Fwd: [Ind-Arch] 1,000 yrs later, a temple gets finishing touches

April 25, 2008

---------- Forwarded message ----------ymalaiya <ymalaiyaMon, Apr 21, 2008 at 8:44 PM

[ind-Arch] 1,000 yrs later, a temple gets finishing touchesIndiaArchaeology

I believe that Bhoj became occupied with defensive warfare and thus his temple, and an adjacent Jain temple being built by one of his courtiers were both left unfinished, with the construction ramps still in place. The ramp has been removed from the Jain temple site onely a few years ago.

We can be quite sure that the Shiva temple and the Jain temple were not intended to look as they look now (with plain walls) after having been repaired.

Yashwant

Also see

http://tech.IndiaArchaeology/message/3521

http://tech.IndiaArchaeology/message/2204

http://tech.IndiaArchaeology/message/468

1,000 yrs later, a temple gets finishing touches20 Apr 2008, 0011 hrs IST,Atul Sethi,TNN

Huge blocks of stones, many of them with intricate engravings, lie scattered over an area of 5 km around the temple in Bhojpur

As the sun sets over the Betwa river, its rays fall on a huge linga in an 11th-century Shiva temple in the small village of Bhojpur, near Bhopal. What makes this a unique spectacle is that the linga faces west — towards the setting sun — instead of facing east towards the rising sun, as prescribed by vastu. However, that is not the only thing unique about this unfinished temple. The linga itself, for instance, is unlike any other. Rising to a height of 22 feet, this massive linga — made of a single block of polished stone — is believed to be the tallest in the country.

Such proportions do not seem out of place, when one considers that the temple construction is attributed to the legendary Raja Bhoja, who was a great patron of art and architecture. However, for some unknown reasons, the temple never got completed. Why it was left incomplete is one among a series of intriguing questions that have continued to baffle archaeologists. A walk around the temple complex reveals huge blocks of stones, many of them with intricate engravings and, presumably, ready to be used. Over 300 such finished and unfinished stones lie scattered over an area of 5 km around the temple.

How such huge stones, some weighing up to 70 tons, were lifted to the temple top would have remained a mystery had archaeologists not discovered a ramp along one of the temple walls to carry the stones. The presence of these stones along with the existence of the ramp indicates that more construction was definitely in the pipeline. Probably, Raja Bhoja, known to be an exceptional architect, was planning to build a temple city here, surmises K K Muhammad, superintending archaeologist of the Bhopal circle of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

So, what prompted construction to stop? Probably, a natural calamity or a war. Or, maybe Bhoja simply ran out of funds for his ambitious project. Whatever may have been the reason, historians believe that the temple, even in its incomplete state, would have been a huge draw for pilgrims in those times. The area around it was probably surrounded by water. Which means that it was on an island, with the Betwa river flowing around it. Over the years, the river has receded, and now flows some distance from the temple.

The approach to the temple was probably by boat during those times, says S N Srivastava of the ASI. Coins have been found on the dry river bed which suggest that people used to throw them as offerings in the river, while visiting the temple. In fact, the presence of the river on the west of the temple may also explain why the idol faces that direction since temple vastu allows an idol to face a natural body like a river, adds Muhammad.

Another unique feature is the presence of detailed line drawings such as the temple plan, elevation, pillars, shikhar and kalash, which have been engraved on the rock surface. Most probably, before construction, the architect had these drawings stencilled on the rocks nearby.

Why it was done is not clear, since nowhere else have such line drawings been found, says Muhammad. One reason could be that Bhoja, an innovative and experimental man, wanted to set a precedent for his grand project. Whatever he was planning remains buried in the mists of time, since the project could not reach completion.

Nevertheless, some of the work that Raja Bhoja left unfinished is now being completed by the ASI. In a major conservation effort over the past two years, Muhammad and his team have been steadily giving the temple a facelift. The red sandstone walls have been spruced up; a missing column has been re-created and one of the 32ft-high pillars at the entrance is being restored to its former glory. Further, encroachments around the temple have been removed and the area around it has been developed as a garden.

However, the most significant piece of restoration has been in giving the temple a roof. For centuries, the temple was without a ceiling, with its Shiva linga exposed to the open sky and at the mercy of the elements. ``It was initially thought to be part of the design. But then, we found that a ceiling had been built here originally, but perhaps due to a mathematical error in calculating the actual load that it could bear, it collapsed soon after it was installed. In the process, the Shiva linga also sustained damage, " says Muhammad.

The Shiva linga, which lay broken for hundreds of years, has now been meticulously restored and the open ceiling covered with a fibre glass sheet that has been decorated to blend in with the rest of the architectural patterns.

With the temple now almost restored, the ASI is hoping to get it declared as a World Heritage site soon. As and when it happens, Raja Bhoja's unfinished dream may yet reach the heights of glory for which it was intended.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/1000_yrs_later_a_temple_gets_finishing_touches/articleshow/2964636.cms

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