Monastery 45 & Temple are located on the higher terrace on the east of the great Stupa in Sanchi’s World Heritage site.
According to the archaeological findings temple belongs to 10th or 11th Century AD, hence it’s the ruins of latest structure. Prior to this structure there was a temple and in front an open courtyard with three small temples and it was surrounded by the series of cells in North, South and West sides of the open courtyard for the monks. The temple and platform built to the east of the courtyard, and the rooms and verandahs built to the north and south, are built on the remains of an earlier temple and monastery.
The stones used in the masonry of the earlier monastery chambers were of a different type and were built on a deep foundation. The arrangement of the doors in the chambers for incoming and outgoing movement was slightly different in the new and old structure. The floor of the verandahs was slightly higher than the courtyard. At regular intervals there were square stone pillars on the outside of the verandah. The remains of the earlier temple were buried under the later structure while the plan of the sanctum sanctorum was similar to the earlier one.
The temple has a square sanctum, entered through a small antechamber and a shikhara, the upper portion of which has fallen off. The temple is surrounded by a high wall with a circumambulatory path on three sides. Most of the carved ornamentation is reminiscent of the door frames, ceiling of the sanctum, sculptures in the niches of the outer walls, and the decorative work on the shikhara and around the ceiling, on the other hand, the corner pilasters of the sanctum belong to an earlier period. All other works are medieval, executed specifically for this temple. The pilasters decorated like garlands with flowers, leaves, etc. are examples of fine carving. Temple’s door jamb and beams have the images of Ganga and Yamuna with their vehicles and attendents. Outer surfaces were installed with the Buddha’s statues.
The platform in front of the temple was built using architectural elements from older structures.
The temple has two bays on the north and south, each with three cells and a verandah in front. The southern verandah has a seated Buddha in Bhumisparsa-mudra, where it was installed that is not known.
This temple and Monastery having many features of interest like in Sanctum, door jambs carvings, Pillars, beams, Niches and the arrangement of rooms for Bhikshus.