Accordingly, on 28th March, I firstly reached the base of Kherhi hill, situated within the busy marketplace at Shahkund, otherwise a sleepy town. After a strenuous climb, I reached the remains located atop, which on a closer analysis seemed to represent a temple site of utmost religious sanctity in the ancient past. The remnants of sculptures and damaged inscriptions, which left me mesmerised thinking about the faith of those pilgrims who had left their marks in the past, clearly indicated that an esteemed religious centre was flourishing there at least since the Gupta times, and had sometime later been abruptly sacked and destroyed. As I shall be writing in detail about Kherhi in another account, I shall presently continue with my account of the remains at Sultanganj. As I descended after exploring Kherhi, sunset was drawing close, and my mind was immersed in thoughts about the interconnection of such scattered historical sites in the close vicinity of Champa (capital of the ancient Anga Mahajanpada, with remains at Nathnagar, Bhagalpur). As vehicles started moving towards the coveted rocks at Sultanganj, I inquired about the contemporary road conditions, which had been quite dismal in the past.

Built for approach to the Ajgaibinath temple from the mainland by devotees who assembled in large numbers during the rainy season, the new construct struck me as a surprise since on earlier occasions, the paucity of time for organising a boat trip, which was expected to take not less than an hour and half or even more, had always prevented me from having approached the rocks. With the mind immersed in such thoughts, I gradually realised that the group of vehicles had already passed through a crowded marketplace and was approaching the erstwhile rocky ‘island’. It finally halted at the steps marking the entrance to the Ajgaibinath temple, located atop and still maintained by a traditional seat of Mahants, at least since the Mughal times.

To be continued...