IN PICS: Unique 'Bharat Mata' temple displays map of undivided India

Often missed by pilgrims, the temple continues to be a favourite site of the foreign tourists./ Image: ANI

The temple is located in the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth campus. It was constructed by Babu Shiv Prasad Gupta between 1918 and 1924 and was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi on October 25, 1936.

The interesting feature of the map is the detailed layout of mountain ranges and peaks, 450 to be precise, plains, water bodies, rivers, oceans and plateaux among other geographical bodies which form this part of the world and its scale and depth mentioned alongside.

In the city of temples Varanasi, stands a temple which is unlike the other temples- The Bharat Mata Mandir. The temple is not dedicated to any god or goddess but the female allegory of India.

The unique feature of the temple is the marble map of undivided India. Located in the centre of the building, the map comprises of Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma (now Myanmar) and Ceylone (now Sri Lanka) on makrana marble.