Bhojpur

The temple construction was commenced in the 11th century under King Bhoja's reign. According to historical records, Bhoja had constructed numerous temples dedicated to Lord Shiva, including Kedareshvara, Rameshwara, Somanatha, Kala, and Rudra. He built a total of 104 temples in his capital city of Dhara alone. However, the Bhojpur temple is the lone, surviving shrine which can be attributed to Bhoja with some certainty. 

Originally, the temple stood on the banks of a reservoir which was formed as a result of the construction of three earth and stone dams during Bhoja's reign. The first dam was built on the Betwa river which trapped the waters in a depression surrounded by the hills, the second, over a gap between the hills, near present-day Mendua village while a third dam, located in present-day Bhopal, diverted more water from the smaller Kaliasot river into the Betwa dam reservoir.

The reason behind the abrupt halting of Bhojpur Temple's construction has been subjected to many speculations. The most popular theories suggest that a sudden war, natural disaster or simply the lack of funds led to the shutting down of the project. Before it was restored in 2006-07, the building lacked a roof which led to archaeologist KK Muhammed theorizing that a mathematical error led to the sudden collapse of the temple after which the project was not pursued further. Detailed plans for the finished temple indicate that Bhojpur was to be a massive temple with many more temples, which would have made it one of the largest temple complexes in India.