Introduction:
Ashapuri is located about 35 km South of Bhopal. It lies a few kilometers from the well-known, unfinished temple of Bhojpur. Its remote location makes it less known compared to other historical sites in the region. However, it has had a long standing significance in its regional history. The historical narrative of the temple settlement at Ashapuri can be co-related to the larger context of Bhojpur, the city founded by King Bhoja.
Site Context
The complex is located along a hillock, facing a large pond. It includes ruins of 26 temples, that was constructed continuingly during the royal patronage of the Pratiharas and the Parmaras in central India - between the 9th and the 11th centuries. This is evidenced visually through the blend of architectural styles from both dynasties on the site.
The Udaipur Prashasti inscription of the later Paramara rulers states that Bhoja "Covered the Earth with Temples" dedicated to the various incarnations of Shiva. This temple complex, also named 'Bhoothnath' group of temples dedicated to the 'Lord of Ghosts' named after the largest temple in the complex is an illustration of this aspect.
Existing Temple Ruins
Settlement Sketch:
Ashapuri was one of the major urban settlements in Bhojpur. The settlement became a lakeside town when King Bhoja dammed the river at Bhojpur with enormous earth and stone blocks.
Unlike many other historical sites that have their architectural features still intact, this site includes temples that are structurally decayed. The remnants of the temple features such as entrance porch way, carved plinth levels, ornate pillars, intricate carvings of deities, semi open hall (mandap), carved floor entrances indicate that these structures were intended for sacred, ritualistic purposes.
At Bhoothnath, the pitha remains, with some pieces of the khura (hoof) and of the lower part of the separate kumbha. The plan of the temple, visible in the pitha, is of an east-facing temple with the main shrine to the west, and with two half-shrines projecting from the sides of the mandapa to the north and south. This almost trikuta arrangement is one of the aspects redolent of its Deccan (Southern) connections.
The site projects as one of the earliest known examples of Bhumija Architecture styles. This style experimented with composite temple designs and was enhanced in its awareness of different regional traditions. This architecture period lies sometime between the Pratihara and Paramara period, about the final years of the 10th century.
Elements - L: Vertical panel, with intricately carved figurines, proportionately configured around a central (possibly) deity, that is missing; M: A horizontal panel of a deity, seated cross legged in a centrally located circle; R: a vertical panel with a centrally standing deity, surrounding by supporting figurines.
The style as well as the form of the Bhumija monuments is considered inventive, which may have been influenced by certain factors. Some of these include local effort to transform the process of things that were customarily done, assimilation of foreign influences, perhaps an influx of artists from elsewhere, or a creation of an entirely new school of architecture form.
The structural characteristics at Ashapuri are linear and crisp with curvaceous mouldings that presumptuously describe the socio-cultural interests of the time. Each element is defined, compact and configured as parts of a larger entity.
Decline:
The reason for the decline of the temple settlement remains unknown, as there have been no traces of subsistence patterns of any form beyond 11th century around the site. However, through the historical timeline of medieval pan-Indian cities, the narrative suggests a few possibilities.
1 Decline in Trade
2 Decline in Craft Production
3 War
4 Natural Causes
L: Temple Ruins facing the lake, R: Broken pieces of the temples adds to the fragile nature of the historical site.
These led to the possible desertion of the city. As the settlements might have been primarily occupied by people engaged in crafts and commerce, commercial decline of the city is a possible scenario. As trade declined and the demand for craft-goods slumped, the traders and craftsmen livelihood in cities might have had to disperse to rural regions for alternative means of livelihood. Therefore cities decayed and townsfolk became a part of village economy. The indefinite construction halt of the Bhojpur temple around the same time also serves as a related evidence.
The Ashapuri Temple Project:
In 2000, The Directorate of Archaeology, Archives and Museums (DAAM), a branch of the Government of Madhya Pradesh, in partnership and funding from the World Monument Fund (WMF) undertook the responsibility to develop conservation strategies for the site. Considering the fragile state of the historical site, it is necessary to preserve and sensitively enhance the crumbling fabric of relatively intact existing structures.
Project Governance Framework
For this purpose, SPA Bhopal (Vishakha Kawathekar) and Cardiff University (Adam Hardy) with PRASADA, surveyed the site to provide reconstruction proposals for the temples & to ascertain which of them could potentially be rebuilt if enough structural pieces remain. The task was inclusive of working out special techniques for documentation, to discover how the site developed, and to deduce the original temple designs and the potential to reassemble them, wholly or partially.
Temple Reconstruction Proposals - L: Temple 17, Plan & Section, R: Temple 5, West Elevation
Museum:
A small-scale museum called Ashapuri Local Museum or 'Sthaniy Sangrahlaya' in native language, is located few kilometers from the site. It is spatialized to exhibit and store sculptures and architectural fragments of intricately detailed quality retrieved from the site.
Open Display of Artefacts
Most of the architectural features such as ornamentally carved pillars, panels and door jambs are openly displayed outside. Other movable items such as pots, figurines and smaller fragment panels and parts are displayed inside.
Intricately carved horizontal and vertical panels. R: Ornamental Column Pilaster detail
Complementary Literature & Resources:
Hardy, A., Verghese, A., & Dallapiccola, A. L. (2015). Ashapuri: Resurrecting a Medieval Temple Site. In Art, Icon and Architecture in South Asia (p. 333). Aryan Book International.
SPA Bhopal, Cardiff University & WMF. (2018, October). Temples of Ashapuri - Project Process. Cardiff University.
Department of Archaeology, Madhya Pradesh - http://archaeology.mp.gov.in/
World Monuments Fund - https://www.wmf.org/
*Photos have been sourced through self.
Maps and Temple Reconstruction diagrams have been sourced through the list above
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