Ruins of Bhoumakara era temple found

BHUBANESWAR: An archaeological survey team of INTACH stumbled upon the ruins of a possible Bhoumakara-era temple that could have been constructed about 1,100 years ago. A three-member team comprising project assistant Deepak Kumar Nayak, Rabindra Kumar Rana and Manas Ranjan Sahoo documented the ancient site at Tentulia village under Banki sub-division in Cuttack district. 

Nayak said the present day temple of Goddess Ramachandi is being built over the ruins of an older temple. Though the original temple had crumbled, two subsidiary temples are still to be found. The architectures of the two temples indicate their construction period in between 8th and 10th Century AD, he said. There are no pasting materials found to bind the stones used in the temples and the two have been built in ‘pathara bandhei’ technique which is generally seen in early era temples. 

“The region used to be the Airabata Mandala where the Kings of Nandodvaba dynasty used to rule during the period. The Nandodvabas were the feudatory kings of the Bhaumakaras and the temple might have been built by the kings of this dynasty,” he said. 

Describing the iconographical features of Ramachandi shrine, Rana said the sculpture is actually a classic Chamunda image of Bhoumakara era. The Goddess is remarkably fashioned with display of complete human anatomy. Such Chamunda images are also found in places like Maa Dhakulei Pitha of Pratapa Nagari, Cuttack and in the State museum (recovered from Dharmasala area of Jajpur district), he added. 

Villagers have demanded earliest revival and preservation of the ancient ruined heritage. They alleged that neither the State archaeology department nor the ASI has shown any interest for conservation of the heritage structures. 

The documentation was a part of INTACH’s mega project ‘Mahanadi Valley Heritage Sites Documentation’ headed by Historian Anil Dhir. The project report is likely to be released later this year in multiple volumes.