Himachal villagers renovate ancient temple
The local residents from 5 villages raised a hefty Rs 1 crore fund within a short spell of time to give an ancient temple a fresh lease of life.
A panel of heritage researchers stumbled upon the possible ruins of a 700-year-old temple near the Bhargavi River mouth in the Balanga area of Puri district.
The four-member ‘Rediscover Lost Heritage’ group, which is currently listing the archaeological monuments of the Ratnachira River Valley, found the ruins in the middle of the river, just one km upstream from the source of the Ratnachira.
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The team found carved stone panels, broken images, pillars, door jambs, and a multitude of minor broken artifacts. Some of the carved stone panels have been affixed in the sides of the existing temple, which was made about a century ago, said researcher Anil Dhir who led the group.
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According to locals, many such large stone blocks were discovered in the previous years, which were moved up the steep bank and kept in the premises of the nearby Akhandalamani temple.
The ruins of the ancient temple are found scattered, both inside the river bed and the surrounding areas. Many of these blocks have also been carted away by the villagers for construction. A stairway from the river bed to the steep bank has around two dozen of these carved ancient temple blocks. ‘We came across an intricately carved lintel section of a broken door jamb. The central figure is a beautiful Goddess Gajalaxmi image. Nagakanya images were seen in many carved stone blocks, besides a lot of fine filigree work of the older temple. The older temple may date back to 13th or 14th Century CE or earlier, considering the iconography of the antiquities”, he pointed out.
There was a large cluster of blocks in the middle of the river which appears to be the foundation of the ancient temple. There are hundreds of huge sunken stone slabs, which were possibly once used in the temple’s construction”, Dhir added.
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