A mountain, and on the sides of it carved out stone images, a spring descending in the rivulet, a place of archeological wonder Unakoti in Tripura is unparalleled. One wonders who those people were and at what spell of time did they chisel out such wonderful idols from the rocks . The sculptors and the point of time has remained obscure till date. Yet on seeing these eternal works of art people could not help pay their respect to those sculptors. Unrecorded in history, a mystery surrounds Unakoti and that definitely fascinates visitors.
Unakoti is situated at a distance of 10 kilometres from the North District headquarters, Kailashahar. The road was inaccessible four decades ago. One had to come all the way on foot passing through deep jungles and crossing over mountains. The scenario changed after the road connection was established. A diversion road runs from Dharmanagar-Kailashahar connecting road upto the place of pilgrimage.On the hilly terrain many idols of gods and goddess are lying scattered. At the main peak there are idols of Uma-Maheshwar, five-faced Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha, Hanuman and Ravana. Among the carved-out images on the rocky fringes those of Ganesha and Shiva are prominent. This image of Shiva as Lord of Unakoti (Unakotiswar) is famous as Kal-Bhairava. Goddess Durga is also carved on the side of the hill. The four-faced idol of Unakoti is known to all though the fourth face was damaged long back.
According to the archeological department, the Shiva idols of Unakoti date back to the 8th or 9th century. Some also opine that this holy place was the Shaiva-Tirtha of the Pal-era. Others consider that these might have been worked out even before that period. Some others think that these idols were sculpted by master sculptors elsewhere and were brought in Unakoti with great care. There is no let up in research work on Unakoti idols. But all come to the same conclusion that the idols and images of Unakoti were not made in one particular spell of time. These were worked out in different periods of time and, therefore, these were influenced by different religious sects. Some archaeologists opine that these were of the period of Pal dynasty, as a Shaiva Tirtha, others have traced it as a Buddhist meditation centre. Hence, Unakoti is also seen as a symbol of religious unity.
Huge sculptures were chiseled out from the rock-sides and the images were carved. Of course, those suffered damage in the earthquakes and natural calamities. A beautiful spring is descending down the hill terraces. This has filled up the cavern, called "Sitakund" and then danced down in sprightly pace. This resulted in the origin of a modest pond (cherra) with sparkling water which is cool and refreshing. Every year during Ashokastami and Makar Sankranti big fairs are held at Unakoti. Peoples from far and near come there for a holy dip in Sitakund.
Unakoti is situated at a distance of 10 kilometres from the North District headquarters, Kailashahar. The road was inaccessible four decades ago. One had to come all the way on foot passing through deep jungles and crossing over mountains. The scenario changed after the road connection was established. A diversion road runs from Dharmanagar-Kailashahar connecting road upto the place of pilgrimage.On the hilly terrain many idols of gods and goddess are lying scattered. At the main peak there are idols of Uma-Maheshwar, five-faced Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha, Hanuman and Ravana. Among the carved-out images on the rocky fringes those of Ganesha and Shiva are prominent. This image of Shiva as Lord of Unakoti (Unakotiswar) is famous as Kal-Bhairava. Goddess Durga is also carved on the side of the hill. The four-faced idol of Unakoti is known to all though the fourth face was damaged long back.
According to the archeological department, the Shiva idols of Unakoti date back to the 8th or 9th century. Some also opine that this holy place was the Shaiva-Tirtha of the Pal-era. Others consider that these might have been worked out even before that period. Some others think that these idols were sculpted by master sculptors elsewhere and were brought in Unakoti with great care. There is no let up in research work on Unakoti idols. But all come to the same conclusion that the idols and images of Unakoti were not made in one particular spell of time. These were worked out in different periods of time and, therefore, these were influenced by different religious sects. Some archaeologists opine that these were of the period of Pal dynasty, as a Shaiva Tirtha, others have traced it as a Buddhist meditation centre. Hence, Unakoti is also seen as a symbol of religious unity.
Huge sculptures were chiseled out from the rock-sides and the images were carved. Of course, those suffered damage in the earthquakes and natural calamities. A beautiful spring is descending down the hill terraces. This has filled up the cavern, called "Sitakund" and then danced down in sprightly pace. This resulted in the origin of a modest pond (cherra) with sparkling water which is cool and refreshing. Every year during Ashokastami and Makar Sankranti big fairs are held at Unakoti. Peoples from far and near come there for a holy dip in Sitakund.
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