| Temples & Legends Of Bihar |
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| Temples & Legends
Of India |
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MUNDESVARI |
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| Munda was a
Chero king and Francis Buchanan and Martin were wrong in thinking that he had established
the image of theGoddess Mundesvari. The aboriginal tribes in this part of the country are
more prone to worship the female deities and there can be no wonder that Shaktism
flourished with the Chero kings and the deity of Mundesvari, representing Shakti, came to
be worshipped as the principal deity of the temple, where she was a minor image at one
time. The mukhalingam, which was still in the central position of the cella, was relegated
to a minor position. The history of the temples in India shows that very few images
installed in the central position have been subordinated to other deities fixed in the
niches. It is also remarkable that this temple appears to have been left unmolested when
Muslim rule under Sher Shah was set up in this area. The neighboring Chayanpur fort was
one of the citadels of Sher Shah and the Muslim pockets in the neighboring villages
suggest that a much larger Muslim population had lived in the area when Muslim rule was
predominant. The ravages to Mundesvari temple are not man-made but due to the passage of
time. A big annual fair (mela) is held near the Mundesvari temple during the Navaratra.
Buchanan Hamilton has mentioned in his memoirs that "about 2000 votaries assemble
here at a fair (mela) ". Now the mela is visited by even more than ten thousand
persons. |
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