Temples, depicts past glory of Bharat

Temples of Jharkhand

Temples of Jharkhand are the preservers of the rich culture and tradition of the bygone ages of the State. The temples in Jharkhand depict the past glory of the religious heritage of India. There are still several temples in the newly formed State of India which was previously a part of Bihar, which have immense historical importance and they are not yet known to many.There is a village in Jharkhand by the name Maluti which is at a distance of 55 kilometers from Dumka in Jharkhand. This village possessed 108 temples of which 72 temples remain today. It is believed that the temples in the Maluti village date back to the Mughal era and are constructed by terracotta stone. A majority of the temples in the village are devoted to the Lord Shiva which has earned for it the name ‘Gupt Kashi‘ and the pattern of the construction of the Shiva temples in the village Maluti are termed as Shikarshaili. The temples of this village do not follow any fixed pattern of architectural design but they form a special pattern and style by incorporating the designs of various other sections of eastern India. There are few temples which follow a trend of the Birbhum and Bengal temple architecture. Among the 72 temples in this village, Shiva is the main deity in 58 temples and the remaining 14 temples are devoted to Maulisha, Lord Vishnu and Goddess Kali. 

Jagannath Temple in Ranchi was built by king of Barkagarh Jagannathpur Thakur Ani Nath Shahdeo, during 1691. It was completed on  December 25, 1691. It is located about 10 km from the main town, the temple is on top of a small hillock near to a place called Firayalal Chowk . Similar to the famous Jagannath Temple in Puri, Orissa, this temple is built in the same architectural style although smaller. To reach the top visitors can climb the stairs or take the vehicle route.

Pahari Mandir It is situated at Ratu Road and is about 300 ft. high. Its real name is ‘Richi Buru’. Huge crowd of Shiva devotees gather here in every Shravan month. Pahari Mandir is the best place to have a bird’s eye view of the capital Ranchi.

Sun Temple About 40 kms from Ranchion Tata Road near Bundu, stands the elegant  Sun Temple  fashioned in the form of huge chariot with richly decorated 18 wheels, 9 on each side, and seven lively horses ready to gallop. The surroundings of the temple, studded with a pond serving as a sacred place for Chhathavratis are actually a nature’s bounty to the people of Chhotanagpur. There is a pond which serves as a holy place for Chhathavratis

Chhinnamasta Temple also called as Rajrappa Temple. The temple enshrines the Goddess Chinnamasta (the beheaded Goddess Kali), one of the ten forms of the Goddess Durga and is located in the Ramgarh district of Jharkhad.The statue shows the Goddess holding her own head in her left hand and her head drinking the blood oozing out of her neck. The headless idol of Goddess Chhinnamastika stands on the body of Kamdeo and Rati in lotus bed.The Chhinnamasta temple is popular for its tantrik style of architecture.

This temple is very old and the place Rajrappa finds mention in the Vedas, Puranas and Hindu scriptures as a Shakti Peeth which is flocked by devotees from Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal Assam and Nepal for worship of Goddess Chinnamastika. Vedic book Durga Saptashati also mentions the temple.  Animal sacrifice is still practised in the temple.

Narsings-than Temple Located at a distance of 6 kms from Hazari Bagha long the Barkagaon Road at Village Khapriaon, Narsingsthan Temple  is an important religious site especially for the Hindus. The temple features an idol of Lord Narsingh (Lord Vishnu) along with a Shivalinga.

Shakti Mandir is situated in heart of the coal city Dhanbad, is devoted to Goddess Durga who is also known as Goddess of Shakti, on which the name of the mandir is given by the devotees. It is situated in Joraphatak road, Dhanbad. There is an akhand jyoti in the mandir which is brought from the Vaishno Devi.

Parasnath Temple is considered to be one of the most important and sanctified holy places of the Jains. According to Jain tradition, no less than 23 out of 24 Tirthankaras (including Parsvanatha) are believed to have attained salvation here. The temple is situated at Parasnath Hill- the highest hill in Jharkhad, towering to an elevation of 4,480 feet.

Naulakha Mandir is situated 1.5 km away from Baba Baidyanath Temple. This temple looks like the temple of Ramakrishna in Belur. Inside the temple, there are idols of Radha – Krishna. Its height is 146 feet. The amount spent in construction of the temple was about Rs. 900,000 (9 lacs). Hence, it is known as Naulakha Temple.

Baidyanath Jyotirlinga Temple, also known as Baba Dham and Baidyanath dham is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the most sacred abodes of Shiva. It is located in Deoghar in the Santhal Parganas division of the State. It is a temple complex consisting of the main temple of Baba Baidyanath, where the Jyotirlinga is installed, and 21 other temples.

 Shiv Shani Mandir, Dhori is a temple located in Bokaro District of Jharkhand. It is about 32 km from Bokaro and is located at Old BDO Office Dhori. The presiding deity of temple, Shiva, Parvati,      Ganesh, Hanuman,  Kartikey and Shaneshwara or Lord Shani- the personification of the planet Saturn is worshipped with utmost reverence and devotion by multitudes of people from all over the locality. The spectacle of the deity in Shivlinga is overwhelming .Unlike other pilgrimage centres, devotees here can perform puja or abhishek or other religious rituals themselves. One of the unique aspects of the temple is that it is the one and only temple in Bermo area where Lord Shiva and his loving Lord Shani are established together.

Harihar Dham is located at 3 km away from Grand Trunk Road at Bagodar  60 km South west of the Giridih district headquarter in the North Chotanagpur division of the State of Jharkhand.

The Temple is spread over an area of 25 acre and is surrounded by river. It took around 30 years to complete the construction of the huge 65 feet Shivalinga.

Bindudham also known as Binduwasni Mandir is a Hindu Temple of the Maha Durga(Kali), Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswati(Tridevi) in the form of Shaktipeeth. “Binduwasni Mandir” is at the top of the “Binduwasni Hill”. The main temple is welcomed by a statue of God Surya (Sun), which is a great piece of art.God Surya is seated in seven horsed Rath. In the another part of Binduwasni hill, a large 35 feet statue of God Hanuman is formed, where people can see the sacred foot prints of God Hanuman.

Angrabari is a temple complex almost 40 kms from Ranchi near Khunti, which showcases the temples of Lord Ganapati, Sri Ram-Sita, Hanuman and Shiva. The Shankracharya Swami Swarupanand Saraswati, having been captivated by serene, placid and celestial beauty of Angrabadi rechristened it as Amreshwar Dham.                 

—Aniket Raja

(Inputs from Jharkhand Tourism)