Deopahar

Deopahar Archeological Site
Deopahar Archeological Site
Religion
District	Golaghat
Location
Location	Numaligarh
State	Assam
Country	India
Geographic coordinates	26°36′08″N 93°43′52″E / 26.60222°N 93.73111°ECoordinates: 26°36′08″N 93°43′52″E / 26.60222°N 93.73111°E
Architecture
Date established	10th-11th century
Materials	Stone

Deopahar Numaligarh Assam sculpture

Deopahar (Assamese: " দেওপাহাৰ " meaning "The Hill of the Gods") is an archaeological site located in Numaligarh, Assam, India. It is one of the most noteworthy ancient heritages of Golaghat district in Assam. Numaligarh is prominently known as one of the archaeologically rich places of the state because of the historical remains of the ancient temple and sculptures that were excavated from the top of the Deopahar hillock.^[1] The ancient stone temple and sculptures uncovered at this site are fine specimens of ancient art that represent the interconnection between Aryan (Brahmanical) art and local art, thus, providing enough data for the historians to determine the period of time it was created.^[1] It is a protected archaeological park and has a site-museum under the Directorate of Archaeology.^[2] The construction of the stone temple appears to be incomplete or damaged possibly during the Assam earthquake of 1897.

Location[]

The Deopahar archaeological site is a tourist destination in Assam.^[3] The Deopahar hillock, also called Deoparvat, is by the side of the Asean Highway 1(NH39) in Numaligarh, Golaghat district, Assam, India. The Deopahar hillock is a part of the Deopani reserve forest. The Deopani reserve forest covers a total area of 133.45 hectares and is very rich in flora and fauna. The Deopani reserve forest area is an Elephant corridor and is also famous for a False Hemp Tree (Assamese : Bheleu)(Tetrameles nudiflora), which has been accorded a Heritage tree status, in the Deopahar hillock. Every year around the months of October to January, migratory wild giant bees follow the same migratory routes from the foothills of Himalaya to come to this particular tree to build several very big beehives. The distance of the Deopahar archaeological site is about 5 km from the Numaligarh Refinery, 61.8 km from Kaziranga National Park, 255 km from Guwahati and approximately 5 km by aerial distance from Brahmaputra River

History[]

The name Deopahar has many prevailing legends about his origin. The Karbi people who lived by the hillock called it Deoparbat or Deopahar where the word 'Deo' or 'Dev' refers to Lord Shiva. According to ancient scriptures, the hill homed many gods and goddesses and was well known as 'Haithali parbat'.^[1] Inscriptions of the Kamarupi kings were found on an ancient copper plate which suggested it belonged to a place called 'Joyscandavar in Happaka'. Joyscandavar is believed to have originated from the word Jorsandh located in Numaligarh^[1].

Suhunmung Dihingia Raja (1497-1539) alias Swagdeo Swarganarayan built the fort of Numaligarh in this area under the influence of an evil spirit. Legend has it Deopahar was named after this evil spirit that appeared on this hillock.^[1] The intricate architectural style of the Deopahar stone temple is indicative of the fact that it belongs to the period somewhere between 10th and 11th century AD. ^[4] The Deopahar temple was may be a temple of Lord Shiva. Legends says that the Shiva Linga from the Temple was shifted and the Baba Than, Numaligarh temple was established in the 19th century near the Deopahar hillock.^[5] As per the Satsari Buranji, there was a burial site of a Chutia king(Khunta raja) adjacent to Deopahar. ^[6]^[7]

Architecture[]

An English tea planter named Thomas Guardthei was the first to highlight the significance and complexity of the unique sculpture and architecture of the broken Shiva temple at Deopahar. The stone temple was erected on a monolithic floor. The temple has a big ceiling slab engraved with a large lotus bearing a relief of Vidyadhara holding a scarf and a necklace by both hands. The vast range of sculptured stone blocks were carved out of Precambrian rocks. The stone blocks in the base of the temple were stabilized together with iron hinges which can be clearly seen.^[8]

The overall creative style and design of the building blocks strongly reflects influences of the later Gupta era. There are huge door jambs with foliage of drooping petals, encircling creepers with animal and sculptural representations of female door keepers with coronets and huge perforated Patrakundalas. Other sculptural representation found are of Kirtimukha, Kalamakaras, Fangananm Shiva, Sridhar Rudra, Lakshi- Narayana, Hara Gauris Rashlila, Sarpadevata, Pranayam dhyan, Padma Sakra, Ram and Ravana, Sugriva etc. and panels with carvings of figures depicting episodes from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata Purana.

Sculptures at Deopahar depict- flying Apsara, fascinating poses of Vishnu, different gestures of Dwarpal Shiva, Ganesha, Yama, Surya, image of Sani, dancing images of gods and goddess on elephants, and joint dances of males and females.^[1] A flying image of 'Apeshwari' or Apsara with three heads is identified as one of the most beautiful sculptures of Deopahar. These pieces of ancient art have been preserved at Numaligarh Shiva Temple and State Museum of Guwahati. After studying this sculpture, archaeologist G. Bhuyan described it as one of its kind while highlighting the local art of Assam that was developed in 10th Century^[1].