecture. One of them is the presence of pillared halls in front of the sanctum, which enhances the appearance and beauty of the temple.

Another unique feature is projecting balconies on all sides, which indicates that the open porches or Prakara was an important feature in Nagara style architecture.

They used most common sandstones for idols that have various shades of red, caused by iron oxide (rust).

The greatest development of their style of building is at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.