Rashtrakutas’ heritage Sirival to get ancient monument site tag

Town, with 46 monuments bearing Panchatantra tales, will add lustre to state’s tourist circuit

Sirival, located on the banks of Bhima river in Yadgir district near Shahapura, is a small town which boasts of 46 monuments bearing Panchatantra tales that date back to the Rashtrakutas. The town, also known previously as Dakshina Kashi, will soon be declared as the state’s newest ancient monument site, adding yet another attraction to its tourist circuit.

A proposal to this end has already been sent to the government by the Department of Archaeology, Museums, and Heritage. The proposal envisages conservation and restoration of the temple town with 46 ancient structures that include five stepped wells, seven koshthagaras (granaries), and 34 temples.

When contacted, the department brass confirmed the proposal. If approved,the ancient monument status would be a major boost to conservation efforts, they said.

The Rashtrakutas ruled from 8-10 century AD. Manyakheta, i.e.the present Malkhed in Sedam taluk in the same district, was their capital. Theirs was the largest among the ancient kingdoms of south India. It extended up to the Narmada in the north, the Cauvery in the south, the Arabian Sea in the west, and included a part of present day Andhra Pradesh in the east. The age of the Rashtrakutas was a bright epoch in the history of Karnataka. Art and literature flourished under them. Kavirajmarga, the first literary work in Kannada poetics, generally credited to Nrupatunga Amoghavarsha I of this dynasty, is a remarkable work from the period.

A RASHTRAKUtAS’ TREASURE TROVE

This is the only site containing such a large group of monuments belonging to the Rashtrakutas’ period. Most of the temples are in a dilapidated condition and are not used for worship. A majority of these are dedicated to Shiva, whereas one temple is dedicated to Surya, and another to the Jain faith. But the sculptural representation indicates that Vaishnavism also played an important role. Sculptures in relief carved on the monuments are mainly narrative in nature. Among them, sculptures depicting stories from the Panchatantra are very important.

“Once the proposal is cleared, conservation would be carried out in phases after preparing a masterplan as most of the structures are in a dilapidated state,” C G Besthurmath, commissioner, Department of Archaeology, Museums, and Heritage, told Bangalore Mirror.

Adding to Sirival’s allure is the presence in the neighbourhood of Sannati, a Buddhist site, with its ruins of ancient monuments. The Panchatantra inscriptions lend lustre to the artistic marvels of the Rashtrakutas in Sirival. The presence of monuments/sculptures dedicated to different streams of the faith, viz. Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Jainism, is another striking feature.

The state now has 21 heritage cities, including Mysore, Srirangapatna, Bidar, and Gulbarga. Sixteen cities were declared as heritage cities in the 2012-13 budget of then chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda. Though not proposed as a heritage site, Sirival’s status as an ancient monument site will power its conservation.


KNOWN AS DAKSHINA VARANASI

Sirival continued to be an important town during the period of the Chalukyas of Kalyana. An inscription from the site dated 1137 A.D, during the rule of Bhulokamalla Somesvara III, mentions Mahamandalesvara Sovidevarasa (of the Silahara family of Elamela). Sovidevarasa appears to have been governing Sirival, mentioned as Sirivolal in inscriptions. The town was a famous Shaiva centre and was known as southern Varanasi (Dakshina Varanasi), home of religion (Dharmada Mane) and the first or earliest town (Adi Pattana). The archaeological remains at the site indicate that it was in continuous occupation at least from the Rashtrakutas’ period till the present day.