English: This is the largest known Hindu brick temple from the Gupta Empire era, ancient India.

The Padmavati brick temple is a three-tiered building standing on massive jagati, unearthed after a mound was excavated in Pawaya. So far this is the only mound excavated, there are others yet to be excavated.

This temple was built in two stages. The earliest layer is from the 300–340 CE, Naga / early Gupta period. On top of this structure stood at least one Vishnu temple, because terracota art and broken panels of Vishnu legends such as of the Vamana-Bali legend were found during the excavations.

For scholarly discussion of this brick temple, please see: Laxshmi Greaves (2014), Pawāyā: An Early Terraced Brick Temple

Background:' Pawaya is a small remote village about 40 kilometers south of Gwalior. It is one of the most celebrated archaeological sites from 1st to 4th century ancient India, with discoveries of some of the oldest known temple foundations and ancient Indian artwork in central India.

Pawaya is the ancient Padmavati, one repeatedly mentioned as the 'glorious capital city' of the Nagas in many ancient Sanskrit religious and secular texts (love story, plays). For examples, Vishnu Purana and Vayu Purana mention it. The city remained a prosperous economic and religious center through the 12th-century, as evidenced by poems and fiction using it as setting or one of the locations for their story. For example, the 8th century Malatimadhavam – a love story between Malati and Madhava – which mentions Padmavati city to be blessed with waterfalls and four rivers: Sindhu, Para, Lavana, and Madhumati. These rivers and waterfalls – though with similar but evolved names – are in the neighborhood and scenic terrain of Pawaya.

Excavations at Pawaya between 1925 and 1940, and post-1960 yielded some of the finest artwork pieces from 3rd and 4th centuries. These include Buddhist, Hindu and Jain artwork, but the discoveries have been predominantly Hindu. A massive temple platform has also been unearthed, along with evidence of smaller shrines (all pre-Gupta and Gupta Empire era). Many of the terracota and stone artwork were hauled away and moved to various museums during the colonial era. A good though small collection from ancient Padmavati city (now Pawaya village) is on display at the Gurjari Mahal museum of Gwalior.