The Hindu Business Line : Trip into history

Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh is one place where the rocks of the city tell a story of their own. Located 84 km from Ratlam, the city boasts a rich cultural heritage that has been preserved over the ages. Famous for the Ashtamukhi Pashupatinath temple, Mandsaur was earlier known as Dashpur.

During our trip to this beautiful city, we found that its history and heritage permeated all spheres of life — religion, art and literature. Its glorious past and rich history are even further enhanced by the numerous references to it in ancient epics such as the Mahabharata, Megdoot, Kadambari, Puranas, and Bruhatsamhita. Mandsaur has also found mention in old Jain literature. Amleshwar inscription of second century B.C. is the first of its kind to mention this city.

The story behind the name , Mandsaur, is quite interesting. It lies on the Tropic of Cancer. When the sun is in winter solstice, the effect of its rays is less potent and this earned the region the name Mand Surya, which later morphed into Mandsaur.

The city, located on the bank of Shivana River, had its golden days during the Gupta age when it was the capital of Aulikara kings. The king of the city, Yasodharman, defeated the Hana chief, Mihirakula, and commemorating his conquest built two victory towers, which exist at Sondhni. There is also a legend attached to why Mandsaur was called Dashpur — das in Hindi means 10, as Dashpur encompassed 10 villages. The 10 villages are Khanpura, Chandrapura, Khilichipura, Madarpura, Khajapura, Narsinghpura, Jagadpura, Kagadpura, Dibbipura and Nyapura.

What drew us to this old city was the famous Pashupati temple whose beauty is enhanced by the Shivana river that flows alongside it. The Ashtamukhi Shiva idol in the temple is believed to have been discovered by a dhobi named Udaji. The width of the temple varies from 2 to 33 metres and its height from 3 to 55 metres.

The temple's deity, made during the Gupta period, is one of a kind, the only other comparison being the Pashupatinath deity in Nepal. It's interesting to note that the idol won mention in the works of Kalidasa.

Next on our schedule was Khilchipura, well known for its archaeological significance. Herein lies the huge tower built by Nimat Khan inscribed with Persian inscriptions. From here, we moved on to admire the artistic excellence of the famous Hinglajarh sculptures, which date back to the Gupta era. The prominent features of these sculptures are a round face, thin eyebrows, eyelids and nose. The Hinglajarh style is the resultant combination of the Gupta and Paramar eras.

For another dose of history and heritage, a visit to the Mandsaur museum is a must. The museum has aninteresting collection of idols — Shiva, Ganesha, Vishnu, Parasnath, and Mahavira.

Apart from the beauty of its sculptures and temples, Mandsaur is also famous for its paintings. These works of art, which are a mixture of Maratha, Rajputh and Mughal styles, depict the lives and times of the royalty belonging to that era.

One of the historic landmarks of the place is the fort built during 1404-35. The magnificent structure has 12 doors leading from it and the entire edifice is encompassed by gardens. However, with the passage of time, the fort has fallen into ruin, and is presently the court and office of the collector of the region.

Places around Mandsaur

Sailana: Located 21 km from Ratlam, this place is a favourite for plant lovers. Sailana is famous for its cactus garden, which houses over 1,200 species of cacti (only 50 are Indian), perhaps the biggest collection in Asia. It is also famous for its culinary tradition.

Gandhi Sagar: River Chambal has been dammed at Gandhi Sagar, situated 168 km from Mandsaur on the border of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The view of the water is extremely scenic and picturesque. It's a good place to capture the cascading torrents of water on camera.

Bhanpura: Located 127 km from Mandsaur, Bhanpura gets its name from King Bhaman. There is a museum depicting the popular arts of Mandsaur. Art lovers can feast their eyes on the illustrated oil paintings that are also found here. The museum displays art right from the Gupta era to the time of the Pratihars and the Paramars, and well sculpted portraits of Uma Maheshwar, Kartikeya, Vishnu and Nandi.

Bhojpur: This place is famous for its Shiva temple, which dates back to the 11th century. The incomplete structure enshrines a linga and yonipatta of massive dimensions. In the area around the temple, one can still see the sculptures and architectural structures in various stages of execution. The outlines of the temple's designs still exist, including the ramp over which the material for the temple was transported to Jahangir Mahal and Raja Mahal. These palaces have enormous rooms with high ceilings, wall painting and silver-framed mirrors. In this sense, Bhojpur is a medieval city.

During our trip, what struck us most was the ethnicity of the natives. The people of Mandsaur love the place of their birth and revel in stories about their glorious past. Arts and handicrafts are an important aspect of the city. Thousands of craftsmen practise hand printing, generally with vegetable dyes. Tie and dye garments are a specialty here. We bought several pieces, though we were tempted to pick them all.

Picture by Sarvesh

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