This essay traces the proliferation of temple construction during Akbar’s reign, situating it within his messianic project of sulh-i kull and his positioning as a “millennial sovereign.” The authors examine architectural innovations emerging from Braj as products of a unique synthesis of Kalinga, Bengali, Oriya and Mughal building vocabularies. They also trace Akbar’s patronage of Jain institutions through his relationship with Hiravijaya Suri, and the theological role of scholars like Narayan Bhatt in legitimising the rebuilding of desecrated sites in Banaras.
Dalrymple et al. (2026) studied this question.