(C) Copyright of Prabuddha Biswas
SRI CHITRAGUPTA ADI MANDIR IN DIWAN MOHOLLA OF PATNA CITY, ONE OF THE OLDEST TEMPLES OF INDIA DEDICATED TO LORD CHITRAGUPTA, THE RECORD-KEEPER OF VIRTUES AND SINS, IS IN URGENT NEED OF RESTORATION
INTRODUCTION
What
St. Peter is to Christians, Lord Chitragupta is to Hindus. Both maintain an
account of each human being’s good and bad deeds and without their permission,
no one can enter heaven believe Christians and Hindus.
According
to Hindu scriptures, Lord Chitragupta is the record-keeper of virtues and sins
under Yamraj (God of Hell) and is the patriarchal head of the Kayastha
community.
SHORT HISTORY
In
1766, Maharaja Sitab Rai, the then Governor of Bihar, procured land in Diwan
Moholla and established an idol of touchstone of Lord Chitragupta.
Sitab
Rai’s son and the last native Governor of Bihar, Maharaja Kalyan Singh, Ashiq,
was an accomplished scholar and poet (in both Persian and Urdu) of his time. He
had mentioned the ‘Chitragupta Adi Mandir’ in his book ‘Ajaybul Vardaat’,
according to the general secretary of Sri Chitragupta Adi Mandir Prabhandak
Samiti, Kamalnayan Srivastava.
The
maternal grandson of Sitab Rai, Maharaja Bhup Narayan Singh, later constructed
the existing temple. Bhup Narayan had the temple constructed with chiselled
stone brought especially from Jaipur, said Srivastava. The credit for the
present structure goes to Ray Matadin Sadarala, who was dedicated to Lord
Chitragupta.
THE TEMPLE
The
temple facing the Holy Ganga in the north is a square structure with a small
sanctum sanctorum (where the idol of Sri Chitragupta is installed) in the
middle of a pradakshina path, around the idol. Though there is a long
spire above the sanctum sanctorum, the rest of the square structure has a flat
roof. There is a Mahadev temple in the premises too. Sadly, the Adi Mandir is
in dilapidated condition today.
FATE OF THE IDOL
The
rare touchstone idol of Lord Chitragupta was stolen and the present idol of white
crystal was installed by Rai Mathura Prasad (descendent of Raja Ramnarain,
Deputy Governor of Patna during 1750s) of Maharaj Ghat in 1962 (Vikram Samvat
2019), said Srivastava.
WHAT IS THE ANTIQUITY OF THE TEMPLE?
Though,
there are definite historical documents about the Adi Mandir since the time of
Sitab Rai (since 1750s), it is said that the present temple site is about 450
years old. The Finance Minister (Wazir-e-Kazana) of Akbar, Raja
Todar Mal and his assistant Nayeb Kishore Bahadur are credited with the
construction of the temple at its present site in Diwan Mohalla in 1574 AD,
according to the information brochure of the Prabhandak Samiti.
But
this calculation is not convincing as for a long time the Kararani Pathans kept
the Mughals busy in combats, even after the death of Daud Khan, according to
archivist-historian Masoom Raza Kazimi.
As
late Dr. B. P. Ambasthya has observed in his work, entitled ‘Bihar in the
age of Great Mughal Akbar’, it was in 1578 that Raja Todar Mal was
asked to carry out massive survey and settlement work in Bihar and to start
with ‘Sarkar Tirhut (North Bihar)’. It is for this that a large army of revenue
officers and staffs were sent to Bihar to work under the guidance of Raja Todar
Mal. It was between 25th and 40th regnal year (i.e.
1581-1596) of Akbar’s rule that a major part of Bihar was brought under ‘Zabi
system’.
INFERENCE
The
temple complex has withstood the onslaught of time and tide but is in urgent
need of repair and renovation. It is a part of our rich cultural heritage that
must be preserved for posterity.
[Published
in Hindustan Times, Patna dated July 3, 2003]
PICTURES
1. Paper Clipping of the Adi Chitragupta Mandir, Diwan Moholla, Patna City of Hindustan Times, Patna dated July 3, 2003
2. New Chitragupta Temple in the offing
No comments:
Post a Comment