Bihar govt to develop country's 'oldest' temple
PTI, Deccan Herald
January 18, 2008
http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Jan182008/national2008011847319.asp?section=updatenews

Referring to the inscriptions found around the temple and different official records, Kunal, who enjoys the rank of a minister of state, said the "temple was constructed in 108 AD and the practice of worship and sacrifice was continuing ever since".

After initiating efforts to resurrect the ancient Nalanda university, Bihar government now wants to develop the country's "oldest functional" temple, the Mundeshwari shrine in Kaimur district on the lines of Vaishno Devi.

The temple situated atop a 608 ft hill is the "oldest functional temple" in the country where regular prayers have been performed from the past 1900 years, claimed the Administrator of Bihar Religious Trust Board Acharya Kishore Kunal.

Referring to the inscriptions found around the temple and different official records, Kunal, who enjoys the rank of a minister of state, said the "temple was constructed in 108 AD and the practice of worship and sacrifice was continuing ever since".

Kunal said archaeological experts and historians who deciphered the inscriptions found around the temple claimed that the shrine was built during the Shaka era, which predated even the advent of Gupta dynasty in 320 AD.

He said a stone slab, sawed into two with inscriptions in Brahmi script suggested that the temple predated the Gupta period when, because of the influence of grammarian Panini, the script in use was chaste Sanskrit.

The temple, he claimed could be even older as prior to the structure coming up there existed a four-face "mukhlingam" of Shiva, which was worshipped even at that time.

The linguistic experts there concluded that the seal belonged to "Maharaju Duthgamini", who according to "Mahavansh Granthawali" in Buddhist literature, belonged to Anuradhapur dynasty and ruled Ceylon between 104-77 BC.

"So there is evidence that the shrine could be even more than 2100 years old," Kunal said.

He said the stone slab with inscription of 18 lines, broken in two parts, was discovered while clearing the debris around the temple. While one part was discovered in 1892, another was found in 1903.

According to the inscription, there existed at the place, a temple of Vishnu or Suryanarayana (Narayana-devakula) called "Mandalesvarasvamin". To that temple was added a Shiva temple called "Vinitesvara matha".

Though the temple may have originally been a Vaishnavite shrine, it subsequently became a Shaivite shrine and remained so till the late medieval period when, with the popular upsurge of "shaktism" converted to shakti worship.

The inscription, Kunal said, has a reference to Udaysena, a satrap of Pataliputra in "shak samvat" year 30 whom the Kushanas had made the ruler. Shak samvat year 30 when juxtaposed with the Christian calendar coincides with 108 AD, and by that account, the shrine would complete 1900 years of existence this year.

Kunal said the Bihar Religious Trust Board had decided to hold a huge festival to mark the occasion in April.
Kunal said the state government had already approved a ropeway trolley project for the shrine atop a 608 feet hill which has been forwarded to the department of Forest and Environment and Archaeological Survey of India for clearance.

The temple is remarkable for its octagonal plan, its bold masonary and crisp carving. The octagonal sanctum has a diameter of 40 ft and internal diameter of 20 ft.

The south-facing temple, it seems, had a pillared porch in front of its main entrance, which no no longer exists. There are four doorways at cardinal points and the southern doorway form the main entrance.

The only octagonal temple existing in the country apart from Mundeshwari temple, is the 19th century Sankaracharya temple near Srinagar, Kunal said.

The temple, made of rocks, has the idol of Goddess Durga chiselled out of rock. It also has the rock idols of the Sun God, Fire God, Ganesha, Kartikeya, Yamaraj and Vishnu.

Retired director of Bihar's Archaeological department Prakash Charan Prasad told PTI that the architectural design of the temple and the four-faced "mukhlingam" find mention in "atharvaveda".

Kunal said upon getting clearance from the Forest and Environment ministry and ASI, the Religious Trust Board would undertake an extensive beautification and infrastructure development project with facilities akin to Vaishno Devi shrine in Udhampur district in Jammu.
Kunal said in the year 2003, a man called Jahanvi Shekhar Rai discovered a seal near the shrine which he sent to the Sampoornanand Sanskrit university at Varanasi for deciphering.