| Temples & Legends Of Bihar |
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| Temples & Legends Of India |
KONCH |
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The same is characteristic for the temples at Deo and Umga, and the ornamentation of the Spire at Deo also is of the same kind as at Konch. The temple at Umga is plain, without ornaments. Moreover, tradition points to Bhairavendra, who lived about 1459 A.D., as the builder of the Konch temple. From his time also date, as we know from local inscriptions, the principal monuments at Deo and Umga. For these reasons, I think that the hitherto accepted date of the Konch temple, viz., eighth century A -D. should be put back for some seven centuries. The temple at Konch is not in a good state of preservation; although repaired some time ago, a great portion of the brick wall in front of the spire has fallen down. The building is worth being kept in a permanent state of repairs." To the cast of the temple there is a large sheet of water with brick-covered mounds on all sides. In the west there is a ruined temple, 12 feet 3 inches square inside, and at the north-western corner there is a second ruined temple only 7 feet 8 inches square inside, with walls 2 feet 9 ½ inches thick. The Konch village, which stands to the south of the lake and the great temple, has also several sculptured images of which the best are a figure of Vishnu and a seated Buddha. The temple is daily visited by a large number of local devotees. Special puja is offered on Shivaratri and other auspicious days to propitiate Lord Shiva when large crowds visit the temple. A big mela is held during the Shivaratri festival and thousands of people assemble, in the mela. It is a pity such an important and famous temple, which may have been taken as a model for the Mahabodhi temple of Gaya, should remain neglected and unprotected under the Ancient Monuments Act. Rapid decay has already set in and it is believed a large number of relies have already been removed. |
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| About Konch | ||||||||||||||||||||
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