Sirpur
| Sirpur सिरपुर |
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| State : |
 India
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| State : | Chhattisgarh | ||
| District : | Mahasamund | ||
| Sub-district : | Saraipali | ||
| Location : | 21 ° 21 ′ N , 82 ° 11 ′ E | ||
| Height : | 258 m | ||
| Area : | 3.15 km² | ||
| Residents : | 619 (2011) | ||
| Population density : | 197 inhabitants / km² | ||
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Sirpur (Hindi: सिरपुर) is a village with approx. 600 inhabitants in the northern Indian state of Chhattisgarh . Outside the village are the ruins of a Buddhist monastery ( vihara ) and several Hindu brick temples from the 7th century.
location
Sirpur lies on the Mahanadi River at an altitude of almost 260 m above sea level. d. M. approx. 82 km (driving distance) east of Raipur or 38 km northeast of the district capital Mahasamund . The climate is warm; Rain falls mainly in the monsoon months June to September.
population
The predominantly Hindi- speaking inhabitants of the place are predominantly Hindus ; other religions hardly play a role among the rural population of India. The female proportion of the population is approx. 8% higher than the male.
economy
Agriculture plays the main role in the villages; sometimes chickens and / or dairy cows are also kept. In the village there are small traders, craftsmen and day laborers.
history
Already in the early Middle Ages, Sirpur (then Shripur ) and its fertile surroundings were of great economic and political importance. Sirpur was the capital of the southern Kosala kingdom and a religious center for both Buddhists and Hindus . The Chinese pilgrim monk Xuanzang visited the area in the 7th century and called it a "pillar of Buddhism ". An earthquake probably destroyed the city in the 12th century; The extent to which Islam also contributed to the destruction of the old buildings is unclear.
Attractions
- The Lakshmana Temple , which was probably built in the first half of the 7th century, is built entirely of bricks and decorated with figural and ornamental terracotta reliefs, which - like the entire temple - was covered with a layer of stucco and probably painted in color; Remnants of the stucco layer are still preserved in protected areas. The name Lakshmana as well as some remains of sculptures point to a consecration to the Hindu god Vishnu . The temple stands on a bypass platform ( jagati ) and originally consisted of a flat-roofed vestibule ( mandapa ), a small vestibule ( antarala ) and a tower-lofted cella ( garbhagriha ). The soaring tower ( shikhara ) is richly structured and provided with numerous ribbed stones ( amalakas ) as well as with blind windows ( chandrasalas ) and other decorations such as false doors; its upper end (probably an amalaka ring stone with a kalasha jug on top) is missing. The five-way subdivided natural stone frame of the portal to the cella shows "heavenly lovers" ( mithunas ) and figures of gods. Probably during an earthquake in the 12th century the vestibule collapsed - from then on the temple was no longer used; it is now under the supervision of the Archaeological Survey of India .
- Immediately behind the temple is the Laxman Mandir Museum with numerous figural and ornamental exhibits that were recovered from the ruins of the destroyed vestibule.
- Approx. 400 meters away is the Rama Temple , also made of brick , the architectural remains of which are very similar to those of the larger Lakshmana Temple .
- The Gandhesvara Temple is a modern building on old foundations; A number of sculptures are exhibited in his courtyard - including a Buddha statue , a Shiva lingam, etc.
- Another unusual building is the Surang Tila , which rests on an approx. 5 m high platform and is made of natural stones , in whose inner courtyard, surrounded by several cellae ( garbhagrihas ), numerous decorative pillar remains are exhibited.
- Approx. 1.5 km south of the Lakshmana Temple are the remains of two Buddhist monasteries ( viharas ). With the exception of the door frames and the figures, they were also made of bricks. Its architecture resembles that of a noble residential building with monk cells grouped around an inner courtyard; one cell is reserved for a Buddha statue in a lotus position and with the gesture of touching the earth ( bhumisparsha mudra ) as well as accompanying figures (possibly Bodhisattvas Padmapani and Vajrapani ).
literature
- Michael W. Meister u. a. (Ed.): Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture. North India - Foundations of North Indian Style. Princeton University Press, Princeton 1988, ISBN 0-691-04053-2 , pp. 232ff.
Web links
- Sirpur, temple etc. - photos + information (English)
- Sirpur, Laxman Temple - photo + brief information ( ASI , English)
- Sirpur, Surang Tila - Video (English)