Masrur Rock-Cut Temples

The 8-century rock-cut Hindu temple group at Masrur in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh, 40 kilometres from Dharamshala — one of the only two major rock-cut Hindu temple groups north of the Vindhyas (with Dhamnar in Madhya Pradesh), carved from a single sandstone outcrop in the Shiva-Shikhara Nagara style. The 15 temples, including the central Thakurdwara temple, were cut between the 8th and 9th centuries under the Katoch dynasty of Kangra. The complex was never completed; the 1905 Kangra earthquake destroyed the shikharas of several temples. The temple's distinctive Nagara-style spire, mithuna sculpture and intricate carving make it the clearest Himalayan parallel to Kashmir's valley stone architecture. ASI protection since 1911; the 1990s and 2007 restoration preserved the surviving structures.