India is an ancient country that has survived years of slavery and tremendous exposure to the western culture yet there is something that is so special about India that it can always take you by surprise and gives you something that even modern science cannot explain.
There is a long list of mysteries that make this wonderful country even more exciting. One of the mysteries that have just attracted the attention of all is a huge Ganpati idol that was discovered in the dense forests.
The Dholkal Idol
A lot has been written about the Dholkal idol. Anyways we have tried to put together all the information about this interesting work of art.
Sudden Discovery
South Bastar near Raipur is considered to be an ideal place for the activities of the maoists. The discovery was made by a journalist on duty.
He found a huge 6 feet tall Ganpati idol that is located on a mountain that is about 13000 feet high. The idol is made of stone. The journalist reported about it in the paper and that soon attracted the attention of the archaeologists of that area.
Results from Archaeology Studies
A detailed study of the idol was made. The report is yet to be submitted but from the first report that was given by the team of the archaeologists the facts are indeed very surprising.
The idol must be as old as 10th century. From the style of the idol it is quite possible that it was built during the time of the Nagvanshi dynasty. Another interesting point to be noted is that many weapons belonging to early man were found near the idol making it quite possible that the idol was not visited by anyone in many years.
That is exactly why no one actually new about this place. It is very difficult to believe because the idol is huge and it is indeed strange that no one ever noticed it. The experts and the locals do have an explanation for this.
Reasons for Non Visibility
The idol is placed on a mountain that is in the shape of a dhol. The shape ensures that no one can reach the top of the mountain. Moreover the mountain is surrounded by dense forests that make the visibility almost nil. Apart from that there are no proper routes that can take you to this idol.
Maoist region
As we have already mentioned that the area is known for maoists activities as a result very few people actually visit these areas. The climb is about 13 kms to reach the idol and the terrain is very difficult. It is also tough to stay up on the mountain for long.
The team of archaeologists claim that they have also discovered traces of an early civilization on the mountain and the nearby area. Bastar is an amazingly beautiful place that has a lot more such secrets hidden.
It is time for the government to look into these areas that have been neglected for years. Unless the government takes things in control and try to preserve these ancient structures nothing can be done actually.
A lot of damage has already been done to the structures in these areas partly by the ignorant localities who do not know the actual value of these structures and partly by the Maoists who have been ruling these areas for years. If these structures are not preserved now they will be lost forever.
Discovery brings people
The discovery of this idol has attracted a lot of people and experts to these areas that were actually neglected for years now. More and more team of experts are visiting this interesting structure on a regular basis.
As most of the structures that we see in India it is difficult to believe that how such a huge idol of Ganpati was built and put up in such a great height.
Even today it is difficult for normal humans to reach that spot. Was it built for worshipping or there was some other reason to build this idol at such a great height.
The Advanced Technology
Definitely it was not possible for the normal people to visit this idol on a daily basis as the terrain in which it is located is a tough climb for people no matter what age they are. How many years must have taken to build this idol is also not known.
This idol is fixed to the ground so it is quite possible that there was a huge stone located on the top of the Dholkal Mountain and that stone was cut to give the form of Lord Ganpati. The idol is still in a very good condition and not much damage has happened to it.
The idol is actually placed in the open and is exposed to rain and heat. There is no trace of puja being performed for the idol. Maybe it was left abandoned for many years now.
This is again very interesting. So much effort and money must have been put in the making of this idol. What happened that it was left abandoned and no one even went to this place in thousands of years? The idol was made and then left to be neglected.
No one even had an idea that a masterpiece of this magnitude is there in some part of the forest. If the local reporter had not spotted it even today it would remain unknown. The aim of making an idol is to ensure that worshipers visit regularly and get blessed.
What is the point of making an idol in a spot that will never be visited by anyone and will remain neglected forever?
As you can see in the images attached it is impossible to reach this spot for a common man. Even professional rock climbers may find it difficult to reach this spot then what was the intention of building this idol here.
How did the artists reach this spot is again an interesting point to be considered. Imagine a team of artists climbing this mountain thousands of years back to build an idol that would perhaps not be worshiped by anyone.
There are many more such mysteries that surround this unique idol. A lot more study of the idol and the paces near the idol must be conducted before we can explain why and how this gigantic Ganpati idol was built in this remote location.
Detailed Sculpture
The idol is made well and with a lot of detailing. The idol is also 21 feet wide. In 1934 the Dholkal Mountain was spotted by a British Geologist named CrookShank.
However, interestingly he did not mention anything in this report about a Ganpati idol of this size situated on the top of the mountain. This makes it even more surprising that why CrookShank missed out the Ganpati all together and did not mention anything about it.
After this discovery was made the reports of CrookShank were again checked but there was no mention in them about this idol and its location. It is not clear why CrookShank did not mention about the idol when he wrote his report.
Some experts on Hinduism have a belief that it is the same spot where a huge battle was fought between Ganpati and Parshuram. Parshuram was a devotee of Lord Shiva he once decided to visit the lord.
As he was about to enter Kailash Ganpati stopped him. Lord Shiva had told Ganpati to ensure that no one comes to disturb him as he wanted to rest for a while. Ganpati stopped Parshuram. They both got into a terrible fight.
Parshuram threw his axe at Ganpati. Ganpati knew that the axe was given by his father Shiva so he did not counter attack it with another weapon. Instead he put forward his tusk. The tusk broke and fell on the ground along with the axe.
The tusk was covered with blood. This is the story behind why Ganpati has one broken tusk. This is the fight that many believe actually happened in these areas. Maybe the idol was made in order to make people know that it was here that the famous fight actually happened and it was not made for worship.
Perhaps the discovery of this Ganpati idol is a call to the government and the other authorities of India to take Bastar seriously and to preserve all the interesting and ancient architecture that can be found here.
There is a good scope to develop these areas into tourist’s hubs that can help the economy of these areas. Many locals claim that there are many more such interesting places in the dense forests of Bastar but they will not reveal about these places to others as it will attract a lot of people to these areas and that can be even worse for these structures as they feel the archaeologists will start digging these structures and can harm the forests.
The local people are mostly not very educated and they do not know what archaeology is about and how important these structures are to understand the history of these places.
We hope that the local people show more maturity in their action and faith in the government so that we can get to know about more such interesting structures that are hidden in these areas. This idol is indeed an interesting discovery and is a must see for those who are planning a trip to these areas.
There are actually very few such old idols left in India that are still intact and untouched. Perhaps that is why it was built in such a spot that no one will be able to harm it.