Muslim vendetta had vandalised a fantastic temple to the Sun God in Orissa, but the state today presents remarkable instances of cross-religious participation, says Dhrutikam Mohanty
K onark! The name evokes in most Odiyas a rush of emotions that can barely be described. Every time one stares at the top of the Mukhshala, the façade of the temple, an intense feeling of smallness grabs him or her. I personally have always felt tiny and trivial standing near the Konark Sun Temple. Some 1200 masons had taken 12 years to build this wonder, they say. But how was it possible to amalgamate such huge pieces of stones into a splendid and vast architecture in just 12 years? Around 700 years ago, what inspired the rulers of Orissa to build such a massive monument to the Sun? A section of historians believe that Narasimhadeva, the then ruler of the Ganga dynasty, had built this as a mark of his first victory over Muslims.
When Tugan Khan, a Muslim ruler of Bengal, attacked Orissa in the 13th century, King Narsimhadeva decided to trap him and sent a message stating that he is ready to surrender without resistance. Happy with the proposed surrender, Tugan asked the king to surrender infront of the Jagannath temple in Puri and directed him to embrace Islam and convert the temple into a mosque. Narsimhadeva, steady on his plans, accepted all the terms and the Muslim ruler advanced into the city. When the invaders came and dispersed in the city, the temple bells started ringing, and this was the signal for the soldiers to pounce on them. At the end of a full day’s bloody battle, the entire Muslim army was annihilated. Hindus emerged victorious and Orissa stayed a Hindu bastion for the next three centuries.
The victorious King of Orissa erected a victory pillar designed as a war chariot at a place near the temple town of Puri. This temple was dedicated to the Sun god, and he named this place as Konark, which means “Essence of the corners”. This was the pinnacle of Orissa’s great temple architecture tradition. The temple was designed like a colossal chariot with seven horses and 24 wheels, carrying Sun god across the heaven.
KC Panigrahi, leading author on Orissa history, has mentioned
in one of his writings: “His victory over the Muslims of Bengal and his acquisition of the southern districts of western Bengal must have enormously raised his prestige in the eyes of contemporary Hindu rulers and augmented his resources, which in all likelihood enabled him to undertake the construction of a stupendous structure like the Konark temple, designed to exhibit his power, prestige, opulence, devotion and perhaps to commemorate his victory also.” Abul Fazal, in corroboration to this, even states that it is a “mighty memorial to posterity”.
Today, what we see here is only the dilapidated Mukhashala, not the main temple, the little that could be conserved or restored. “One of the best specimens of Indian architecture”, wrote James Fergussion, an eminent historian. Hundreds of broken statues, ruined pillars with finest carvings and maimed deities at the heritage site create a delusion of a burial ground of Orissan architecture. How could such a mammoth structure be ruined to pieces? After all, temples older than Konark, such as those of Jagannath at Puri Lingaraj at Bhubaneswar, still exist with grandeur and gravity.
The most popular theory about vandalisation of Konark, though some scholar differ, is of Kalapahad, a general in the army of Muslim ruler Suleman of Bengal. The Madala Panji of Puri Jagannath temple describes how Kalapahad, a Hindu converted to Islam, attacked Orissa in 1568 and destroyed many Hindu temples, including Konark. It was a near impossible task to break a temple whose stone walls were as thick as 20 to 25 feet. Kalapahad somehow managed to displace the Dadhinauti (or arch stone, on which rests the weight of the entire superstructure) and thus the temple collapsed. The marauders also smashed most of the images and other adjacent temples. Perhaps this was Muslim vendetta for the humiliating defeat 300 years ago. Consequently, Orissa came under Muslim control in 1568. There were constant attempts to destroy the Hindu temples. The Pandas (priests) of Puri had to take away Lord Jagannath to a secret place to save the Lord from being destroyed.
But then, time heals all wounds. And Orissa presents an amazing face of religious amity. And this goes beyond peaceful co-existance. What better example can you find of inter-religious participation than in Manikgoda, where Muslims perform Durga puja during Dushera? It is again Muslims who tow the Jagannath Rathayatra (chariot) at Remena, a place in western Orissa.
On the other hand, Hindus offer bhog (offerings to the God) at the shrine of Bukhari Pir Saheb at Kaipadar of Khurdha. A sixteenth century shrine of the Sufi saint, Bukhari Pir Saheb, who originally belonged to Bukhara, Uzbekistan, is famous for the annual Urs celebration when thousands of devotees (around 75 per cent of them are Hindus) gather here from all over India. One of the most remarkable features of this shrine is that the flower garlands and sweets for the daily offerings to the Pir is made by Hindus.
In Qadam Rasool (situated in Cuttack), a 15th century shrine famous for having the footprints of Prophet Muhammad, Hindus are also allowed to participate in prayers and even offer bhog. In fact, Qadam Rasool was built by a Hindu ruler in 18th century for the benefit of Muslims and is now prayed to by both Hindus and Muslims.
Today it seems as if the hatred that started around 700 years ago and was marked with the erection of Konark Temple has been finally buried. Ironically, before that could happen, a magical monument had been destroyed !
When Tugan Khan, a Muslim ruler of Bengal, attacked Orissa in the 13th century, King Narsimhadeva decided to trap him and sent a message stating that he is ready to surrender without resistance. Happy with the proposed surrender, Tugan asked the king to surrender infront of the Jagannath temple in Puri and directed him to embrace Islam and convert the temple into a mosque. Narsimhadeva, steady on his plans, accepted all the terms and the Muslim ruler advanced into the city. When the invaders came and dispersed in the city, the temple bells started ringing, and this was the signal for the soldiers to pounce on them. At the end of a full day’s bloody battle, the entire Muslim army was annihilated. Hindus emerged victorious and Orissa stayed a Hindu bastion for the next three centuries.
The victorious King of Orissa erected a victory pillar designed as a war chariot at a place near the temple town of Puri. This temple was dedicated to the Sun god, and he named this place as Konark, which means “Essence of the corners”. This was the pinnacle of Orissa’s great temple architecture tradition. The temple was designed like a colossal chariot with seven horses and 24 wheels, carrying Sun god across the heaven.
KC Panigrahi, leading author on Orissa history, has mentioned
in one of his writings: “His victory over the Muslims of Bengal and his acquisition of the southern districts of western Bengal must have enormously raised his prestige in the eyes of contemporary Hindu rulers and augmented his resources, which in all likelihood enabled him to undertake the construction of a stupendous structure like the Konark temple, designed to exhibit his power, prestige, opulence, devotion and perhaps to commemorate his victory also.” Abul Fazal, in corroboration to this, even states that it is a “mighty memorial to posterity”.Today, what we see here is only the dilapidated Mukhashala, not the main temple, the little that could be conserved or restored. “One of the best specimens of Indian architecture”, wrote James Fergussion, an eminent historian. Hundreds of broken statues, ruined pillars with finest carvings and maimed deities at the heritage site create a delusion of a burial ground of Orissan architecture. How could such a mammoth structure be ruined to pieces? After all, temples older than Konark, such as those of Jagannath at Puri Lingaraj at Bhubaneswar, still exist with grandeur and gravity.
The most popular theory about vandalisation of Konark, though some scholar differ, is of Kalapahad, a general in the army of Muslim ruler Suleman of Bengal. The Madala Panji of Puri Jagannath temple describes how Kalapahad, a Hindu converted to Islam, attacked Orissa in 1568 and destroyed many Hindu temples, including Konark. It was a near impossible task to break a temple whose stone walls were as thick as 20 to 25 feet. Kalapahad somehow managed to displace the Dadhinauti (or arch stone, on which rests the weight of the entire superstructure) and thus the temple collapsed. The marauders also smashed most of the images and other adjacent temples. Perhaps this was Muslim vendetta for the humiliating defeat 300 years ago. Consequently, Orissa came under Muslim control in 1568. There were constant attempts to destroy the Hindu temples. The Pandas (priests) of Puri had to take away Lord Jagannath to a secret place to save the Lord from being destroyed.
But then, time heals all wounds. And Orissa presents an amazing face of religious amity. And this goes beyond peaceful co-existance. What better example can you find of inter-religious participation than in Manikgoda, where Muslims perform Durga puja during Dushera? It is again Muslims who tow the Jagannath Rathayatra (chariot) at Remena, a place in western Orissa.
On the other hand, Hindus offer bhog (offerings to the God) at the shrine of Bukhari Pir Saheb at Kaipadar of Khurdha. A sixteenth century shrine of the Sufi saint, Bukhari Pir Saheb, who originally belonged to Bukhara, Uzbekistan, is famous for the annual Urs celebration when thousands of devotees (around 75 per cent of them are Hindus) gather here from all over India. One of the most remarkable features of this shrine is that the flower garlands and sweets for the daily offerings to the Pir is made by Hindus.
In Qadam Rasool (situated in Cuttack), a 15th century shrine famous for having the footprints of Prophet Muhammad, Hindus are also allowed to participate in prayers and even offer bhog. In fact, Qadam Rasool was built by a Hindu ruler in 18th century for the benefit of Muslims and is now prayed to by both Hindus and Muslims.
Today it seems as if the hatred that started around 700 years ago and was marked with the erection of Konark Temple has been finally buried. Ironically, before that could happen, a magical monument had been destroyed !
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