Sasbahu Temple, Gwalior: History, Timings & Visitor Guide

Sas Bahu Temples, also called the Sasa-Baku Temples (in Pali), Sas aur Bahu ke Mandir, Sas-Bahu Twin Temples, are the 11th-century twin temples in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India within the Gwalior Fort complex. The bigger temple (Saas) is dedicated to Aniruddha, considered widely as a Jana avatar, an avatar of Vishnu and grandson of Lord Krishna & the smaller temple (Bahu) is dedicated to Shiva. Like most Hindu and Jain temples in this region, they were mostly in ruins and were badly damaged from numerous invasions and Hindu-Muslim wars in the region. They were built between 1090 and 1093 by King Mahipala of the Kachchhapaghata dynasty, the larger one (Saas) was constructed for his wife who was Vaishnava and the smaller one (Bahu) was constructed for his daughter-in-law who was a shiva devotee, according to an inscription found in the larger of the twin temple and as deciphered by Alexander Cunningham the first Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India. The twin temples are situated in the Gwalior Fort.

The temple's tower and sanctum has been destroyed, but its architecture and damaged carvings can still be appreciated from the ruins. The jagati platform is 100 feet (30 m) long and 63 feet (19 m) wide, on a square plan. The temple was three-storeyed, which was one of its distinguishing features and sophistication. It followed a central cluster concept, states Adam Hardy. The surviving elements of the temple are the entrance porch and the mandapa. According to James Harle, though the prasada (tower, spire) no longer exists, the triple storey plan with a cruciform foundation and balconies suggests that it had a North Indian Bhumija style architecture. This style, states Harle, is marked by a well proportioned superstructure, its "regularly arranged little subordinate sikharas strung out like gigantic beaded garlands".

This temple mainly has three entrances from three different directions. In the fourth direction, there is a room which is currently closed. The entire temple is covered with carvings, notably 4 idols of Brahma, Vishnu and Saraswati above its entrance door. The pillar carvings show Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism related carvings. The larger temple ornamentation covers all the exterior walls and all surviving interior surfaces.

The twin temple, unlike elsewhere in India, has historically been called Sas bahu temples. The word Sas bahu means "mother-in-law, or "a mother with her daughter-in-law", an association that implies their being together and interdependent. The Sas temple is typically the larger older temple of the twin. The Gwalior's Sas Bahu Temples follows this style, the temples are dedicated to Aniruddha (grandson of Krishna) & Shiva. Only the Sas temple has survived in some form, the Bahu temple is a shell structure of the original one storey with a highly ornate door frame and its defaced wall reliefs surviving. The remnants of the Bahu temple at Gwalior suggest that it may have been a smaller version of the Saas temple.