Unseen Temples of India – Legacy and Narrative – Part 2

  

Textual references are supported by physical evidence in the form of inscriptions and archaeological finds.

 

Inscriptional evidence – text and physical evidence

Adding more credence to the textual references are inscriptions found at various places. Inscriptions are texts found on stone or metal plates. Many times, the inscriptions themselves refer to a date in time. Sometimes the purpose is to advertise the donation and donor for building a temple, providing a grant or something tangible that can be donated. Sometimes inscriptions are for public consumptions like civic rules as can be seen from Ashoka’s inscription. At times inscriptions are elaborate verses celebrating a victory of a king. Inscriptions are clearly created for posterity.

 

Our temple story has quite an inscriptional past.

 

·         A glorious lone pillar stands somewhere near Vidisha at a place now known as ‘Khamb Baba’. This pillar has an inscription dated to 200 BCE when a certain Greek ambassador named Heliodors from Taxila,  was a worshipping ‘Bhagvat’ , a devotee of Vishnu and hence built a ‘Garud Standard’. Later excavations at the same site discovered an extensive elliptical temple base with plinth suggesting all components of ancient Indian temple viz. Garbhagriha, Antaral and Rangmandap.  Of course, the pillar had company when it was constructed!  [S1 ]

Even today we see several examples of ‘Garud Stambh’ – Eagle tower built in the premise of Vishnu Temple e.g.  Chennakeshav at Belur, Karnataka and Laxmi-Narayan Temple in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh.

 

2HelioDorus Pillar near Vidisha

·         A similar inscription was found in Nagari and Ghosundi in Rajasthan which mentions a temple known as Narayan Vatika dedicated to deities Samkarshan and Vasudev. This inscription is dated around 200 BCE as per ASI. It refers to ‘pujashila-prakar’ for the deities. Krishna-Balram temples are prevalent even today, the famous one being at Jagannathpuri, Odisha.  [ S2 ]

·         An inscription found in Mathura, attributed to First Century CE describes temple like a mountain with an assembly hall and stone slabs. This indicates that temple construction and temples structures were well established. It was a privilege and honour to build a temple dedicated to deities. [ S3 ]

·         An inscription found at Mandsour in Madhya Pradesh, attributed to Kumar Gupta, mentions that a silk guild weavers built a temple dedicated to Sun god in Dashpur in 436 AD. Temple building was a prevalent activity, and it was supported by not only the Kings but also traders and their guilds.  [ S4 ]

·         Several Himalayan temples in wood and stone get rebuilt every few years. Existing ancient temples can also be dated based on the date mentioned in the inscription if any found nearby. In case of Changu Narayan Temple in Nepal, although current structure is built in eighteenth century, an inscription found on the wall mentions kings of the region and is dated around 464 CE, thus extending the legacy of the temple site.

 

These inscriptions, cast in stone or metal, provide us the missing link between purely textual and purely archaeological evidence. These inscriptions are like geo tagged message from the past telling us about the event and the location and sometimes time, all together.

 

Archaeological finds of temples

Although the experts in the field have concluded that early standing structural temples in stone can only be found during Gupta era (400 CE onwards), several excavations in the past and present have unearthed lost temples which can be dated further back in history.

·         Mundeshwari temple in the Kaimur Hills near Sasaram, Bihar is a fine example of temple architecture with octagonal plan. The hill is replete with several broken building blocks of temples such as Amalak, pillars and many sculptures.  This could very well be a temple cluster. Presence of a four faced Shivling in the temple itself points to possibility of another Shiv Temple. Era and Kings mentioned in the inscription found at temple site along with another discovered Srilankan seal has led ASI to determine the date of this temple to be 108 CE.  Hien Tsang has also mentioned a temple on top of hill, south of Patna which could very well be Mundeshwari.  [ S5 ]

·         Excavation at Lal Tilai in Hardoi district of UP has discovered a temple built during Shunga Era which is 200 BCE. This apsidal or U-shaped temple plinth has typical construction material used in Shunga era. The archaeologists are able to identify the entrance, the mandap and Garbh-griha of this temple. [ S6 ]

·         At a nearby Sanchankot, a similar brick based foundations of a shiv temple are found. Archaeologists have carbon dated the material to 2300 years in the past. Such discoveries corroborate the reference found in ancient texts about existence of temples and temple tradition. [ S7 ]

·         In another excavation at Bilsarh in Uttar Pradesh a temple staircase and an inscription are found which date the temple ruins to the times of King Kumaragupta I of the Gupta dynasty whose ruling period was from 415- 455 CE.    All these examples and many more excavation findings make it quite evident that elaborate temples were being built and reconstructed as well.

 

As we all know, Idol worship in temples is a public activity, accessible to all. Visiting temples, festivals woven around temple deity, construction of new temples, all such events had become part of social life for last several millennia.

 

Current Narrative

The current discourse tells us that the Gupta era (400 CE onwards) temples being the first temples of India.

Although it is acknowledged that temples existed prior to Gupta era, the fact is hardly highlighted.

 

A simple google search results in something like this.

 

Some popular mythologist brazenly state that ‘Temples appear much later in Indian history, after the composition of the Puranas, 1500 years ago, and are linked to a rise in feudalism and land grants. ‘  and get away with the distortion [ S8 ]

 

Historians say Hindu temples did not exist during the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE). According to historian Nirad C. Chaudhuri, the earliest structures that indicate idol worship date back to the 4th or 5th century CE. 

 

These are just a few representative samples forming the current narrative.

 

However, considering the cultural memory and traditional knowledge along with data points of several physical and scriptural references, we are forced to rethink about this temple tradition related narrative.

Yes, the Gupta era temples are first standing temples that we see; however, they certainly do not represent the beginning of temple building tradition.

 

Counter narrative

Here are 4 reasons why the current narrative regarding history of temple tradition needs to be revised.

 

1.       Dating of textual references is unreliable.

 

Textual references of temples provide insight into temple tradition and deity worship. Placing them on timeline will provide accurate historical chronology of idol worship and temple constructions. Dating of scriptural references such as Vedic texts, Mahabharat, Puranas or other scholarly works such as Ashtadhyayi or Arthshastra are done based on style of Sanskrit language, mention of other scriptures, kings, geographies in the same text.

The primary problem is that the dating of these texts cannot be verified and there is no unanimity among scholars and historians regarding the time of these texts.

Different experts have dated the texts in different era based on their own views and findings.  

For example, Rigved, oldest of the Vedic literature is placed in 1500 BC by MaxMuller, in 3000 BC by Jacobi. 1100 BC  Ludwig,  6000-7000 BCE by recent scholars. [ S9 ] Date of Mahabharat, Ramayan and Puranas which are full of temple references are given as their compilation dates and they range from 400 BCE to 400 CE.  Date of Panini and Patanjali cannot be determined conclusively. [ S10 ]

As a result, temple tradition mentioned in those texts can very well be traced into earlier indeterminate centuries and eras.

 

2.       Limitation of inscriptional evidence and their dating

 

The dating of inscriptions is done on the basis of  date mentioned in it, which could be a year of prevalent calendar( Shaka or Samvat). In case of absence of such year, date of inscription is determined based on size and form of characters and mention of contemporary kings.  As per current understanding, inscriptions prior to Mauryan era are not found (300 BCE).

At the same time, we see several inscriptions from 200 BCE to 200 CE, across Indian geography mentioning construction and reconstruction of temples and the deities worshipped.  [ S11 ]

For example, Vasu door jamb and Mora well inscription found at Mathura are one of the several inscriptions which mention temples of Vasudev.  The famous Hathigumpha inscription of Kharwel in Odisha mentions him as ‘Repairer of Temples’. The Ghosundi inscription in Rajasthan mentioning a Vatika for Narayan, the deity. Inscription found in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh mentions construction of temple of Bhagavati and SaptaMatrika.

 

This indicates widespread temple tradition across India.  Mentions of repairs and reconstruction indicate long standing history of building and preserving temples. Hence the temple tradition would certainly predate 300 BCE for sure.   

 

 

3.       Archaeological evidence of temples

 

Discoveries of temple plinths dating several centuries before Gupta era along with scriptural and inscriptional pointers which again can be dated much in the past, support the idea that temples were part of society much before. Temples were built in stone, brick, mortar, timber or metal as evident through an inscription by Mahendravarman Pallav (600-630 CE) at Mandagpattu cave temple.  [ S12 ]

 

4.       ‘Beginning’ temples show enormous craftsmanship in terms of sculptures.

 

Gupta era temples are assumed to be beginning of structural temple tradition and are termed as primitive  due to lack of elaborate temple structure. These temples at Deogarh, Sanchi, Nachana have only Garbhagriha, very simple or broken Shikhar and no Sabha-mandap or outer hall. 

However, Sheshshayi Vishnu on Devgarh, the concept of Ayudh Purush in the same temple, highly ornate single face Shivling at Bhumara are highly evolved ideas and must be in practice for longer time. Treating these successors of pre-existing tradition  as ‘beginning of temple tradition in India’  or calling them ‘primitive’ is plain wrong.

 

As we can see, scriptural and inscriptional dating are prone to revision when new evidence comes into picture or new interpretation sound more logical. Hence historical data can be reinterpreted, and new narratives will get formed based on facts and artefacts.

 

For now, it is safe to conclude that temple tradition of Indian subcontinent is as old as its history gets explored in earlier and earlier centuries with newer research and newer reasonings.

 

After all we are observers of the eternal passage of time. With our limited knowledge we try to decipher lives of our ancient relatives. The joy of finding a trace, knowing a little more, understanding a new viewpoint and bliss in this exploration is the coveted prize!

 

 

Note

All data points mentioned in the article are available in public domain.

 

References

 

[ S1 ] https://www.academia.edu/3360811/Haliodorous_Pillar_of_Besnagar_Past_and_Present_pp_13_19_

[ S2 ] http://nmma.nic.in/nmma/antiqDetail.do?refId=874522&object=33

[ S3 ] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Temple_inscription

[ S4 ]  https://www.academia.edu/11335052/The_Mandasor_Silk_Weavers_Inscription_of_437_CE_and_the_Temples_of_the_Aulikaras

[ S5 ]

https://tourism.bihar.gov.in/en/destinations/kaimur/mundeshwari-devi-temple#:~:text=Maa%20Mundeshwari%20Devi%20Temple%20is,a%20protected%20monument%20since%201915.

[ S6 ] https://defenceforumindia.com/threads/early-mauryan-temples-discovered-in-hardoi.51245/

 

[ S7 ] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/2000-yr-old-shiva-shrine-found/articleshow/4172761.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

 

[ S8 ] https://devdutt.com/articles/what-was-hinduism-like-before-temples/

 

[ S9 ] History of ancient and early Medieval India -Upinder Singh

 

[ S10 ] https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Panini/

[ S11 ] http://gdckulgam.edu.in/Files/f07ef270-7e91-4716-8825-2966f17cc0f7/Custom/Epigraphy.pdf

[S12 ] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mandakapattu_Inscription.jpg