Bhitargaon
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Bhitargaon (भीतरगांव) is a town in Kanpur Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, India, known for its ancient temple, the largest Indian brick temple to survive from the time of the Gupta Empire. Despite being heavily restored, a number of original features remain.[1]
Variants
- Bhitaraganva भीतरगांव, जिला कानपुर, उ.प्र., (AS, p.670)
Location
Bhitargaon is a Town in Bhitargaon Block in Kanpur Nagar District of Uttar Pradesh State, India. It is located 29 KM towards South from District head quarters Kanpur. It is a Block head quarter. Bhitargaon Pin code is 209214 and postal head office is Bidhnoo. Tiwaripur Sarh (3 km) , Pasema (3 km) , Rawatpur (3 km) , Satarhuli (3km) , Behta Bujurg (3 km) are the nearby Villages to Bhitargaon. Ghatampur , Chakeri , Kanpur , Jajmau are the nearby Cities to Bhitargaon.[2]
History
Bhitargaon Temple
Bhitargaon temple is an ancient temple which is located on the outskirts of Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. This temple is a brilliant architectural example of ancient brick art. Bhitargaon temple is not dedicated to any Hindu deities but the temple has sculptures of Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and other deities.[3]
The Bhitargaon Temple is a terraced brick building fronted with a terracotta panel. Built in the 5th century during the Gupta period,[4] it is the oldest remaining brick/terracotta shrine with a roof and a high shikhara, though its upper chamber did sustain some damage in the 18th century.
The temple is built on a square plan with double-recessed corners and faces east. There is a tall pyramidal spire over the garbhagriha. The walls are decorated with terracotta panels depicting aquatic monsters, Shiva and Vishnu etc. When Alexander Cunningham first visited the site, the remains of the porch and of the ardhamandapa were still visible, which later collapsed.
Tthe architecture and layout of Bhitargaon temple: The construction material is bricks and terracotta. The brick size is 18" x 9 x 3" and the other salient features are following:
- The size of platform on which the temple is built is 36 feet x 47 feet.
- The santum is 15 feet x 15 feet internally.
- The santum is double story.
- The wall thickness is 8 feet.
- The total height from ground to top is 68.25 feet.
- There is no window.
- The terracotta sculpture depicts both secular and religious theme such as deities like Ganesha and Durga Mahisasurmardini. Myths and stories representing abduction of Sita and the penance of Nara-Narayana.
- Shikara is a stepped pyramid and got damaged by thunder in 1894.
- The first story of sanctum felled in 1850.
Behta Bujurg temple
There is another ancient temple in Behta Bujurg (or Behata Bujurg) village which is only 4.3 km far from bhitargaon, also protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. The temple is dedicated to Jagannath, and has a highly unusual curving shape, with buddhist stupa (Mound) like resemblance. However a close look reveals nagara style curvilinear shape. There are significant detached ancient sculptures: Lord Jagannath idol, a Surya (sun deity) sculpture and a Lord Vishnu sculpture carved on a large block of stone depicting lord vishnu resting on seshnaga. The temple is known locally as the "Rain Temple" as the ceiling is said to drip water several days before the rain arrive, which is of great interest to local farmers.[5]
भीतरगांव
विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[6] ने लेख किया है ...भीतरगाँव (AS, p.670), कानपुर से लगभग 20 मील दूर स्थित है। इस स्थान पर ईंटों के बने हुए एक गुप्तकालीन मन्दिर के अवशेष हैं। यह मन्दिर कनिंघम के अनुसार (आर्कियो लोज़िकल सर्वे रिपोर्ट जिल्द 11, पृ. 40-46) सातवीं-आठवीं शती ई. का है, किन्तु वोगल ने प्रमाणित किया है कि यह इससे कम से कम तीन सौ वर्ष अधिक प्राचीन है (आर्कियों लोज़िकल सर्वे रिपोर्ट 1908-1909 पृ. 9)।) सम्भवतः यह भारत का प्राचीनतम मन्दिर है। यह पक्की ईंटों का बना हुआ है। इसका विवरण इस प्रकार से है-- एक वर्गाकार स्थान पर यह मन्दिर बना हुआ है। वर्ग के कोने, एक छोड़कर एक, इस प्रकार से बने हैं और मध्य में 15 वर्ग फुट वर्ग का एक गर्भगृह तथा उसके साथ एक 7 फुट वर्ग का मण्डप है। दोनों [p.671]: के बीच एक मार्ग है। गर्भगृह के ऊपर एक वेश्म है जिसका क्षेत्र नीचे के कक्ष से लगभग आधा है। 1850 ई. में ऊपरी भाग की छत बिजली गिरने से नष्ट हो गई थी। स्थूल दीवारों के बाह्य भाग पर आयताकार घेरों में सुन्दर मूर्तिकारी अंकन है। ये मूर्तियाँ पकी हुई मिट्टी की बनी हैं। मन्दिर में अनेक सुन्दर अलंकरणों का प्रदर्शन किया गया है। कसिया के निर्वाण मन्दिर की कुर्सी के पूर्वी भाग पर भी इसी प्रकार का अलंकरण है। जिससे इन दोनों संरचनाओं की समकालीनता सूचित होती है। श्री राखालदास बनर्जी के मत में इस मन्दिर के शिखर में महराबों की पंक्तियाँ बनी हुई हैं। जो चैत्यवातायनों से भिन्न है। मन्दिर की कुर्सी के ऊपर उभरी हुई पट्टियाँ नहीं हैं, जिससे नचना-कुठारा तथा भुमरा के मन्दिरों की वास्तुकला से भीतरगाँव की कला भिन्न जान पड़ती है। मन्दिर का शिखर वास्तविक शिखर है तथा 40 फुट के क़रीब ऊँचा है। भीतरगाँव का मन्दिर, गुप्त वास्तुकला का अनुपम उदाहरण माना जाता है।
External links
References
- ↑ Michell, George, The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India, Volume 1: Buddhist, Jain, Hindu, p. 157, 1989, Penguin Books, ISBN 0140081445
- ↑ http://www.onefivenine.com/india/villages/Kanpur-Nagar/Bhitargaon/Bhitargaon
- ↑ https://www.apnisanskriti.com/temple/bhitargaon-temple-kanpur-up-3137
- ↑ Schastok, Sara L., [1], The Śāmalājī Sculptures and 6th Century Art in Western India. BRILL, 1985; Jayewardene-Pillai, Shanti, Imperial Conversations: Indo-Britons and the Architecture of South India. Yoda Press, 2007; Begler, Joseph David, Rear view of the temple at Bhitargaon, Kanpur District. British Library, 2009; Brown, Percy, Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods). D B Taraporevala, Mumbai, 1959; Harle, J. C., Gupta Sculpture. Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi, 1974. ISBN 8121506417; Dalal, Roshen, The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths. Penguin Books India, 2010; Kramrisch, Stella and Raymond Burnier, The Hindu Temple, Volume 1. Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1976; de Laet, Sigfried J., History of Humanity: From the seventh to the sixteenth century. UNESCO, 1994.
- ↑ A Brick Temple of the Ninth Century, Michael D. Willis, Artibus Asiae , Vol. 52, No. 1/2 (1992), pp. 25-46, Artibus Asiae Publishers
- ↑ Aitihasik Sthanavali by Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, p.670