Chhattisgarh’s hidden temples await rediscovery as peace returns to the heartland

Over the last year, India’s security forces have achieved immense success in going after the Naxals and systematically reducing the area under their influence. While the benefits of this will be seen across many states, perhaps the greatest impact could well be in Chhattisgarh. Not just from the perspective of the state becoming a more important destination for manufacturing and industrialisation but also for tourism.

While the forest state is known for its wildlife and for the architectural heritage of Sirpur, what is less known are its fine temples and the spiritual traditions associated with them. Among the most interesting places for an explorer is the temple town of Rajim, less than an hour from Raipur’s airport. The town is built at the point where the Mahanadi River meets the Pairi and Sondur rivers, leading the place to be sometimes called Chhattisgarh’s Prayag.

Over a thousand years ago, Rajim witnessed the construction of the Rajiv Lochan Temple, dedicated to Vishnu. Today, the temple stands in a large complex. In four corners are subsidiary shrines, dedicated to Narasimha, Varaha, Vaman and Badrinath, respectively. The white paint that has been applied generously on all parts has not been able to mask the antiquity of the temples. What is interesting is that in most structures here, the doorways and pillars have been left free of the paint, and it is these aspects that are most visually striking. Throughout the complex, the pillars of the shrines are heavily sculpted, some almost to their full height and all four sides. Various gods and goddesses, nagas, and other divine beings are depicted as being amongst forest and vegetation.

More from Opinion

Sergio Gor’s senate hearing signals the future of Indo-American ties How Trump’s ‘War on Drugs’ buildup against Venezuela has a hidden agenda

This pattern runs true in the main Rajiv Lochan Temple as well. Every pillar in the temple mandapa is striking. The incarnations of Vishnu get pride of place, while various other celestial beings are also visible. Some of the divine beings are depicted in such a life-size and lifelike manner that one almost expects them to step out of the pillars in real form.

The doorway to the inner sanctum is similarly ornate, every inch of it carved with icons. There is an outer column of nagas, a middle one of amorous figures and an inner column showing floral vegetation. At the top, the figures meet an icon of Vishnu, seated on top of Garuda. Inside the sanctum is a standing Vishnu with four arms, as lifelike as the icons in the mandapa.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

How army remains Pakistan’s biggest business house

60 years on, why 1965 India–Pakistan war still matters

Inscriptions found within the temple have dated it to the 7th–8th century CE period, though Alexander Cunningham, founder of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), felt it was older. The most authentic inscription mentions its patron builder as being one Vilasatunga of the Nala dynasty and mentions the early 8th century period as the construction date. However, a second inscription mentions a 12th-century date. In all probability, the temple was first built in the 7th century and then modified in various eras, and what we see today is a cumulative result of the work over many centuries.

In a town filled with temples, the other popular one is the Kuleshwar Mahadev, located at the point of the confluence. During the monsoon months, it becomes an island. This temple and the entire town see a surge of pilgrims during Mahashivaratri each year. Less well known and accessible through a narrow lane from behind the Rajiv Lochan is the Ramachandra Temple. From the outside, this shrine could pass off as mediaeval. The familiar white paint covers most of its exterior. Taking a single step into its mandapa leaves a visitor stunned.

The number of carved pillars within the mandapa is incredible – they look far in excess of what is needed to support the roof and walls. Each is carved with detailed iconography. However, a closer look reveals something interesting. The pillars in the middle of the mandapa are reddish in colour and depict figures standing under vegetation. They conform to the patterns seen on the doorway and lintel leading to the main shrine. The pillars built into walls of the side are a different shade and have specific icons carved on them, such as Varaha.

The latter carvings are far more detailed than those in the middle of the mandapa. Could these varying types of pillars belong to two different periods of construction? Cunningham, in his 1884 report, says that the temple was built between 250 and 400 years earlier. However, he notes that this shrine had incorporated the material of one or more earlier temples, and those could possibly date to the 5th to 7th century CE. There appear to be shrines within shrines in this atmospheric town.

Some accounts link Rajim’s spiritual significance to the Jagannatha Temple in Puri. Apparently, pilgrims used to pay obeisance at the Rajiv Lochan before making their way to Puri, nearly six hundred kilometres away on the coast. And Rajim is just one example of a magnificent temple town in Chhattisgarh. Temples such as the Bhoramdev and shrines in Malhar and Tala show the larger narrative of temple architecture in the state.

And now, with the Naxal movement hopefully on its last leg, the next vista to be opened up in Chhattisgarh will be the temples of the vast Bastar region. Temples like Danteshwari, a Shaktipeeth shrine whose history is associated with the Kakatiya ruler Pratap Rudra. One hopes to share the story of the Danteshwari soon!

The author is a heritage explorer with a penchant for seeking obscure sites. A brand consultant by profession, he tweets @HiddenHeritage. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.