Hindoo Temple Secunderabad - c1860's

Photographs from the book: Sketches in India; Taken at Hyderabad and Secunderabad, by Captain Allan N. Scott, Madras Artillery.
Source: British Library

Very Ancient Jain Temple at Mucktagberry near Ellichpoor, 280 Miles from Hyderabad - c1860s

Photographs from the book: Sketches in India; Taken at Hyderabad and Secunderabad, by Captain Allan N. Scott, Madras Artillery.
Source: British Library

Bathing Ghats and Temples in Benares (Varanasi) - c1880's

Source: Ebay Seller pumpparkphotos

Schoolboys at the Golden Temple at Amritsar in the Punjab - c. 1903

Photographer: James Ricalton
Source: British Library

Various Temples North of The Mamallapuram Village in Tamil Nadu - c.1885

Small Temples North of the Village of Mamallapuram

Unfinished Cave Temple, Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu - c.1885

Unidentified Cave Temple, Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu - c.1885

Unidentified Cave Temple, Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu - c.1885

Unidentified Cave Temple, Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu - c.1885

General View of the Entrance to the Krishna Mandapa, Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu - c.1885

View from the South-West of the Arjuna Ratha and the Draupadi Ratha, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu - c.1885

Two Unfinished Rathas, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu - c.1885

General view from the north-west of the Shore Temple, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu - c.1885

General view from the south-west of the Bhima Ratha, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu - c.1885

General view of the entrance to the Varaha Cave Temple, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu - c.1885

Front view of the Dharmaraja Cave Temple, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu - c.1885

General view from the North-West of the Shore Temple, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu - c.1885

Unidentified Cave Temple, Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu - c.1885

Two Unfinished Rathas, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu - c.1885

Olakkanatha Temple, a structural shrine above the Mahishamardini Cave Temple, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu - c.1885

General view of the entrance to the Pancha Pandava Mandapa, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu - c.1885

General view from the south-west of the Dharmaraja Ratha, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu - c.1885
Vahara cave temple, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu - c.1885

General view of the Ganesha Ratha, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu - c.1885

Various Photographs of Rock Fort Temple Complex in Tiruchirapalli (Trichy), Tamil Nadu - 19th Century

Tiruchirapalli is situated on the River Kaveri in Tamil Nadu, India. The town has been a stronghold of various ruling dynasties like Pallavas, Cholas, Nayakas and later occupied by the British. The town is dominated by the Rock Fort, a massive sand-coloured rock which towers to a height of over 80 metres. The Pallavas were the first to exploit the rock, building temples into its side, but it was the Nayakas of Madurai who realised the site's potential as a fort adding only a few walls and bastions as fortifications in the 17th century. They firmly established Tiruchirapalli as an important trading city.

 The Rock is about 84 m high (273 feet) and its summit, crowned by a modern Ganesha temple (Ucchi Pillaiyar Koil), can be reached by means of 437 steep steps. The Nayakas of Madurai realised its strategic position and built the Rock Fort in the 17th century. The last major battle here was fought during the Anglo-French wars of the Carnatic in the 18th century. Carved into the southern face of the Rock are cave temples dating from the time of the Pallava king Mahendravarman I (reigned 570-630) and the Pandya period (8th century). At the west face is the 17th century Thayumanaswamy temple dedicated to Shiva, where the lingam is a natural rock projection.

Know more about this historic place in Wikipedia.

Date: 1895

Photographer: Nicholas and Company

Date: 1858
Photographer: Linnaeus Tripe

Date: 1868
Photographer: Edmund David Lyon

Date: 1869
Photographer: Samuel Bourne

Date: 1880
Photographer: Nicholas and Company

Source: British Library

Rao Petarah's Temple, Delhi 1858

Photograph of Rao Petarah's Temple, Delhi, taken by Dr. John Murray in 1858. The photograph shows a section from the Quwwat al-Islam mosque, part of the complex in South Delhi that includes the Qutb Minar. The complex was first begun by Qutb-u’d-din Aibak, the first ruler of the Slave Dynasty, and was added to by many subsequent rulers. The Quwwat al-Islam mosque was built in 1192. Inscriptions record that spolia from 27 Jain and Hindu temples that were torn down for its creation. Pillars from the destroyed temples were reused and the Hindu images were plastered over with geometric designs. Over time, the plaster has fallen away revealing the original Hindu carvings. This may explain why the caption refers to the building as a temple instead of a mosque created out of Hindu architectural material.

Source: British Library

The Rasmancha Temple, Bishnupur, Bankura District, Bengal - 1860-70's

Photographed in 1869
Photographer: Walter Campbell


Photographed in 1869
Photographer: Walter Campbell


Photographed in 1872
Photographer: Joseph David Beglar

The temples of Bishnupur were built under the Malla rulers of Bengal, fervent adherents of the Vaishnavite movement which flourished in the area from the fifteenth century onwards. The Rasa Mancha temple was built by the ruler Bir Hambir in the early seventeenth century. The temple is not dedicated to a particular deity but every year all the images of the gods are brought there during the Ras festival. Standing on a high plinth, the temple is unique in the sub-continent in its architectural form and style. It has a central square chamber surrounded on all sides by three tiered gallery arcades and roofed with an impressive pyramical structure. No inscriptions survive.

Temple and Ghat in Haridwar - Circa 1860's

Source: British Library

Pavilion with the Monolithic Bull Nandi in the Brihadishvara Temple complex at Thanjavur (Tanjore) - Tamil Nadu, Circa 1895

The Brihadishvara Temple built by the Chola king Rajaraja around 1010, is a monumental temple standing in the middle of a large courtyard surrounded by smaller shrines. To the east of the temple there is a 16th century pavilion with a huge monolithic sculpture of Nandi, the white bull sacred to Shiva to whom the temple is dedicated. The shafts of the columns of the pavilion are carved with figures of devotees.

Source: British Library

Beneres Temples and Ghats

Date : Probably from early 20th Century
Source: Library of Congress (loc.gov)

Ghats of Varanasi (Benaras/Kashi) - Circa c1950-60's

Photographer: Wim Swaan
Source: The J. Paul Getty Museum

Golden Temple, Amritsar, Punjab - c1950-60's

Photographer: Wim Swaan
Source: The J. Paul Getty Museum