One of the most remarkable monuments of the Bias valley is the temple of
Baijnath. The village of that name is situated 23 miles east of Nagarkot, as
the crow flies, close to the Mandi border and on the main road which leads
from the Punjab plains through Kangra, Kulu, Lahul, and Ladakh to Central
Asia.
Baijnath is in reality the appellation of the chief temple dedicated to
SivaVaidyanatha ("Lord of Physicians") which has know the Village
itself. The original name of the village was Kiragrama.The Baijnath temple
is orientated due west. It consists of a puri or adytum, 8 feet square
inside and 18 feet outside, surmounted by a spire of the usual conical
shape, and cf a mandapa or front hall, 20 feet square inside, covered with a
low pyramid shaped roof.
Both the south and north wall of the mandapa are adorned with a graceful
balcony window. The four corners are strengthened by means of massive
buttress-like projections in the shape of half-engaged - miniature sikhara
temples, each containing two niches in which image slabs are placed. Smaller
niches in slightly projecting chapels are found between the corner
projections and the entrance and balcony windows.
