Ashapuri Temples, situated between Bhojpur and
Bhimbetka, do not attract even a
fraction of visitors as its two better known neighbours do. Even though MP Tourism
has good signage but the dirt track leading to the temples discourages the average traveller who ignores the Ashapuri Temples and keeps going towards Bhimbetka
on the smooth black top road. Also, while Bhojpur and Bhimbetka have their
reference points of the giant Shiv Temple and prehistoric Rock Art respectively, Ashapuri Temples have sadly nothing to identify them with. Things are expected to change soon.
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| Lush Green MP |
For you, the dirt tracks work as harbingers of new
discoveries. A dirt track means that the place you are looking for is off the
tourist grid and finding it will give a heritage junkie like you an intense rush. About
six kilometres south of Bhojpur Temple, the sign indicates that Ashapuri
Temples lie two kilometres to the left. You bump along the track among the lush
green fields spread all around you. And then you run into a dead end. It seems
that even the locals are not aware of the temples - they are pointing you to
Ashapuri village that was couple of kms down from the point you took the left
on the dirt track.
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| Ashapuri Lake - Tranquility and Solitude |
Few more enquiries and you are rumbling ahead on an iron
bridge. In Madhya Pradesh the scenery gets prettier and full of surprises as you venture into the interiors. Soon a
lake makes its appearance. A lone boat without its owner bobs on the water. On
the far side of the lake some kids go running and splashing into the water.
Beyond the lake the hills rise on three sides. The place has perfect
solitude. This is the absolute bliss
zone - you are lucky to keep seeing them across India.
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| Ruins of Ashapuri Temples |
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| Ashapuri Temples |
You keep driving on the bund road with the lake on
your left. On the corner of the lake and the bund you see the group of temples
on the left. The temples on the edge of the lake have fallen into the water
with the gentle waves lapping at them. Just below the ancient ghats a man
washes his clothes on a stone slab. The
temples are built on a gradually rising hill. Most of the hill is covered in
dry vegetation of winter months. There is not much left of the complex. You
only see a lone structure standing and few upright pillars. The sign indicates that this is Bhutnath
Temple of Ashapuri Group of Temples. The temple complex is under the protection
of Directorate of Archaeology, Archives & Museums, Government of MP.
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| Surviving Platforms |
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| Shiv Temple Plinth |
As you enter the complex, it is apparent that only
the foundation of temples survives. Everything else is lying broken on the
ground. Some sanctums of the temple are seen in the surviving platforms or
pithas. Looking at the temple members scattered all around, it seems that some temples had
flat roofs while some were built in Nagara style with shikhars. Some temples
have shivlings while some temples have their foundations dug with the stones
neatly marked. Here, temple architecture students can get a good idea of how
the different stone pieces were put together to construct the temples.
The good
thing is that MP Archaeology, as part of some preliminary survey and study, has
put the dismembered stones in different groups and has numbered the pieces. It
is possible that funds are awaited and restoration work might begin soon. Just
beyond, the hill rises and whichever way you see there are mind boggling number
of temple fragments taking up every inch of the ground.
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| Fragmented Pieces of Ceiling |
Some research indicates that the complex consists
of twenty six temples of which the Bhutnath Temple was the largest. Most of the
temples were built from 9th to 12th century and are
attributed to Pratihars and Parmaras. Both Vaishnav and Shiv temples were
built.
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| A Magnificient Upright Pillar |
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| Beautiful Motifs and Sculpture |
These temples are relatively small just like the
Bateshwar Group of Temples in Morena. Even the setting on a gentle hill is
similar. While Bateshwar has tanks and baolis, Ashapuri is built overlooking
the picturesque lake.You can now actually visualize what the Bateshwar Temples
would have looked like before the conservation by Mr. KK Muhammad restored them
to their original splendour. It is also possible that just like at Morena,
these temples were destroyed by the same earthquake.
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| Bhutnath Temple - with the foundation dug up for study |
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| Bhootnath Temple with the surviving Mandap |
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| Decorated Pillar Capitals |
The only erect structure is of the Bhootnath Temple
or Temple 5. The east facing Bhootnath Temple is the largest temple dedicated
to Lord Vishnu and was built in the new Bhumija style of architecture. Paramars
who built this temple developed the Bhumija style and looking at the fragments,
the temple was similar to Udayeshwar temple of Vidisha. The mandap with erect
pillars was built of red sandstone. The shikhar had five bhumi (storey) compositions.
Fragments and images recovered from the site confirm the temple was grand and
richly decorated.
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| Lintel Remains |
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| Pillar Remains |
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| More Fragments in the Scrub |
Though Ashapuri now is a little known place, it was
a flourishing centre and saw continuous temple construction activity for about
four centuries. It is believed artisans who built the nearby massive Bhojpur
Temple came from Ashapuri. It was Ashapuri that saw the introduction of stylistic style of
temple making called Bhumija. In North India, from seventh to tenth century,
Nagara temples were of Latina type. This form had temples with curved spire or
shikhar with amalakas at the corners of their false storeys. Some examples of
Latina form are the temples at Bateshwar in Morena and Terahi in Shivpuri, both
in MP. From tenth century onwards Latina form evolved into the multi-spired
Shekhari or Anekandaka mode of Nagara in central and western India. Shekhari is
a group of miniature shrines embedded into the single spire of Latina temple.
Shekhari temples are found at Asoda and Modhera in Gujarat and Khajuraho in MP.
The Nagara style or ‘Tradition A’ can also be called Pratihar style.
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| Remains of a Shikhar |
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| Temple Fragments scattered over the hill |
It is in this context that Ashapuri is important.
Bhumija style did not evolve but came into being abruptly around the turn of 11th
century here at Ashapuri. The Paramars established Malwa as their centre for
Bhumija temples called ‘Tradition B’ while Nagara was called ‘Tradition A’. At
Ashapuri both styles co-existed and acted as the melting pot from which Bhumija
style emerged. The new style had Deccan-Dravidian features which meant that
artisans came to Ashapuri from the Deccan. Ashapuri in a sense was the Aihole
of Central India where experimentation led to a new style. So while elsewhere
in Malwa temples were built in pure Bhumija style, here in Ashapuri, some temple
remains are seen with transitional characteristics. Shiv Temple at Bhojpur
could have been the grand culmination of Bhumija style but was left unfinished.
Bhumija style is distinguished by central projection tapering towards the top
on each of the four faces. The quadrants formed are filled with miniature spires,
in horizontal and vertical rows, all the way to the top. Udayeshwar Mahadev
Temple in Vidisha is the best example of Bhumija style. The temples at Ashapuri
demonstrate the thinking in the canon Samaranganasutradhara written by the
greatest Paramar King Bhoj I who probably was the benefactor of Ashapuri.
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| Remains of the Day |
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| Ashapuri Temple Ruins - View from hill top |
Walking up on the hill is not easy as the ground is
littered with temple fragments. There are thousands of them in all directions,
but mostly clustered in groups. There is a shed with couple of caretakers
looking after the site. After some time they lose interest in you. You teeter
around the fragments taking in the sight of incredible destruction.
Standing
under a tree at the top of the hill you seem to be transported back to the times when Ashapuri was the the place to be for a master artisan. The place and the atmosphere provided you with the canvas to showcase your skills. You experimented with designs and with forms. The king treated you well and the people loved you. You saw Ashapuri change from a town on a hill to the temple town attracting even greater number of artisans. Some even came from distant Deccan. You got a chance to teach and imbibe new styles. Today, in the present as you look down at the lake and at the vast number of
temple remains, you wonder if by magic the fragments would just arrange
themselves into their original forms and Ashapuri comes back to life. You are not day dreaming - such magic has already been performed at Morena. On the other side the hill dips. There could be remains of other
temples in the surrounding hills waiting to be discovered.
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| Hanuman Temple |
On the other side of the temple complex is a
Hanuman Temple with its dome and walls painted pink. There is a priest and some
images are embedded on the sanctum walls. The temple looks of recent
construction. In the courtyard are the remains of platform of another medieval
temple.
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| Ashapuri Temples - One Last Look |
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| Onwards to Ashapuri Museum and Bhimbetka - good work by MP Tourism |
The broken splendour of the temples, the quiet of
the once humming temple centre, and the desolation of once teeming town
leaves you affected. Reluctantly, you leave the complex and drive back along the
bund of the lake as the Ashapuri Temples recede in the background. And again
you are wonder stuck by the huge unknown heritage troves India has to offer as
soon as you hit the dirt track.
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| Ashapuri Museum |
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| Ashapuri Museum - Dancing Ganesh built of Red Sandstone |
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| Ashapuri Museum - Shiv Parvati Aalingan Image |
You come back to the main road and drive towards
the Ashapuri village that houses the museum. Intact temple members have been
displayed here - some outside in the open while others are stacked in the rooms
inside. It is apparent that Ashapuri temples had riches of sculpture. There is
an exotic image of Shiv Parvati along with Rishabh (Nandi) and Simh (Parvati’s
vehicle Lion). Rishabh and Simh rest at their feet. The amazing feature of the
image is Shiv delicately lifting Parvati’s chin with fingers! There is another
huge image of Dancing Ganesh with one hand carrying his teeth and the other
hand in a possible dance mudra. The images here at the museum together with the
fragments of pillars, walls, door jambs, ceilings and shikhars laid out on the
hill would have all combined to create a temple wonderland that Ashapuri truly
was a millennium ago. You are sure when you come here next time, the site will
be as spectacular as it was 1300 years ago.
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| Billauta Temple Ruins |
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| Billota Temple - Vishnu Dasavathara Pillar |
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| Billota Temple - Sahasraling |
Coming out of Ashapuri village as you come back on
the main road there is another temple site on the left called Billota Shiv
Temple. Again the temple is in ruins. The site has an impressive shivling
possibly a Sahasraling. A richly decorated broken Vishnu Dasavathara pillar has
different avatars of Vishnu - Varah, Narsimha, Vaman and Parasuram on its four
sides.
It seems the glory days of Ashapuri will be back
soon. School of Planning and Architecture at Bhopal is inviting applications
from students for an on-site programme at Ashapuri Temples. This international
ongoing project is collaboration between SPA Bhopal and Welsh School of
Architecture, Cardiff University of UK and is funded by World Monument Fund.
The two month internship programme will begin from 21st May 2014.
The interns are expected to photo document, survey and create database at the
site which will help in the possible erection of certain temples. This has been
announced in the background of a partnership between WMF and MP announced on
April 24, 2012 that will take up restoration of Ashapuri temples on priority.
Once the temple conservation is done and a road
built, you are sure the tourist circuit will include Ashapuri Temples and
Ashapuri will regain its rightful position as the Aihole of Central India.
Pratihars and Paramars will love it.
Getting There -
Ashapuri in Raisen district of MP is about 35 kms from Bhopal and 6 kms south
of Bhojpur Temple. You can see Bhojpur Temple, Ashapuri Temples & Museum
and Bhimbetka in a single day.
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