Conservation Strategies for riverside temples and their associated heritage at Bateshwar Dham, Uttar Pradesh/

Abstract

The Bateshwar area is located in the south-eastern part of the district of Agra and is one of the significant religious and social precincts for the people of the Hindu and Jain faith. The oral and written history of Bateshwar dates back to the mythological times. Since then, the morphology grew in the same paradigm following the same abstract and materialistic significance. Signs of this growth can be seen till the British empire without any barrier or pause. Both religions share significant value in the precinct. The foretold significance holds the dominance but the complex is not just confined to the religious importance of Jainism and Hinduism. It is Famous for the 101 Temples Erected on The Banks of The Yamuna River by Raja Badan Singh Bhadawar. Lord Neminath the 22nd Tirthankar of the Jain faith was born at Shauripur near Bateshwar. It also withholds the social cum commercial character that goes beyond. The Bateshwar Dham Complex caters for one of the country's largest cattle fairs, adding up to the religious significance of the Hindu faith The oral and written history of Bateshwar and Bhadawars starts from 720 A.D when Chauhan ruler Raja Manik Rae of Sambhar ruled the region for more than fifty years until the invasion, then Rao Kajjal Dev ruled the region expanding Agra to the present-day Bah. In the thirteenth century, Raja Karan Singh ruled Bateshwar for nearly thirty years span. During the reign of Akbar, the region was ruled by Rajput Raja Mukutman who later became a Mughal Mansabdar, succeeding him Raja Mahendra Vikramaditya ruled the region under Mughal King and was a close aide to Mughal Badshah Jahangir. Later that Maharaja Mahendra Badan Singh of Bhadawar came to rule the region and commissioned the construction of Fort of Ater, a 1.5-kilometer dam across the Yamuna River in the region and also built the significant Bateshwar Dham with 101 Shiv temples on the dam along the Yamuna. Then under the British empire also the Bhadawar and Bateshwar flourished uncompromised under four different Rajput rulers up to 1991. Post-independence when the Mughal architecture overtook the region becoming World Heritage, the respective authorities of the region started overlooking the Complex giving rise to several issues in terms of management, development, conservation, restoration and even the upcoming opportunities that could have been catering for the surroundings today. This trigger proved to be a big jolt to the Bateshwar Complex. As found in the documentation via primary and secondary sources, a lot has to be done and implemented to conserve and revitalize the stretch. The strategies concluded are hard to implement due to various limitations but it's doable. The strategies are proposed as per what's found in primary surveys and documentation. Various pre-existing guidelines are also proposed to be implemented for the Bateshwar Dham Complex.