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Witnessing the ruins of the important historical site made me wonder about the neglect of our heritage which lie scattered in different parts of the country. I wanted to know more about the History of the Tilkeshwarsthana temple and about the author of the inscription. The residents and visitors whom I met at Tilkeshwar Sthan temple could not satisfy my curiosity. However, I was informed that the inscription was in ‘Mithilakshara’ or the Mithila script, and that it had been copied by some scholar who had earlier visited from Darbhanga. No further details were then available. After conclusion of the visit, I began on my quest for learning more about the Tilkeshwar Sthana temple from available documents and other possible sources, and it still continues. A proper study of the temple seems to have the potential to reveal more details about the early history of this flood prone region, upon proper excavation and study. Here I would like to share the references which I could find about the temple and its inscription from certain sources that I could lay my hands upon. I will also briefly describe the temple as it exists today, along with a brief history of the Karnata rulers of Mithila, in whose reign the temple is believed to have been erected.
In the search for references about the historicity of the temple I firstly consulted the Darbhanga Gazetteer (1967), which mentioned “There is a Shiva temple at Tilkeshwarasthan, ten miles from Kusheswar Asthan. A mela is held in the month of Sravan and on every Monday people assemble there to worship Shiva. About ten thousand people visit the temple.”
The ruins of the erstwhile Temple and its door panel suggested that in remote antiquity the place must have been very important. The features of sculpture associated with the place were not to be found even at Kusheshwar Sthana Temple nearby which definitely appeared to be a more modern construction with very little remaining from its ancient edifices. The temple of Tilkeshwar Sthana contained some specimens of sculpture dated to the 13th century A.D.
(See the figurines sculpted in the door panel in slides)
To be continued....