Last night when we had arrived at our destination, it was
already dark. So we did not have a chance to explore the vicinity of the
bungalow we were staying at. Next day we got up early (read, we had to get up
early) and started our expedition. The bungalow was built in the British period
and the mark of the most sophisticated race (I’m sorry but I do think they are
the most sophisticated race ever despite their tendency to want to own
everything that was not rightfully theirs) was still evident everywhere. The servants’ quarter was situated at the
backside of the property where the caretaker lived. The garden in the front
porch was well maintained.
There was a small gate at the back end of the yard that opened to the railway station of Bishnupur. We hung around there for a while watching trains passing by in regular interval.
Bishnupur is a place where history can be found loitering
carelessly amidst the hustle bustle of the town only to amaze the tourist with
a pleasant dose of surprise. Most of the temples date back to 17th –
18th century when Malla dynasty had reached its peak.
The origin of the Malla dynasty is a controversial one. Some
says the dynasty was named after the first king, Adi Malla who was a wrestler. Legend
says that around 695 A.D. a king of Northern India (to be precise, king of
Jainagar, Vrindavan, as per Annals of Rural Bengal by Sir William Hunter) set
out on a pilgrimage to Purushottam or modern Puri Dham of Odisha. He had to
make a halt amidst a great forest (Joypur forest?) near Bankura as his wife was
about to give birth to his baby. The queen gave birth to a baby boy. The king
left the queen and the baby at a Brahmin’s house and resumed his journey. Apparently
he never came back and the boy grew up in that Brahmin’s house. The boy used to
cowherd the cattle of the Brahmin. One day when he was 7 years old, he fell
asleep in the middle of the field. The Brahmin came looking for him and
observed with great amazement that two huge cobras raising their hoods above
the sleeping boy’s face, shielding him from the ray of the sun. The Brahmin
realised that he was no ordinary boy and started giving him proper education. The
boy also grew up to be a great wrestler and eventually he succeeded the Raja of
Panchamgarh as the tribal king of Bishnupur and took the title of Adi Malla. Malla
is the Sanskrit word for ‘wrestler’. Although historians argue that ‘Malla’
actually was originated from the word ‘Mal’ which was an aboriginal tribe living
in the vicinity of ancient Bankura. They further argue that the hypothesis of
the aboriginal connection of the Malla dynasty only grows stronger by the fact
that ancient kings of Bishnupur used to be known as the Bagdi Rajas. Bagdi is
also another aboriginal tribe who descended from the Mals.
Aboriginal or Aryan, whatever the actual connection of the
Malla dynasty was, Bir Hambir was unequivocally the greatest of all Malla
kings. He was famous for his bravery and warfare skill. He was loyal to the
Mughals and fought again the Afghans all his life. He was converted to
Vaishnavism by Srinivasa. Myth says that when Srinivasa left Vrindavan for
Gaur, he and other disciples were robbed on the way by Bir Hambir. But later
Srinivasa so overwhelmed the king by reading Bhagavata that he decided to
become a Vaishnav himself.
Ras Mancha was built in 1600 by king Bir Hambir. It is the oldest of all brick temples of Bishnupur. It is famous for its unusual pyramidical structure surrounded by brick huts. Architecturally, it is unique among all other Indian temples.
Madanmohan temple was built in 1694. Madanmohan is another name of Lord Vishnu. He was the patron god of the Malla kings. Intricate terracotta works on the temple was truly breathtaking.
This gateway was built in the second half of the 17th century by King Bir Singha. It was the northern entrance to the ancient fort of Bishnupur. It had double storied gallery to accomodate the troops and arrow slits for the archers. I wish I had taken better pictures of this amazing piece of architecture, but I used to be a bad photographer back then.
Lalji temple. Built in 1658 by king Bir Singha II.
Jor Bangla temple or Kesto Roy temple was built in 1655 by king Raghunath Singha Dev II. It is called Jor Bangla because two twin hut shaped turrets were joined together by one towering roof or shikhara.
Next day we started very early in the morning, before even the sun came up. Our two days' short time travel to the age of the Malla kings was over. The time had come to bid adieu to the temple town and its delightful history. It's time to get back to the present time.
The end
Comments
Post a Comment