Temples · 8th – 9th century
Teli Ka Mandir
The tallest, strangest temple on the fort
Timings
8:00 AM – 5:30 PM, daily
Entry fee
Included with Gwalior Fort ticket
Best time
Morning, before the plateau heats up
Time needed
30 minutes
History & culture
Teli Ka Mandir is the oldest surviving structure of consequence on the fort plateau, and the tallest. Its wagon-vaulted roof follows a South Indian shala form, while the wall sculpture is firmly north Indian.
The origin of the name is unsettled — readings range from a community of oil-millers who funded it, to a Telangana connection through the builders.
The doorway is framed by bands of carving nearly two storeys high, and the interior is a plain, striking, almost cave-like chamber by contrast.
Gallery
Virtual tour
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Temple plateau
Points of interest
Barrel-vaulted roof
The curved shala roof is a southern form, unusual this far north, and gives the temple its distinctive silhouette.