GOD'S OWN HILL (Rock Cut temples of Hazaribagh, Jharkhand )

Subhashis Das

The stunning rock cut temple known as the 'Dwarpala'

Rock cut caves are a rarity in the state of Jharkhand. These caves have been reported from the Mahudi Hills of Barkagaon range of Hazaribagh district.

D.R.Patil mentioned these caves in his legendary “The Antiquarian Remains in Bihar” in 1963. D.K.Chakravorti, who too mentions these caves in his “Archaeology of Eastern India”, states that “Patil did not explore the site himself” as he had cited the government report of the Mahudi rock temples in his book.

It is also unclear whether Prof. Chakravorti had visited the rock cut caves himself..Of the four ancient rock cut temples one is in on one hill and the rest is on another.hill.

 Mahudi is situated some 28/30 kms SW of Hazaribagh beyond the Barkagaon village. So I chose to avail the bus to Barkagaon one cold winter morning where I reached within 45 minutes from Hazaribagh. Krishna arrived in his motorcycle in a few moments and we zoomed our way to the Mahudi Hill which is visible not only from Barkagaon but even from the Punkri Burwadih megaliths.

One of the caves called the “Dwarpal” by the villagers is next to a road built by the Forest dept. The cave has been cut out of a massive rock has “overhanging perches in front….ornamented with two sunflowers”  There is also an elephant on the left side of the entrance which the villagers have painted in black. On the ceiling of the Dwarpal cave is a “carved sunflower”. There is a small rectangular room sculpted out of the rock forming the inner sanctum of the temple which once housed a Shiva Linga on a Parvati yoni.

The second rock cut cave called the “Daru Kothri” by the villagers can be reached walking down a small hilly terrain. The cave gives a creepy feeling as it is nestled between dense foliage. The cave has no ornamentation and the interior sanctum where the Shiva Linga was once placed on the yoni now missing, is small.

The Buddhist Chaitya also known as  Daru Kothri

The third is a Buddhist Chaitya. The exterior of these marvelously carved rock cut temple from a single piece of rock “is shaped round with a ridge resembling an inverted boat, the ridge being the keel.” One needs to crawl to enter the cave-temple.Inside there is nothing resembling a prayer hall.

These are extraordinary pieces of stone masonry once accomplished by the ancient denizens of Jharkhand.

These are the perhaps the only Rock Cut temples of Jharkhand.

Therse ancient heritages languish in the jungles with the villagers spoling them by scriblling names on them (see the Dwarpalar exterior). Both the The Archaeological Survey of India, Ranchi and the Jharkhand State Archaeological Dept have been informed by me regrading of these rock cut temples, but they couldnt care less.

Enjoy the pics:

The road towards the rock cut temples in the Mahudi pahari

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See the lotus on the ceiling of this amazing structure. note how the villagers have  spoiled the facade of the ancient temple

The Parvati yoni is what that remains today while the Shiva Linga has gone missing

Jabal Munda leads to the rest of the rock cut temples

Look at this mysterious rock cut temple. This is the Daru Kothri to the villagers

The remarkable rock cut temple has some wonderful sculptures. This is also known as the Chagri Godri

The exterior of the Chagri Godri Rock Cut temple

The interior of the Chagri Godri

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Another Rock Cut Temple in the neighbouring Hill of the Mahudi Range near Barkhagaon at Hazaribagh in Jharkhand

The very ancient Rock Cut Temple.

After my visit to the above described rock cut caves in the Mahudi Hill I was left to visit the remaining ancient rock cut temple in the neighbouring adjacent hill in the same range couple of kms away. Therefore I decided to trek to this unseen rock cut cave which lay hidden somewhere in the wide range of the Mahudi Hill.

We head for the Mahudi Hill

...and there is the majestic Mahudi Hill which is home to many very ancient rock cut temples

In the process Krishna and I crossed the wide Haharo River and arrived at a spot a few kms away from the hill where four more villagers awaited for us to take us to the ancient cave temple high up in the hill.

The Dumaron River having her souirce in the blue Mahudi Hill which stands gracefully in the landscape

We trek towards the Mahudi Hill in search of the Rock Cut temple

We parked the motorcycles in the open countryside under the shade of a tree and trudged on towards the hill. We crossed a stream named Dumaron jumping over large boulders. Both Dumaron and Haharo feeds the sacred Damodar river downstream. I was informed the water of the brook flew 12 months of the year and the villagers irrigated their farming fields with its waters.

The trek is filled with such spectacular sights

Going up we suddenly confront with this unusual sacred stone. This stone is worshipped during the Karma festival.

Climbing up the Mahudi Hill the woods gets denser

Soon we were ascending the hill. The view got better to spectacular and a sense of feeling gradually crept into me that I was in God’s own country rather in His own hill. I was as if in a trance lost in the spectacular loveliness which the view around us provided.

We walked by the brook which had its source somewhere in the hill. The more we climbed up this sacred hill the more a kaleidoscopic view began unfolding before my eyes. I was exhausted but the beauty of the vicinity provided me much respite. I stopped frequently to enjoy the view as we spotted nests of large vultures in the distance, high up in the hill.

On our trek up the hill we cross such spectacular sights. This is where the Dumaron river while coming from more up gets accumulated 

The hill is interspersed with such small water fountains which empties into the Dumaron

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We pause to enjoy this spectacular view

 We hopped over many tiny streams which perhaps were tributaries to the Dumaron brook. The woods got thicker and the path more rugged and the scenery more remarkable. I wondered how could the ascetics in the ancient times discover this place for their meditation far away from the humdrum of human civilization.

Eventually we beheld the much ancient Rock Cut Temple; high up in the hill amid the dense forest.

A few present day red coloured Mother Goddess flags. Earthen lamps were placed inside the sculpted opening at the left bottom wall to enable easy entrance or exit at night. The plaque in Kayathi  can be seen above the entrance..

The entrance to the cave temple

And then finally we reached the magnificent ancient rock cut temple which stood majestically in front of us with its entrance at the foot of an enormous rock structure. At the front the ground was made plain for perhaps devotes and the ascetics to sit and conduct their daily chores in the past.

Above the doorway on the façade of the cave a plaque has been inserted where in the regional Kayathi script it is written that the cave was built by a local king. The entrance I found to be similar to the Dwarpal temple cave of the neighbouring hill. Just below the stone lintel are two lotuses in the corner similar to the one of Dwarpal. We entered to find a hall carved out of solid rock whose walls stood about 65” tall and having breadth and length tentatively of 102” and with the door that faced towards 290 degrees NW of W. To the left the hall connects to an adjacent room which is relatively smaller in size and its doorway with a bearing of 200 deg S SW. We had to literally crawl in to the neighbouring room to find a yoni without a Shiv linga much similar to the other rock temples in the adjoining hill.

The way to another room from the hall

The linga-less yoni in the second room

The beautifully carved drain from the yoni to the small room for water and milk to flow on its way out.

A narrow serpentine drain was meticulously carved from the yoni to a tiny additional antechamber for water to flow out from the yoni, enter the small room and finally flow out. A full bloomed lotus has been painstakingly yet artistically sculpted at the centre of the ceiling. The villagers have whitewashed the inner walls of the temple with lime and have painted the lotuses with red and green.

A bloomed lotus has been sculpted  on the ceiling. The ugly colour work is done by present day villagers.

What I found difficult to comprehend was that all these temples had yonis with a circular slot for a linga to fit in them but none of these yonis had any linga placed in them. Wonder why? I am unsure whether this and the other temples of the neighbouring hill belonged to the followers of the Hindu, Jaina or the Buddhist faiths. But I could understand that Tantra rituals were practiced here be it by the Hindus, Jaina or the Buddhists ascetics.

Once outside the cave I realised the date fixed in the plaque is unreliable as I feel this temple is much old and can date back to the Mauryan period.

This stunning crater like formation must have been the source of water for the ancient monks residing here. This also  is the origin of the Dumaron River.

Come monsoon a waterfall here augments the beauty of this little heaven on earth.

I decided to take a look around and was bewildered to see the gorgeous beauty of the holy place. Below there was a crater like formation containing water which as the villagers inform me never dried even during hot summer months. This water I deduced must have served the ancient ascetics. In the monsoon water cascaded from the top and descended about a hundred feet into the pool below and which was the origin of the Dumaron River.

What are these, man made or natural creations?

Inside the crater; the source of the Dumaron river

What a pristine place this was. I could feel the silent presence of God all around me. Felt like being silent and fall into deep meditation but with so many people around I knew this was not be. I also knew that i will have to come back here again someday into this God’s own hill.

                                                                        

Ichak, the temple town of Jharkhand

Subhashis Das

Ichak is a small village about 15 kms NE of Hazaribagh town in Jharkhand of East India. The village has innumerable temples built by the Singhs who ruled the region for over 200 years. Ichak was one of their one time capitals among three others. 

The Singhs moved from Ramgarh and established their capital here prior to their shift of their capital to Padma a few kms up North. The gate of their once magnificent palace  still exists today in the main market. That the massive gate with it large dome once stood with much grace and magnificence can yet be perceived though it is in shambles. 

The huge domed gate to the palace. Shot from a rooftop

Today the local market has grown around this marvellous gate.

It is believed that at one time there were about 174 temples here but today barely a few remain of which nearly all lie in utter neglect; many of them devoid of any idols which may have been stolen and perhaps have found a passage out of the country. Still the temples reveal their magnanimity and  splendour  they once commanded. The pictures are provided at the end of the blog.

There are two akharas here ; Bada akahara and Chota akahara of which the former is well maintained and the later is in ruinous condition.

The once magnificent gate of the now desolate chota akahara.

Chota Akhara

The marbled idol of Sita, Rama and Lakhshmana in the chota akhara.

Ichak is also famous for its tanks and ponds apart from its mouth smacking Balusahis; a kind of circular shaped sweetmeat. 

The eminent lip smacking balushahis of Ichaq.

Below are photographs of only a few of the many temples which lie uncared and unnoticed by the common public and the government : 

The temples built by the Singhs perhaps from about the early 18th century are evidence of their splendid contribution to temple building architecture in the region. The style of the temples reveal the Nagara and the Bengal styles of architectures.The mosque type domes emphasize the Moghul influence on these temples.

The famous 'Sun Temple" or the 'Surya Mandir'

This is a tunnel built by the Singhs next to the "Surya mandir" above. The entrance to the tunnel is at the left hand farthest corner shown by the arrow. The tunnel is believed to lead to the king's palace about 15 kms away; regarded to have been once used by the queens of the palace to conduct puja here and retreat through the tunnel back to the palace.

The Bhairav temple

The Mahadeo temple

Lord Bhairava sitting on a 'Kukura' or a dog.

The Bhairav temple in Purana Ichak houses the diety of Bhairav on a dog

The profile of the Mahadeo Temple

The Bhagwati Temple complex

This mosque like structure is in actuality a temple of the Bhagwati Temple complex

An unknown temple, its idol stolen, the ancient temple is in compete ruins.

One of the many tanks; this one is called Rani talaw

The possible DC office of the British period of 19th cent and some call it the old hospital...wonder which is true.

THE ISKO ROCK ART SITE AND THE NEAR BY PRIMITIVE CAVES IN HAZARIBAG.JHARKHAND. EAST INDIA

     Subhashis Das       

               

           A collage of the various motifs of the prehistoric Isko rock art 

                

                          The iconic rock art of Isko. Hazaribagh. Jharkhand. East India.

   The Isko rock shelter that comprises the prehistoric art

Isko: a small tribal village about 30 kms off Hazaribagh. The village is renowned world over for the very primitive Rock Paintings in its vicinity.

The site was originally discovered by a Jesuit priest Fr.Tony Herbert way back in the early nineties and was subsequently researched and popularised by Bulu Imam.
The site unlike most of other rock art sites in India and around Hazaribagh which contain the common hunting scenes, Isko is very unusual as it stands out prominently for its paintings of the enigmatic abstract geometrical designs making it a very rare site and a treat to watch. 

The Mother Goddess giving birth

A DEER IS SEEN IN THE PANEL. One natural depression is used as a motif while the others are left untouched.

A possible proto Brahmi script

However Isko does house animals as bison, buffalo, deer and amphibians as frogs and reptiles as turtles too. And there are the enigmatic X-ray motifs of a few animals as well found in several other rock art sites of India and that of Europe.

But the intricate geometrical designs are most mysterious. No one can explain the meanings of these icons. These are believed to have been drawn by the priests (pahans or shamans) under the spell of intoxication hence are scared and these are still worshipped by the local tribals. Latest research ofcourse now reveal that such very primitive rock arts were the work of the womenfolk which I truly believe.

An alien like figure wearing a  space-suit  like costume and donning even a helmet like head gear.

The team comprising of the author at the centre, Krishna (far left), Sarthak Sinha (Prantik's friend), Prasann Mishra to the right and Venantious Pinto from New York farthest right. Pic clicked by Prantik Das (author's son). The panels are at the back. 

Fascinating prehistoric intricate designs

Isko is believed by many to be meso-Chalcolithic, while some have assigned it to as far as the middle Paleolithic era around 25 to 20000 BCE. The drawings clearly show under layers of the more recent ones; meaning the bottom layers must be of more hoary antiquity and may predate even Bhimbetka. 

Unimaginative work by the government of cementing the floor of this significant site through which a thin stream of water once flew has ruined the chance of finding microliths and any other very primitive relic from here.

A deer is in the middle amidst a mayhem of icons

A petrogyph of a man, worshipped by the local Mudari/Oraon tribals as their most revered deity of Sin Bonga.

THE MARWADUWAR CAVE

This fascinating Marwaduwar cave is about a km or two from the Isko rock shelter. One reaches here by crossing rough terrains, jungles and shrubs. There are two entrances to this cave. A subterranean flow of water which a chattering sound burgeons the mystery that hangs in the air inside. 

The Matwaduar is normally associated with marriage ceremonies that were once held here. The legend goes that even the local king and queen too held their marriage here. Marriage customs inside caves actually signifies the very primitive pre-Brahmanical birthing rituals held inside caves. Caves were deemed as the womb of the Great Mother; all appendages of the now obsolete fertility cult.

Today inside the cave some holy man has placed a trishula and a few spherical stones and have been smeared them with sacred sindoor.  Very soon the cave will be filled with devotees and annuals fairs be held. In the process the very primitive atmosphere here would be soon a thing of the past. Bad times ahead for this alluring cave  and even for the Isko rock art next door.

The large Marwaduwar cave of Isko

Entering the cave

Though blurred yet Prantik can be seen crawling towards the tunnel inside the cave.

A memorial dolmen inside the cave. Below it flows the water stream.

The cave is connected with tunnels that run deep inside. That primitive people had been using these conduits and caves as sacred places is evident with the various graves that can be seen all around the inside.

One of the few conduits inside the cave that lead deep inside.

One of the few sacred vulvar shaped crevices, representative of the Mother Goddess.

I try entering into one of the conduits.

Opening of an another cave which too has deep tunnels that are interconnected with the Madwaduwar Cave.

The two vulva shaped tunnels inside this other cave that leads to a possible hall and more interconnected conduits.