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PLACES
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SATGAON
Satgaon (Chikhli T., p. 2185): This village in Chikhli tahsil situated 10 miles to the south of Buldhana, the district headquarters, is of some importance by reason of its antiquarian remains, showing the existence of Jainism side by side with Brahmanism in ancient times.
" There are ruins of temples and statuary which show that out of four temples now traceable, three were Hindu and one was Jain. They are all in a dilapidated state, one of them being a total wreck. The principal temple is that of Vishnu to the west of the village. It is somewhat peculiarly built in that it faces the west instead of the east as usual. The image of Vishnu is broken and lost, leaving only his feet above the figure of Garuda which is his conveyance, and which is still in situ. The temple is much dilapidated, but it is a fine structure. The ceilings of the mandapa and the exterior walls of the shrine are well decorated, and in style seem to stand half way between the later temples of the 13th and 14th centuries and those of the 11th. To prevent further decay, the Archaeological Department has taken it under its charge. At a short distance behind the Vishnu temple is a remnant of a small temple of Mahadeva, which is in a very ruined condition; the entrance to it is from the east side, local mud walls having recently been built in the verandah of the mandira. Inside the temple there is a linga and outside the Nandi; the door is elaborately carved and has Ganesh on the dedicatory block, above which there are niches with figures of Vaishnavi, Brahmi and Parvati. These are all goddesses, the wives of the gods constituting the Hindu Trinity. It is, however, noticeable that there are no figures of gods to be seen there. The third Hindu temple is to the north of the Vishnu temple and, as already stated, is a wreck. Of the fourth, which was apparently a Jain temple, all that now remains are four standing pillars. A short distance to the north-west of this is a large pipal tree with a high platform around its base on which are some fragments of old images. Among them is the lower portion of an image of the Jain god Parasnath with an inscription of two lines beneath, dated Shaka 1173 (A.D. 1251). It is Digambara, its nakedness being distinctly indicated. Apparently it was originally enshrined in the temple, of which the four pillars remain. Another noticeable image on the platform is that of a Devi which is broken, but above her head there is a wreath of flowers at the top of which is seated a little Jina, indicating that the Devi does not belong to the Hindu but to the Jain pantheon." [Buldhana District Gazetteer, 1910, pp. 461—62.]
These temples are supposed to have been constructed during the reign of the Later Chalukyas.
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