Excavation by an ASI team has revealed a 34-metre-long sandstone jagati (foundation) of a temple with carvings and sculptures. "This makes the temple larger than the 30-metre-long Kandariya Mahadev, the biggest and the loftiest of the temples standing in Khajuraho", ASI Director General Ajai Shanker told journalists.

However, it was too early to say if the temple, built in the same style as the other temples here, was completed at all or fell during construction, Shanker said. "If it was completed, as per the rules of temple architecture, it would have been 34 m tall".

Archaeologists, however, are not sure about the date of the temple's construction. Ever since excavation began on March 6, the mound has yielded about 124 architectural fragments and sculptures of Vishnu, Saraswati, Shiva, Brahma,Uma-Maheshwar and some erotic figures, dating from the late ninth century to the 11th century, in various stages of preservation.

"This variation has not been seen in any other temple," head of the ASI team, Dr P K Mishra, said.

While the jagati was excellently preserved, showcasing a high quality of sandstone work, the sculptures found in the rubble were of a later period and lacked the fine proportions of the earlier figures, Shanker said.

A Shivalinga atop the mound also dates to a later period. "We are trying to date the temple with the help of the motifs on the jagati, the quality of the sculptures and the stone," Shanker said.

Of the 85 temples built in Khajuraho, only 25 stand today; the newly-excavated temple is the 26th.

The archaeologists are also trying to determine the purpose of the bricks which surround the sandstone structure from three sides.

The bricks could have been used to shore up the temple and a layer of bricks on the Eastern side may even have served as steps,according to Mishra.

It was too early to say if the bricks were remains of a Buddhist stupa or evidence of any Buddhist influence in the region, he said.

Complete excavation and conservation of the temple in the Bijamandal mound may take one to two years, and if 50 to 60 per cent of the temple's remains were found, the ASI would try to reconstruct it from the fragments, Shanker said.

About 40 people from Jatkara, Khajuraho and other nearby villages are engaged in the excavation under the ASI team's supervision.

Work on the mound is slated to stop on May 10 due to the heat and will resume after the monsoon.

The Bijamandal mound is one of the 18 mounds spread over a radius of seven km identified for excavation by the ASI in 1980.

Work on the mounds could not start all these years as, "the ASI has its hands full conserving the other temples and has a shortage of manpower and funds", Shanker said.

Excavation at the other mounds would be taken up depending on the findings in Bijamandal and theavailability of manpower and funds, Mishra said.

The ASI plans to fence the mound so that tourists can watch the excavation without posing danger to the temple. "We will allow tourists into the compound only after we have excavated and conserved the temple", Shanker said.

Meanwhile, the people of Jatkara and other villages nearby are excited about the discovery. "Yeh to chamatkar ho gaya (It's a miracle)", said Narmada Prasad Dubey of Jatkara.

Prabhu Dayal Mishra, also from Jatkara, who is engaged in the excavation work, said, "Earlier we had little work in summer. Now, the excavation work fetches us more money than farming or construction jobs."

And while there are fears that the Government will take over village land for developing the area around the temple, the villagers, like Suli Ram of Jatkara, believe that the temple will make their lives better. "If the temple is built, it will bring `development' to the village,'' he says.