The layout of the Gokarneshwara Mahadeva shrine was drawn by A.C.L. Carlleyle. He describes the shrine as ‘…a cave temple, or rather a cave, in which temples or shrines have been built, within a two-storied screen or facing of masonry in the face of the rock, in the side of the mountain at the entrance to the pass, immediately opposite to the town of Visalpur… But apart from the bases of some of the pillars (which appear to be older than the rest), the whole of the structures in the cave appear to be modern…’
The shikhara (superstructure) is divided into nine storeys, marked by eight bhumi-amalakas (a segmented or notched stone disk, usually with ridges on the rim) positioned at each of the four corners. Above this truncated top of the shikhara, standard elements such as amalaka, kalasha (pitcher), etc., are present.
The plan of Bisaldeo Temple consists of a garbhagriha, an antarala, a mahamandapa with lateral transepts and an ardhamandapa. It is a nirandhara prasada. The sanctum is pancharatha in plan and the walls of the sanctum are plain.
The layout of Gokarneshwara Mahadeva shrine as drawn by A.C.L. Carlleyle, and he described the shrine as ‘…a cave temple, or rather a cave, in which temples or shrines have been built, within a two-storied screen or facing of masonry in the face of the rock, in the side of the mountain at the entrance to the pass, immediately opposite to the town of Visalpur… But apart from the bases of some of the pillars (which appear to be older than the rest), the whole of the structures in the cave appear to be modern…’
Image courtesy: Report of a Tour in Eastern Rajputana in 1871-72 and 1872-73, by A.C.L. Carlleyle