Category:Chaturbhuj Temple, Gwalior

Chaturbhuj Temple 

9th century rock cut Hindu temple in Gwalior Fort, Madhya Pradesh
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Instance of	Hindu temple
Part of	Gwalior Fort
Location	Gwalior Fort, Gwalior, Gwalior district, Gwalior division, Madhya Pradesh, India
Architectural style	Hindu temple architecture
Heritage designation	Monument of National Importance
26° 13′ 51.15″ N, 78° 10′ 11.76″ E
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The Chaturbhuj Temple of Gwalior is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu excavated in a rock face in the Gwalior Fort, Madhya Pradesh, India. The temple is famous for the earliest known inscription in the world that uses the symbol "0" to mean zero (see, Georges Ifrah, The Universal History of Numbers: From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer). The inscription states, among other things, that the community planted a garden of 187 hastas by 270 hastas (1 hasta = 1.5 feet), that the garden yielded 50 garlands for the temple everyday. The last digits of 270 and 50 are "O" shaped. While Indian and non-Indian texts mention zero much earlier, this temple has the earliest known epigraphical evidence inscribed in stone that already knows and uses the concept of zero.

This rock-cut temple has several inscriptions. One above the sanctum doorway is in classical prashasti style and states that this monolithic temple was carved into a wall of Gopagiri (Gwalior fort) in the 9th century CE. Another inscription is longer and mentions Bhoja, then proceeds to explain how the temple and local community plans to ensure daily services.

The Chaturbhuj temple is a Nagara-style temple. Its artwork was muitilated and its sikhara (spire) was torn down during Sultanate-era invasions sometime after the 13th century. After Gwalior returned to being a princely state and Hindu rule during the colonial era, the ruins were cleaned up, the sikhara was restored with new material. On the outer walls of the temple, various small reliefs panels of various Vishnu avatar and Lakshmi related artwork are present. The site also has Shiva and Shakti related iconography.