The Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts (BSBRT)

PATNA: The Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts (BSBRT) has submitted a proposal to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for immediate renovation and restoration of the famous Mundeshwari temple in Kaimur district.

One of the oldest living monuments in the country, the sanctum sanctorum of the octagonal stone Mundeshwari temple is still intact today. A huge heap of temple materials along with large number of idols lie scattered in the area.

Experts say that the temple atop the hill has been subject of archaeological study for quite some time now. While the sanctum sanctorum has a "devi" idol situated in a corner, a "chaturmukhi Shivalinga" adorns the centre.

Under the proposal, the BSBRT has earmarked Rs 2.4 crore for the renovation and restoration of the temple. "We will deposit an amount of Rs 2.4 crore in the National Culture Fund (NCF) for the purpose once the ASI approves the proposal," BSBRT administrator Kishore Kunal told TOI on his return here after submitting the proposal to the ASI in New Delhi.

Kunal said the nature of funding has been made flexible with the donor having an option to either execute the selected project directly wherein the donor can appoint and monitor the executing agencies to carry out the project work subject to the pre-defined technical conditions laid down by the ASI.

A project implementation committee would be set up with experts and representatives of institutions concerned to monitor and implement the project, Kunal said, adding "The ASI has also expressed keen interest in the project."
"The ASI has also accepted that this temple is the oldest in the country in view of its historicity," Kunal added.

Interestingly, a few years back noted BHU historian I S Roy found a Ceylonese seal while walking on a field adjacent to the hill near Mundeshwari temple. The pyramid-shaped stone seal with inscriptions in Brahmi script along with photograph also find mention in one of Roy's articles in a Numismatic Society of India journal published in 2004.

Maharaja Dutthagamani (101-77 BC), a powerful independent king of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), had constructed a great stupa and a large assembly of priests attended its consecration ceremony in the Mundeshwari hills. According to experts, the seal acted as passport for Ceylonese pilgrims and ensured safe passage during their long journey through various kingdoms to Buddhist pilgrimage centres in India. Experts believe that earlier routes to Buddhist centres at Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh and Kapilvastu in Nepal were via Mundeshwari temple in Bihar's Kaimur district.