Kantajew Temple, Hindu temple in Dinajpur District, Bangladesh

Kantajew Temple is a square, three-tiered brick temple standing on a stone plinth about 50 feet high, with a ground floor of 21 arched openings, a second of 27 and a third of only 3. Its outer walls carry roughly 15,000 terracotta plaques depicting scenes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and various Puranic legends.

Maharaja Pran Nath of Dinajpur began the temple in 1704, but work stopped when he died in 1722. His adopted son Raja Ramnath completed it in 1752, as recorded on a foundation inscription on the north side. The original nine spires rose about 70 feet; the 1897 earthquake destroyed them, and early 20th-century repairs by Maharaja Girijanath left them unrestored.

The temple is dedicated to Krishna and his wife Rukmini, and is popular with Rukmini-Krishna devotees in Bengal. Around 15,000 terracotta tiles depict scenes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and other Puranic legends. A month-long Ras Mela is held in the courtyard at the start of winter, a tradition said to date from the reign of Raja Ramnath.

The temple is best visited during cooler months when weather is comfortable for exploring the exterior. Plan enough time to examine the carved details on walls and pillars without rushing through the site.

Persian craftsmen were brought in to build the temple, and Maharaja Pran Nath gave land in nearby Nayabad for them to live on. The few Muslim workers among them received a mosque, the Nayabad Mosque, which still stands as a separate archaeological site.