Temples

Jhalrapatan (Padmanabh Sun Temple)

The 'City of Temple Bells' and its soaring 10th-century Sun Temple

🗺 Hadoti Region 📍 90 km from Kota ⭐ 10th-century carved Sun Temple in a town of many shrines

Jhalrapatan, often translated as the City of Temple Bells, is one of the great temple towns of the Hadoti region. Its crowning glory is the Padmanabh Temple, popularly called the Sun Temple, a magnificent shrine whose tall, elaborately carved shikhara rises high above the old town and whose sanctum houses a beautiful image of Surya, the sun god.

The temple's walls, pillars and spire are covered in fine sculpture, and though dedicated in worship to Vishnu and the sun, its craftsmanship places it among the finest medieval temples in the region. The surrounding town, once ringed by a wall, is dotted with dozens of other shrines that gave it its musical nickname.

Jhalrapatan is a highlight of any Jhalawar tourist places circuit and a rewarding, temple-rich day trip from Kota for lovers of history and sacred architecture.

History of Jhalrapatan (Padmanabh Sun Temple)

Jhalrapatan is an ancient settlement, and the Padmanabh Sun Temple is generally dated to around the 10th century, built in the medieval north Indian style with a towering shikhara. The town flourished as a religious and trading centre for centuries.

Later, under the Jhala rulers of Jhalawar, the town was revived and became closely tied to the fortunes of the princely state. Its enduring collection of temples earned it the poetic name Jhalrapatan, the city of bells.

Story & Legend

Old residents say the town once held so many temples that when their bells rang together at dawn and dusk the whole valley seemed to sing, and that a traveller could find his way home in the dark simply by following the sound of the temple bells.