Masrur

From BikeNomads

Contributed by Mitinder Sekhon

The Temples of Masrur

Masrur lies in Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh. It is 266 kms from Chandigarh and the nearest town is Kangra. From Kangra the temples are only a short 41 kms ride, which takes about 2 hours for the roads are narrow and all mountainous.

We ride up to the most breathtaking view of the Monolithic temples of Masrur. They stand in all their grandeur and majesty on the shoulder of the mountain. They have braved ravages of time, earthquakes and human vandalism for the last 1200 years. These 15 temples have been carved from one very large rock and are the only example of monolithic temples in the Himalayas. Today they are a protected monument and have been dated by archaeologist to have been built in 8th century A. D.

No one knows who carved these beauties from the formidable mountainside. All we know is that they were built from outside in. First the rock was cut from the top down and the spires and gopurams shaped. Then they were carved on the outside and hollowed from inside. In front of the temples there is a very large pool which has been excavated from the same rock. In their design and architecture, they resemble the temples of Helibid and Mahabalipuram. The Archaeological Survey official just gives us the tickets and does not have any information about the temples save that there are 15 temples in all with some collapsed and few incomplete. The rocks are crawling with iguanas which look like miniature dinosaurs.

I walk all around the temple complex taking pictures. The sculptures are exquisite and carved to perfection. The door lintels and side panels are elaborate stories in thousands of carved figures. I stand and ponder about who made them. Many questions come to my mind. The people who built them were either outsiders or were superseded by the present habitants for these temples are not a part of the cultural ethos of the locals. Who were the people? Where did they come from? Where did they go? Why did they choose this spot? Why are there no other temples of the same school in the Himalayas? How is it that they resemble the south Indian temples in so much detail? Where the builders from another cultural hearth? These are the mysteries of mankind that can not be solved in a hurry. What were the deities to be worshipped in them? There are no statues inside the temples but the exteriors have Shiva like figures, a handsome god riding a human faced bird (Vishnu astride Garuda?), couples walking side by side or embracing, done in such a fine style that they come alive. The shikhars have three faced figures carved on them (Brahma?) but these figures give place to Gandhara style Buddha on the westernmost temple which could be of a later age. The Buddha like face has long ear lobes and curly knobbly hair so typical to Gandhara art. But these are all conjectures, derivations of my mind and the truth is only known to the stones.

Some of the temples have collapsed while the exteriors of some have been smoothened out by the winds and rains of the millennia they have stood there. They were discovered in early 1920s by an Englishman who was out in the forest hunting. They were smothered by vegetation and in utter disuse. It was his initiative which helped unravel these monuments but by then and even afterwards a lot of idols and carved stones were vandalised and stolen. It was only in the 1960s that the Archaeological Survey of India took over and declared them as protected monuments.

I do not know who built them but I certainly know that they are one of the most beautiful sights that I have laid my eyes on. They bewitch me, enthral me and fill me with wonder and transport me to a realm of faith which literally carved the mountains in to icons of veneration; the kind of faith that one aspires for.