The terracotta temples of Maluti

Deep in Jharkhand’s hinterland lies the village of Maluti. Flanked by mud houses and a handful of concrete buildings, narrow lanes lead to several open spaces right in the middle of the village — spaces that bear testimony to more than 300 years of rich temple architecture.

Once home to 108 temples, the village is now but a poor shadow of its past, with only 72 shrines remaining — but the sheer number puts Maluti on the heritage map of India. With intricate terracotta carvings of mythical scenes on their façades and walls, which have survived harsh weather and the ravages of time since the early 17th century, Maluti’s terracotta temples are now being restored.

The temples, mostly of Shiva, are dotted in five different clusters — Sikir Taraf, Rajar Bari, Madhya Bari, Chhoi Taraf and the Mauliksha temple complex.

History of Mulati temple 

It was during the reign of emperor Alauddin Hussain Shah of Gour (1495 – 1525) when the Sultan had camped with his entourage near Maluti. During this time, the Begum had lost her pet hawk (Baaj pakhi in Bengali) and was quite upset. The Sultan, to please his queen announced that anyone who finds the bird will be rewarded handsomely. As chance would be, a local shepherd named Basanta found the bird and returned it to the emperor. The Sultan was so happy that he awarded several acres of tax-free land to Basanta. Thus Basanta became the first king of Baaj Basanta dynasty and marking the beginning of Nankar (non tax) region. Basanta came to be known as Baaj Basanta because of his tryst with the “Baaj”.

Baaj Basanta’s great grandson Rajchandra was defeated by the King of Rajnagar in the battle of Damra. His four sons fled and shifted the capital to Maluti in about 1680 and they started living separately. The house of Rakharchandra, the eldest son, came to be known as Rajbari (house of the king). The eldest son of the family was automatically given the title of Raja. The second son Prithvichandra’s house was called the Madhyam Bari (house of the second). Ramchandra, who like his brother got one-fourth share, and was called Sikir Bari (house of one-fourth share). The fourth and last son Madhavchandra had six sons, so his house came to be known as Chhai Taraf (house of six).

During this time, many terracotta artisans called “Sutradhars” travelled along the villages displaying their art. These craftsmen met the four brothers and under their patronage built several temples. The terracotta temples are of various designs and patterns. Most of the temples here follow the char–challa (four sloped roofs) form of architecture, the most common form found in Bengal. There are few temples following the Orissan style of architecture. Some of the temples have intricate terracotta designs depicting various Hindu mythological and religious events.

There are intricate details of war scene between Ram and Ravana at the Madhyam Bari. These scenes are found in some other temples of Maluti  also. There is also the life stories of Sri Krishna depicted in terracotta panels as well as that of Goddess Durga.

What surprised us was that the designs were also inspired by the current social scenarios. There is a carving of a Babu going for hunting in a palanquin.

There is also a very minute carving of some soldiers – the first soldiers on horseback with sword followed by soldiers wielding guns. This showed the advent of East India Company in Indian landscape.