Amitabha Gupta

“ Purulia district, then known as Manbhum, was transferred to the Chhota Nagpur division of Bihar after the state's creation in 1912. In 1956, it became a part of West Bengal and was renamed Purulia. Though there is barely any written evidence of its ancient history, the most prominent record is that of King Rudra of the Shikhara dynasty who helped the Pala King Ramapala (11th-12th century) of Bengal crush the Varendra rebellion. Ramapala's court poet, Sandhyakar Nandi, mentioned Rudra Shikhara in his epic poem Ramacharitam. ”

“ Many scholars believe that a trade route passed through Purulia. The district's temples and deities are mainly Brahmanical but have Jain influences at several places like Telkupi, Pakbirra, Deulghata, Budhpur and Suissa.
Laden with my photography equipment, I set off to nearby Raghunathpur on the first day. It proves to be a fruitful excursion, with the deul temples of Banda and Para stealing the show. Their architecture has a clear Odisha influence. Para has three temples, the oldest being a stone structure that is 40-foot-high. ”

“ It is a state protected site, with some decorated doorframes inside the temples, and motifs unlike any other in West Bengal. A four-armed idol similar to Kali, a ten-armed goddess and an idol seated on a lotus are all sights to behold. Though locals consider them Hindu idols, in all probability and as believed by many scholars, they are Jain deities. There is also a huge shivalingam inside one of the temple sanctums dating to the eighth or ninth century. ”