- Source: Jatileswar Temple
Jatileswar Temple, also known as Jatileswar Shiva Temple or Baba Jatileswar Temple is a Hindu temple in Mainaguri in the Jalpaiguri Sadar subdivision of the Jalpaiguri district in the state of West Bengal, India.
Location
The temple is located in Purbba Dehar about 10 km from the Maynaguri town of Jalpaiguri district. It is situated on the western side of Jaldhaka River close to the highway connecting Maynaguri with Dhupguri. The location of the Temple is about halfway between the two towns. About 8 km after Maynaguri on National Highway 31, you will reach Husludanga crossing. Leave the National Highway and take the right-hand road to Husludanga which is a small village. From here a small village road to your right will take you to the Jatileswar Temple.
Government protection
It is under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India. The Government of West Bengal had declared the temple of Purbba Dehar as an archaeological site and the place now has been reserved under the Ancient Monument Preservation Act.
Grounds
The temple compound is very large and full of trees. There are two water bodies within the temple complex and the main Shiva temple is located in the middle of a large pond.
Tourism
Despite its historical significance, the Jatileswar temple is not visited by lots of tourists. As a result, the temple compound is not commercialized. There is no entry fee or fixed Dakshina that you have to pay.
History
This temple in the Dooars area of North Bengal is one of the oldest temples in the region. It has religious as well as historic significance. The main temple was built during the time of the Gupta rulers of Bengal around 320 AD to 600 AD. The temple is dedicated to Jatileswar or Lord Shiva.
After the Jalpesh Temple, the Jatileswar Shiva temple is one of the oldest temple architecture in the region of Maynaguri. The temple has religious as well as historical significance. It is said that the main temple was built during the Later Gupta period around 800 A.D This temple is dedicated to Jatileswar or Lord Shiva. It has not been mentioned in the Jalpaiguri District Gazetteer (1911) but D.H.E. Sunder in his Settlement Report in the year 1896 had described this temple. Actually, the Purbadahar or Jatileswar (Mahadeva) is well known God was established here, which a blood colour temple existing here.
The Siva Lingam is worshipped in the village of Purvadohor (Huchludanga, Mallick Hat), situated 5 Kilometres away from the east side of the Jalpesh Temaple and 10 Kilometer from Maynaguri town of Jalpaiguri district, also bank on the western side of the river Jaldhaka, close to 31 No. highway (Asian Highway) connecting to Maynaguri with Dhupguri. The word ‘Purbba’ means ‘at east or first’ and ‘Dehar’ means ‘to adoro or worship’ i.e., the word Purbba Dehar obtains forms the god Mahadeva and by the name which is known as this taluk Purbba Dehar.The main temple compound is very large and full of trees. The main Shiva temple is located on the bank of a large pond.
It is believed that the temple of Purbba Dehar was built by the feudal chief of Gupta kingdom. But according to archaeologist Dr. Suniti Kumar Chattarjee, the Jatileswar temple was constructed during the Pala Empire period of 12th century AD and it was constructed by the Maharaja Jalpa who belongs to the Varman dynasty (200-800 AD) and also the founder of Jalpeswar Siva Temple. But some historians point out that; the earlier temple had been ruined by the foreign invaders or natural calamities. Later on, this temple was renovated by the Coach king Maharaja Pran Narayana.
At present, only a small broken part has been found in the early temple of Jatileswar and in this temple there is a living temple with one anadilingam in the garbhagriha. The structure of the Jatileswar is almost a miniature Jalpesh and Bateswar temple. It is interesting to note that, there are clear differences found in the both upper and lower section of the temple structure. The shikhara was newly build and the remaining structure of the temple is most probably Rekha Deol types in Hinduism. It may be possible that, both the lower and upper sections of the temple architecture had been made by different architects in different periods of time. The surrounding wall of the temple has decorated with different beautiful relief sculptures of Tantric Mahyanism. It was situated beside a huge pond and huge number of broken pieces are lying all around near the temple. According to the excavation of the Archaeological Survey of India, the temple had been established by the Pala kings but the temple seems to have been erected over a still earlier structure. The shrine has contained “Svayambhuva” type of Siva Linga in its Garvagriha.
The Shiva Linga of Purbba Dehar Temple is known to us as name Jatileswar. The temple architects are very appreciable among the people.
Architecture and fittings
The outer wall of the temple architecture has engraved different types of beautiful relief sculptures; among them most famous are- different posture women sculptures, Dancing Ganesha, Buddhist Sculpture and Nataraja Siva and so on. Few years ago, the Archaeological Department under the Government of West Bengal had found Kuber Sculpture and Vishnu Sculpture which has further preserved in the museum under the Government of West Bengal. According to the view of Suniti Kumar Chatterjee, the Vishnu Sculpture is the “Priceless Treasure”. The gigantic sculpture of Darpala stands at the corner of the temple intensified and justify the beauty of the temple. The decorative and sensitive treatment of forms has accentuated elongation enlivened with a sense of plasticity recalling the art of Pala of Bengal in about 11th to 12th century A.D. which once inspired the painting style of Nepal and Tibet. The old gate of the temple is built of massive stone blocks placed one above the other without any cementing material. This stone portion is 10 feet and the brick portion 25 feet high. Some stone were measured, which are 16”x16”x 8” and some are 18”x 24”x 24”.55 There is another small temple within the compound but there has no image found. This temple is said to belong to Jatileswar and Siddeswari. This puja is like Kali puja but there has no animal sacrifice is prevailing where goddess Siddheswari worshipped. Apart from the singular example of Purbba Dehar with the sculpture panels depicting Buddhist deities. Recently near the temple, there is a pond were dug by the Kharatran Trust of West Bengal and there found different types of sculptures such as-sculpture of Siva, Ganesha, Vishnu, Chandi, Buddha etc. At present all the found sculptures are being preserved by the Government of West Bengal. These sculptures proved that this temple convey the old long historical background.