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One has to leave the vehicles on the channel crossing itself and then venture into the riverine island. The boat we used for crossing the channel was unique and of an ingenious type. It was sliding on a rope tied at both ends of the channel. Motorcycles are available on the other side of the river, as they are often carried on boats. With these motorcycles one can reach the Temple of Tilkeshwar Sthana after a very bumpy ride in the uneven flood lands. The villagers who stay nearby usually stay in thatched huts, and stay there only for a part of the year when the lands are not flooded and cultivation can be done. On an enquiry, the Tilkeshwar temple was stated to be very ancient and visited by a large number of pilgrims, and inspired me to take a detour from usual work and make a visit.
A visit to the temple made it imminent that the temple at Tilkeshwar Sthana was very important from the historical viewpoint, since it housed several archaeological remnants, and contained an inscription which I could not immediately decipher, since the script appeared to be ancient. From the first impressions that formed in my mind after a brief perusal of the inscription and sculptures on the doorframe and the adjacent ruins, the temple site was suggestive of having been quite important and famous in earlier times. It made me wonder as to why the temple was located in such a place. I tried to find out whether the annual flooding was an ancient phenomenon and had it been so, why would the builder have chosen such a location. If indeed the annual flooding was an ancient feature, then the builder should have made the temple elsewhere for the convenience of the devotees. However that the builder chose to construct the temple there itself signifies that some rare merit must have been associated with the site. The name of ‘Tilkeshwar Nath’ used for the installed lingam of Lord Shiva seems to have been an ancient one. The exact myths behind the site need further exploration.
To be continued.....