Ashapuri is a
village in Obaidallaganj Mandal of Raisen District located at a distance of
about 35kms from Bhopal. The place is well known for its old Jain temples. One
can find the remnants of a thousand three hundred year old temple with statues
scattered on the ground. Scientists of the Archaeological Department have
found out the remains of 1300 year old ancient temples at Ashapuri village near
Bhopal.
The
debris of the temple seems to be massive in which the Bhoothnath temple was the
biggest. The archaeologists have named this excavation project as 'Bhootnath
Temple' series. "We have found ruins of temples dating back to 1300 years,
even before the Parmar Dynasty. Before the Parmar dynasty there were Pratihar
dynasty rulers in this area. After them the Parmar dynasty came. Pratihar
dynasty rulers constructed temples with steeple shaped structure. These temples
were large and beautiful," said Ashok Das, Commissioner, Madhya Pradesh
Archaeological Survey of India.
"The
21 temples you can see here were made during the Pratihar rule. The largest
temple whose cleanliness is yet to be done might have been made by the Parmar
dynasty," he added. The excavators have found over 400 remains of idols of
Hindu gods and goddesses made during the regime of the Pratihar and the Parmar
dynasty rulers. The State government has taken the responsibility to preserve
these relics of Indian history.
"It
is the responsibility of the Archaeology Department to find things of
historical importance and preserve them. That is why the State government is
doing this work," said Laxmikant Sharma, Minister of Culture of Madhya
Pradesh.
Near Ashapuri
village there is one big dam also. According to the archaeologists, the temples and dam both were built by the Parmar
and Pratihar dynasties and certain locals contended that the Mughal rulers
razed down these temples.
