Dharapat is a village in Bishnupur subdivision of
Bankura district in the Indian State of West Bengal. It is 12 Kilometres north of Bishnupur.
Bankura District is considered as a land of temples,
mostly belonging to the late mediaeval period especially those which were
constructed in the time of the Malla rulers of Bishnupur. The influence of
Orissa is very clear on a number of temples in Bankura district. There is
number of Rekha Deoul (Linear Temple Structure) in Bankura district. The ( not
so famous) temples of Dharapat is
considered to be of pre Muslim time while the other temples are post Muslim
time in age.
With the discovery of good number of Jaina images within
Bankura District, we may assume that Jainism is more accepted by the people
than Bhddhism. In spite of the predominance of Brahmical images, the
significance of the impressive array of Jaina sculpture can hardly be
overlooked. The find spots of Jaina images show that they are found mostly in
the southern part of the district that touches the border of Purulia (Manbhum)
discrict.
The Bankura district, like Purulia, was deeply
influenced by Jainism in the middle ages. Hinduism later became the dominant religion
in Bengal and many of the Jain temples across the state are converted in to
Vishnu Temples. The main temple of Dharapat is one of the rare ones where Hindu
and Jain have existed side by side for centuries. The deul-style temple was
built in between 1694 to 1704 by Raja of Dharapat - King Advish. It came up in place of a plastered laterite
structure that had collapsed. The new temple has four small statues of flying
lions on its four sides, a characteristic of Orissa school of architecture.
There are many stone relics in Dharapat Temple walls.
One of them is a statue of Pareshnath that has been converted into a Bishnu
idol by adding two hands. The change indicates the over powering Hindu
influence after the decline of Jainism in the area.
There are three excellent stone idols within the
temple enclve- two Jain deities and Vishnu. All three are on the outer walls.
The jain daity is naked indicating the influence of Digamber sect. The idol
is Shyama Chand Thakur, locally known as Nangta Thakur. Barren
women of the locality worship at the
temple with the hope of bearing a child.
The massive image of Vishnu is embedded on the
eastern wall. There are four smaller images on the four conners two of them are
of figures flying over Vishnu’s head while two women are at his feet. One of
them is shown playing the veena. Vishnu
holds shankho, chakra, gada and padma in his hands. Around the statue of the
naked deity are six smaller images of Hindu gods. There are also two sentinels
at the bottom of the wall and two on the top corners.
The abandoned temple of Shyamchand is worth a visit. The main idol was
stolen from Garva Griva some years ago. Floral designs adorn the temple walls.
The Archaeological Survey of India has now taken up the upkeep of the
temple. We also stop over at a group of 10 abandoned temples with rasmancha in
the same village. There are a few more temples in a dilapidated shape in the
vicinity.
West Bengal was once house of Jainism from the
beginning , till 13th or 14th century. The main reason
was nearness of Sammed Shikhar (Pareshnath ) the last resting place of twenty
Jain Thithankar, near Dhanbad, the highest degree pilgrimage site of all Jain
sects. Lord Mahavira visited there many a times and many people followed them
including tribes and local common people, many Kings patronized Jainism from
their hearts. This happened till 13th century until other faiths
were much attacking, later due to many reasons Jainism was abandoned there.
Sources:
1. "Bankurer Mandir" by Amiya Kumar Bandopadhya.
2. "Pashim Banger Sanskriti" by Binoy Ghosh.
3. "Bengal District Gazetter" Manbhum, 1911.
4. " Jaina Iconography" By Umakant Premanand Shah.
Research - Santanu Roy
Picture Courtesy - Sritam Mukherjee
