Published in "The HINDU Business Line"


Sirpur … All set to capture its lost glory

Sirpur was a happening place 1300 years ago. After centuries of being in oblivion, today it has hit a new high on the tourist map of Chhattisgarh and of India. And all thanks to the excavations undertaken by the Archeological Survey of India which has unearthed important Buddhist sites, the 6th century Laxman Temple and a host of idols belonging to that period. Standing on the banks of the Mahanadi in Mahasamund District, atop the ruins of the capital of Dakshin Kosala or Chhattisgarh as it was then known, Sirpur, then known as Shreepur, is all set to recapture its past glory.

We traveled along picturesque landscape on NH 6, flanked by lush greens to reach Sirpur, a distance of roughly 80 km drive from Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh. The wooded expanse, the pristine air, made the hour and a half drive exhilarating. Our sojourn assumed a more purposeful aura as a professor of History from Raipur, Shampa Choube accompanied my friend Rita and me on the trip. As we entered the hamlet of Sirpur, there was absolutely no evidence of the fact that the region was once a bustling and flourishing centre of trade that witnessed a constant flow of merchants from China! Yes, it was certainly palpable that it must have had abounding monuments and structures that had become buried under the sands of time. New temples have mushroomed everywhere, almost in clusters, fringed on the shores of the Mahanadi. But our adrenaline levels peaked as we came within sight of the ruins that lay spread over a significant area.

The excavations in Sirpur spread across a six-km radius of the village continue to create excitement in the world of history and archeology. A mutilated idol there, some wrecked sculpted pieces there surface every once in a while adding to the treasure trove of information and architectural beauty that was Sirpur. An intriguing aspect of the findings relate to the presence of statues belonging to Vaishnavaite, Shaivite, Buddhist and Jain religions at one single place. It is surmised that this is perhaps the biggest temple town of the sixth and seventh centuries to be discovered anywhere so far. According to archeological sources another unique feature of the discovery relates to the stone carvings depicting sexual activity among animals that are not seen even at Khajuraho or Ellora.

Having heard so much about the ruins and especially of the Laxman Temple, we first proceeded to this complex. We were awestruck by its sheer size and structure and wondered how such a piece of magnificent work could lie buried for this long a period of time! The temple is believed to be the first such place of worship in India to be built solely of bricks. Also it is supposed to be the only temple dedicated to Laxman, brother of Lord Rama. The temple stands on a six foot high platform and its entrance is adorned with several figures carved in stone. The door frame is of stone and a figure of the reclining Vishnu on the Sheshnag is seen on the Lintel. The panels of the doorway is embellished with statues of the incarnations of Vishnu and his devotees. The high brick roof ends in an imposing shikhar or temple dome, the passage of time write clearly on it.

A caretaker-cum-watchman at the complex guided us to a shed-like structure behind, a few yards from the temple precincts, to the ‘museum’. Here lie stacked numerous rare collection of statues, many of them mutilated pretty severely, belonging to Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. One particular headless piece caught our attention as our guide explained to us that it was that of the Buddha – body severed from its head. He informed us that he would get back his full form when the head would get plastered to his body in due course! Of course, we saw several other limbless, headless idols in this room, all waiting to be arranged in an organized form to complete the picture of a true museum.

The Gandheshwar temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and the Buddha Vihara were two other monumental structures that we visited at Sirpur. Renovation works continue to be undertaken in both these complexes even as more idols are being unearthed. A one metre tall statue of Buddha in the lotus position and belonging to the 6th century is one of the largest finds at this site in the present century. Lying close to these temples is the completely ruined site of the Ram temple. A few stone foundation structures are all that remain of what much have been an important temple. History records that the shrine here was the earliest example of star-shaped temple of South Kosala region. The Gandeshwar temple, adorned with idols dating back to eons ago, is today the centre of an annual religious fair and festival coinciding with Shivratri.

The Laxman temple was built supposedly in the 8th century, by Vasata, the daughter of King Suryavarma of Magadh and the mother of Mahashivagupta Balarjun, the Sahivaite ruler who is credited to have built the city of Shreepur, the City of Wealth, as the capital of the kingdom of Mahakosala. However, Vasata was an ardent devotee of Vishnu and she built the temple in memory of her husband Harsha Gupta.

Every religion, especially Buddhism flourished under the royal patronage of Harsha Gupta and his son Balarjun who assumed the title of Mahashivgupta on account of his skills in archery. A connoisseur of art and culture, Mahashivgupta promoted architectural styles of every religion and foremost among edifices that sprung up during his period were several Buddhist monasteries with their intricate motifs. Some copperplate inscriptions and a Chinese coin unearthed at Sirpur point towards the fact that trade was buoyant during the period of Mahashivgupta and this brought along with it exchanges of learning from neighbouring countries as well. Sirpur became an established centre of Buddhism between the 6th and 10th centuries during which period Hieun Tsang is believed to have visited the city.

It is conjectured that Sirpur must have been a major civilization in Central India and that it was a Buddhist study centre, at least four times as vast as Nalanda. This is perhaps gleaned from the Chinese traveler Huien Tsang’s travelogue which mentions Shreepur as having over a hundred Buddhist monasteries inhabited by over 10,000 monks belonging to the Mahayana sect. Present day excavations in the region revealed some conch bangles, giving rise to the opinion among few quarters of archeologists that the monasteries were probably inhabited by Bhikshunis or female monks as well.

Theories abound on the emergence of Sirpur as a flourishing town and its subsequent downfall. Probably a civil war ensued between the Buddhists and Shaiviites of the region resulting in the rulers fleeing their capital to make Orissa their home. Yet others claim that the Raj Mahal or palace at Sirpur was invaded and burnt down. Their claims are supported by the recovery of charcoal during the diggings. Yet others attribute the decline of Sirpur to the decline of trade. Some historians believe that floods alone caused the dilapidation that was Shreepur.

Some of the rare idols from Sirpur are believed to have been stolen for lack of proper security. One such piece, an idol of Goddess Tara is believed to have been stolen in the mid 1960s and is presently enjoying its place of price in a museum in the USA!

An interesting legend is associated with Sirpur. It was a city where coins rained for two and a half days every year. This was a blessing from the Gods who were very happy with the queen of the kingdom. For, she was a devout lady who routinely and fervently meditated upon them on the banks of the Mahanadi after cleansing herself in its waters. Besides, she abstained from imposing tax on her people. However, The Gods’ joy turned to wrath when the queen became greedy and began demanding money as tax from her citizens. Consequently money no longer rained in Sirpur, but the city soon lost its glory and began to decline in importance.

Once a flourishing centre of trade, Sirpur today, though veritably a tourist’s delight, a historian’s palette, is a village which lacks proper communication and other infrastructure.


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