A VERY ANCIENT TEMPLE OF HAZARIBAG

by  Subhashis Das

Look at the photograph of this temple. The very look of it gives the impression that it is a very ancient temple, well it is a very ancient Shiva temple. 

The ancient temple with the Mahudi Pahadi at the back

Set in the idyllic picturesque landscape of Barkagaon at the foot of the Mahudi Pahari; far from any habitational site, about 30 kms away from Hazaribagh lies this amazing and lonely old Shiva temple. It is also a huge temple. The idol has disappeared.

The slim bricks used in its construction suggests that it must have been constructed quite a centuries ago. But the temple also contains  regular sized bricks. This testifies that the Raja of Badam (the Singhs : the predecessors of Hazaribagh's MLA, Sh.Saurav Narain Singh) must have repaired this much ancient temple and had brought it to use during his reign about 200/250 years ago. It could be that the temple may have had existed even before the arrival of the Singhs in the region. 

The temple with the boundary wall

The entrance of this temple resembles one of the rock cut temples in nearby Mahudi Pahari. The construction style could date back the temple to the Mauryan era. There is also the remains of a later constructed boundary wall having small vents to place guns (like one sees in forts of Rajasthan and in Maharastra). It seems the Singhs may have been protecting the temple from some invaders into this region.

The temple from the back. See how tall this temple once stood.

The profile. How majestic the temple may have looked in its days of glory.

A portion of the ruined compound wall of the temple.

The entrance to the temple is is of short height as one needs to bow to enter the garbhagriha of the temple

It is only this Nandi Bull that remains inside the garbhagriha of this very ancient temple.