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Sonepur, in ancient times, was known asSuvarnapura, when it was the capital of Kosala*,under the Somavamsis (c.A.D. 885 – 1110) andTelugu-Coda kings (c. A.D. 1070 – 1113). Beinga stronghold of Tantrik-Buddhism, it was alsoreferred to as (Pascima) Lanka in the TantrikBuddhist literatures.1

The region had the strategic locationaladvantage of playing host to a number of powerfuldynasties in their initial formative years. They havemade remarkable contributions in the field of artand architecture during their tenures which haveglorified the history and culture of not only theregion but also the present State and the country.

In the “Kosalananda Kavyam” writtenby Sri Gangadhara Mishra in the 17th century,Sonepur has been placed at par with Varanasi.2It is said that there were one hundred and eighttemples in the town and the adjacent area.However, there are fewer temples, small and big,now in survivable condition in the presentSonepur town and its vicinity.

During the time of Kharavela (c. 1st

century B.C.), the Cedis ruled this region,probably with their capital at Suktimatipura(identified with the village Sakma)3, on the bank

Saiva Images of Sonepur

Sangeeta Mishra

of the river Suktimati (identified with Suktel).The valley of this river, which flows down theGandhamardan hills and meets the Tel nearSonepur, is full of ancient ruins. The Satavahanaking Gautamiputra Satakarni (c. A.D. 106 –130), apparently took over the reins ofadministration in the second century A.D and quitepossibly the area under discussion remained underthe control of the Satavahana dynasty. After theSatavahanas, a regional dynasty called theMaghas probably ruled over the territory fromthe middle of the 2nd century A.D. to the firstquarter of the 4th century A.D. In the middle ofthe 4th century A.D. Sonepur quite likely cameunder the control of Samudragupta (mid 4th

century A.D.). The Nalas (c. A.D. 400 – 500),the Vakatakas and the Sarabhapuriyas (c. A.D.500 - 700) probably had their sway over thisterritory after the Guptas, though their authorityover Sonepur requires further studies. It probablycame under the Bhanjas (c. mid 8th and 9th

century A.D.) who acted as the feudatories ofthe Bhaumakaras (A.D. 736 – 923) of Tosaliaround mid 8th century A.D. with Dhrtipura asthe centre of administration and the capital ofUbhaya Khinjali Mandala, north and south ofthe Mahanadi corresponding to Boudh andSonepur region respectively.4 It remained underthe Bhanjas for about a century and passed under

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the Somavamsis during the rule of Ranabhanja inthe middle of the 9th century A.D. Janmejaya (c.A.D. 885 – 925), the first Somavamsi king madeSonepur the temporary capital.5 His son andsuccessor Mahasivagupta Yayati I (c. A.D. 925– 955) shifted the capital to Vinitapura, identifiedwith modern Binika6; about 30 kilometers fromSonepur which continued as such till it was shiftedto Yayatinagara. Very likely, Sonepur remainedas the military headquarter of the Somavamsis.When Yayatinagara was demolished by RajendraCola7, Candihara (c. A.D. 1021 – 1040), thegreat grandson of Yayati I was invited to thethrone of the Somavamsis who was consecratedat Sonepur, sanctified by the holy water of theMahanadi and the Tel. When the Kalacuriscreated problem, Yayati II made Sonepur theprovincial head-quarter of Kosala, the westernpart of Somavamsi kingdom. The Sonepurcharter8 of Kumara Somesvara reveals that thisregion was also known as Pascima Lanka withits capital at Sonepur. The Somavamsi regime inSonepur came to an end in A.D. 1070 after thedefeat of Yuvaraja Dharmaratha by the Telugu-Coda lieutenant Yasoraja I9. This ushered in therule of a new dynasty in the Sonepur region. TheTelugu-Coda rule continued for about 45 yearsuntill Somesvara III. Then came the Kalacuris(A.D. 1114 to 1220), who were the supremerulers of Sonepur, for more than a century, a factcorroborated by the Kalacuri coins10 found in thevicinity of Sonepur. During this period they hadto continuously fight with the Gangas of Odisha(c. A.D. 1078 – 1434). At last the Gangassucceeded in overthrowing the Kalacuri rule byA.D. 1220.11 The Ganga rule after Bhanudeva I(A.D. 1264 – 1279) started declining consequentupon which the local chiefs and feudatories likethe Cauhans of Patna, Bhanjas of Boudh andmany other small dynasties probably assumed

independent status. Wading through the troubledwaters during this period of turmoil, first theBhanjas of Boudh12 and then the Cauhans ofPatna took over Sonepur. The Cauhan rulecontinued in Sonepur region till the State mergedwith the modern Odisha in 1948.

The present standing temples at Sonepurwhich have been built during the A.D. 17th/18th

century, belong to the Cauhans. These templesare interesting for their peculiar architecturalfeatures. However, there are evidences toestablish that temples also existed here muchearlier than the Cauhans. Epigraphic sourcesrecord the donation made to different templesduring the Somavamsi period.13 That there weretemples in earlier period is further corroboratedby the numerous detached sculptures, presentlyseen at Sonepur, which, stylistically belong toearlier period. Some of the publications14 ofSonepur Durbar also state that building materialsof old temples have been re-used in theconstruction of the present standing temples atSonepur. All of them are adorned with numerousdetached sculptures of varying sizes which areconsiderably older than the temples where theyare found now. A discussion on the Saivite imagesfound at Sonepur is given below.Siva

Though Lord Siva is mostly worshippedin his phallic form, His images are found in theniches, on the interior and exterior wall of theSaivite temple as well as in the Vaisnavite temples.The images of Siva are found in the niches of themukhasala of Suvarnameru temple, in theGundica temple, and Dadhivamana temple. In theabove temples Lord Siva is found standing withfour arms. He holds a battle-axe and a deer inHis uplifted backhands and His front arms exhibitvarada and abhaya mudra. His head is covered

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by a serpent hood. His eyes are half closed,wearing a serpent on His body. A differentdepiction of Siva is found in the niches of thekanika paga of the mukhasala of theSuvarnameru temple. The four armed deity is herefound sitting on the bull, holding battle axe andsword in His uplifted back hands and trident anddrum in His front hands wearing a deer skin. Heis found with all usual ornaments. The mostimportant feature of this icon is the depiction ofHis third eye on His forehead. Apart from theseimages enshrined in the niches, Lord Siva is foundin philanthropic form as the presiding deity of thePancharatha temple. Sitting in padmasana, thetwo-armed deity displays varada mudra in Hisright hand and holds a trident in left. His mountBull is found below the pedestal.

NatarajaThe Nataraja Siva as the Lord of dance

frequently occurs in the temple sculpture ofOdisha, in its artistic excellence. At Sonepur, theimage of Nataraja Siva is found in the south-eastcorner of the Chandana mandapa of theSuvarnameru temple. The four-armed deity isdepicted here dancing on a corpse. He holds abattle-axe and a deer in His uplifted right and left

hand respectively,while His front righthand holds atrident and lefthand holds a drum.He is attended byan image of Visnuwith two armsholding conch anddisc, to his right.The Natarajaimage is foundcanopied by a

serpent hood. He is seen with jatamukuta andbulging eyes. He wears sarpa-yajnopavita,sarpa-kundala and sarpa-armlet. In His left,Goddess Parvati is present and in His right, Hismount bull, both of them watching the dance withwonder. Iconographically, this image can beassigned to early Chauhan period viz., c. 15th

century A.D. An image of an eight-armedNataraja is fixed to the wall to the left of theentrance of the Jagamohana of the Gopaljitemple. The deity is seen performing cosmic dancein katisama mode and is urdhvalinga. All Hisarms are broken except the upper two in whichHe is holding the snake, raised over His head.His vahana Nandi is standing behind His rightleg and is looking up at His master. The right legis slightly raised. A male attendant is seen standingbehind His left leg. The deity has a talljatamukuta. The image is thickly coated with limeto make out any other details. Stylistically theimage is datable to 12th century A.D.

Chandra SekharaIt is one of the most important images of

Lord Siva, rarely found in Western Odisha. InSonepur, only one image of Chandra Sekhara isfound in the front gate of the mukhasala of theDadhivamana temple. It is a four-armed standingimage, holding a deer and trident in His upliftedhands and battle-axe and deer in the front lowerhands. His head is found under the head of asnake, where from the celestial river Ganga isflowing. The crescent moon appears above Hishead. He wears a tiger skin and a serpent sacredthread, a snake as a garland and another asearrings. He is flanked by Parvati, His consort inthe left and His mount bull in the right side.

Hari-haraHari-hara images are found in the Gopalji

temple and Chandra Sekhara temple. It is a

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composite image of both Siva and Visnu, havingfour arms sitting cross-legged on a pedestal.Drawn and trident appear in the upper and lowerleft hands while wheel and conch appear in upperand lower right hands. The former are thecharacteristic attributes of Siva where as latterare that of Visnu. Two female images found sittingon the thighs are probably their consorts Laksmiand Parvati. In the Hara part of the image i.e., theleft side have jatamukuta, sarpa-armlets, sarpa-kundala etc. whereas the Hari part i.e., the rightside have kiritamukuta, makara kundala,armlets, decorated girdles etc. This is definitelyan outcome of Saivism and Vaisnavism.

ParvatiBeing a Saivite deity, the images of Parvati

are found only in Saiva temples at Sonepur.Usually, She is enshrined in the northern niche ofthe temple as the parsvadevata. But Herattributes differ from temple to temple. Her imageis found with four arms, sitting on a pedestal inlalitasana. Under the pedestal Her mount lion ispresent. She used to hold pasa and ankusa inHer uplifted back hands and Her front lowerhands are seen in varada and abhaya mudra.She is embellished with necklace, armlets,bracelets etc. Such images are found in PaschimaSomanatha and Gokarnesvara temple. The imageof Parvati found in the northern niche of the

Suvarnameru temple isseated cross legged,having four arms,holding trident anddrawn in Her upliftedhands and Her frontalarea display varadaand abhaya mudra.She is also seen assimhavahini in the

mukhasala wall of the same temple. But in thePancharatha temple, Parvati is seen with a totallydifferent look. Here the four-armed standing deityis worshipped separately. She is holding a conch,a Ketaki flower, a trident and the fourth arm isdisplaying varada mudra. Another sculpture ofParvati, locally known as Bhuvanesvari ishoused in a small shrine inside the Suvarnamerutemple complex, to the north of the main temple.This four-armed deity is seated in padmasana.In Her upper left and right hands, She is holdingpasa and ankusa while Her lower left and righthands display abhaya and varada mudra. Sheis wearing a karandamukuta on Her head. Thisimage is a classic example of early Cauhan art of15th century A.D.

KartikeyaThe images of Kartikeya are generally

found in Saivatemple where Heappears as theparsvadevata ofthe Western side.The images ofKartikeya arefound in standingposition. The four-armed deity holdsa spear in Hisupper right handand drum in lefthand. His lower left hand is seen patting thepeacock, his mount. Such images are found inthe western niche of the Suvarnameru andRamesvara temple. Kartikeya worshipped inPancharatha temple gives a different look, thanthe above description. Here the deity is shownwith two arms, holding a bow in His left arm andHis right arm is in varada mudra. His mount

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peacock is standing on the right side. The mostinteresting image of Kartikeya at Sonepur is foundin a small shrine within the compound of theSuvarnameru temple, serving as a parsvadevata.Here He is depicted with six heads and two arms.In His right hand He holds a trident and a bell inHis left hand. His mount peacock stands on Hisbackside. Another small six-headed Kartikeya isfound housed in a small shrine in the VrindavanaVihari temple. Here the four-armed deity is seenriding His mount. There is another Kartikeyaimage presently housed in the Suvarnamerutemple compound which deserves special mentionhere. The four-armed Kartikeya image is heavilybe-jeweled with ornaments like keyura,kankana, katimekhala, hara, kundalas etc.While His upper hand is seen holding a danda,the object in His left hand is unclear. The lowerleft hand is seen holding a cock, where as theright one is in varadamudra, touching the headof His vahana peacock, who is seated near Hisleft leg. Below the cock is carved a diminutivelady figure (Devasena?) standing in tribhanga.This image can be dated to 11th century A.D. Thisbeautiful detached sculpture must have served aspart of a temple.Ganesa

In Hindu iconography, Ganesa has atypical physique. It appears frequently in thetemples of Sonepur. His images are found not onlyin the Saivite temples but also in Sakta andVaisnavite temples. He appears in the southernniche of almost all temples as parsvadevata andon the doorlintel. The deity is usually found in sittingposture with four arms. He used to hold pasaand ankusa in His upper left and right armsrespectively. In His right front hand He holds ajapamala and in His left hand He holds sweet towhich His proboscis usually touches. His mount

is found belowHim. He is notembellished withlot of ornaments,only a sacredthread appears inHis body andsometimes ac o n i c a lheaddress isnoticed. Suchtypes of imagesare found inDadhivamana, Suvarnameru, PaschimaSomanatha, etc. In the Narayani temple, the imageof Ganesa is found standing embellished withkiritamukuta and sacred thread. And the rest ofthe attributes are the same as described above. Asarpaudara bandha is also found. In theHanumana temple He is found standing facingtowards east. The usual attributes are in respectivehands except the upper hand where He holds atrident. In the Ramachandi temple He occupiesthe southern niche, sitting in lalitasana pose. HereHe holds a mace in right hand and the other handshold the usual ayudhas. In the Pancharatha templeHe is found standing and His mount mouse ispresent below Him. He holds a battle axe and adagger in the upper hands and japamala andsweet in lower hands. The eight-armed Ganesaicons are found in the Suvarnameru, Suresvari,Paschima Somanatha, and Lokanatha temples.Here His consort is seen on His left lap. His righthands hold sword, disc, ankusa and a knife andin His left hands are found bow, mace, pasa anda ghata in top to bottom order. A similar icon ofGanesa is also found in the door lintel of BudhiSamalei temple. A four-armed dancing Ganesa isdepicted in the southern niche of the Khambesvaritemple as parsvadevata. The Gokarnesvara Siva

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temple situated on the right bank of the riverMahanadi, houses three parsvadevata imagesbelonging to some earlier temples. The southernniche houses an image of Ganesa inardhaparyankasana. He is holding trisula andankusa in His uplifted left and right handsrespectively while His lower right hand displaysvarada mudra resting on His raised right knee.His proboscis is turned towards left holding anobject, which is on His left palm. He is also holdingan aksamala in His left hand. A sarpopavita isseen around His body. The deity is embellishedwith jewelries such as waistband, anklet, keyuraand a beautiful karandamukuta, similar to theparsvadevata Ganesa of Suvarnameru temple.Iconographically, the image is datable to 13th

century A.D.

Nandi BhringiThe images of Nandi Bhringi appear

generally as dvarapalas in Saiva temples. Theirimages are found in the entrance gate ofGokarnesvara temple and in the entrance gate ofthe Chandana mandapa of Paschima Somanathatemple. Generally the image of Nandi appears inright side and Bhringi in left side of the door. Theformer has a human face, matted hair, bell hangingin his waist, serpent thread in his body andmoustache. In his right side a wolf is marked andan attendant is present in his left side. This four-armed image is found holding a trident and a swordin his right hands and a drum and shield in his lefthands. The Bhringi has a monkey face. He hastwo arms, holding a Japamala in his right handand a mace in his left hand.

The present Sonepur town may not be infocus in modern context but it bears testimony ofa long and glorious past, corresponding to theliterary accounts which speak volumes of her richcultural and sculptural antiquities.References :1. Orissa District Gazetteer-Balangir, Ed. Nilamani

Senapati, 1968, Cuttack, p.494.

2. Kosalananda Kavyam, Ed. J.K. Sahu, D. Chopdar,2000, Cuttack, 15-56, p.164.

3. P.M. Nayak, The Voice of Silence, 2001,Bhubaneswar, p.11.

4. E.I., Vol.-XI, pp.99-103 ff.

5. O.H.R.J., Vol. XXXIX, pp.92ff.

6. B.K. Ratha, Cultural History of Orissa, 1983, NewDelhi, p.66.

7. E.l., Vol. IX, pp. 223.

8. E.I., Vol. XXVIII, pp.321f

9. N.A.H.O., Vol. I, p.21.

10. O.H.R.J., Vol. I, No. 1, pp.36-40 ff.

11. J.A.S.B. (no series), 1898, Vol. LXVII, pp. 322-26.56

12. E.I., Vol. XXIV, p.277.

13. Ibid.

14. Sasisena Kavya, Gopinath Panigrahi, Preface,1928, p.7.

Sangeeta Mishra, Lecturer, Government Women’sCollege, Puri.