SA Travel Diaries: The Wonder that was Masrur by Gauri Singh

Gauri Singh is a Speaking Archaeologically Workshop and CArch
Member

Before visiting the Kangra Valley in July, I made a list of places I wanted to visit. When the name of Masroor came up, it sounded like some distant place in South India. To my surprise, it was located 3 hills away from Mcleodganj on a secluded hilltop. The entire complex was huge and carved out from a single block of sandstone.

The entry, now, to the temple is from the rear. There was a small booth along the entrance stairs where we bought the tickets from. As I walked in, I noticed the temple first and then a huge tank of water right in front of the sandstone structure.



Knowing it will take me a very long time to explore the temple I chose to go around the water tank first. I could see from the opposite side a complete reflection of the beautiful temple in green waters of the tank which was almost 50 meters wide. From distance a noticed my mother throwing bits of something in water. As I went closer to see I realised the tank is also a habitat for big fishes.

Masrur Temple, a rock-cut temple complex
dating back to 6th-8th century

Wasting no time, I removed my shoes and went towards the splendid  monolithic rock-cut temple. I could see on the walls the intricate carvings of 6th century. Also in some places in the shikhara there were sandstone bricks which held it intact after the whole place suffered much destruction during the 1905 earthquake. The entrance in this central temple was facing east. Around it lay debris of temple and centrally grew a tulsi plant. Entrance part has four massive columns. Further entrance in the main shrine - garbhagriha - led through a wooden door. Yes! A very heavy weighing especially ornate wooden door. I was left to imagine how old it must have been to still survive in such a good condition. Inside the shrine are black stone images of Lord Ram, Sita and Laxman. In the centre though stands a figure of Shiv. On the side walls i could see big holes and blackened walls above it from lighting of fire, probably due to lighting up the place in ancient times. The high roof had carvings of circular blooming-flower, squares, quadrilaterals and more flowers on border. Outside the entrance, there were stairways on either side of the main temple. It led to the highest part of the shikhara above the floor of the inset and i could see the majestic snow-clad Dhauladhar mountain range in the north and the Beas Valley. 14 different shikhara, close and far, were clearly visible. There were intricate designs of gods and goddesses such as Shiv, Parvati, Lakshmi and Saraswati, and flowers. It seemed that the temple was conceptualized as a tribute to Shiv. There were lintels which depicted scenes of festivals, probably a celebration of crowning of Shiv. The lintel on the garbhagriha of the main shrine depicted Shiv’s coronation in a "benign posture" with eyes closed like Buddha. On some lintels, there were carvings of divinities including Shiv in the central portion flanked by his sons Ganesh and Kartikey. Taking a note of everything I could I returned downstairs and walked across past the complex.

Another flight of steep step-pathway on the left of complex led to a separate room, old and locked. Behind the grills were more carved debris of temple, all marked with numbers for record. I climbed up to the terrace of the room. From there I could clearly see in the south, behind the next hill, a shiny water body - the Pong Dam and Reservoir, also popularly known as Maharana Pratap Sagar. I stood there, despite my bare feet burning, absorbing in the breathtaking view of mountains, hills, silver clouds, small farms and a calm sea around me. It couldn’t be more beautiful. I descended from the place carefully soon after a while.

I talked to a family residing in a separate quarters within the complex area. They were there to take care of the security of the historical temple. They could not tell much about the place. They said it was believed to be built by Pandavas during their exile from their kingdom. The tank was built by them for their wife Draupadi. They couldn’t complete it and left the place to go further deep in Himalayas. The temple is also called Thakurdwara. I fed the fishes some more and enjoyed the cool breeze and the view around while sitting under the massive Peepal tree.

I had to be extra careful while exploring the place as lizards kept popping from underneath heavy stones. There were few tourists, some local and most foreigners as it not very popular yet. The boards outside stated that Archaeological Survey of India has declared it a monument of national importance. I could spend more time studying the details of carvings but running short of time we left the place in two hours. Even in the month of July, in the heat, the whole experience was refreshing and gave me a hundred topics to ponder upon on my way back. My visit to Kangra felt worthwhile.