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Munda was a Chero king and Francis Buchanan and Martin were wrong in thinking that he had established the image of the Goddess Mundesvari. The aboriginal tribes in this part of the country are more prone to worship the female deities and there can be no wonder that Shaktism flourished with the Chero kings and the deity of Mundesvari, representing Shakti, came to be worshipped as the principal deity of the temple, where she was a minor image at one time. The history of the temples in India shows that very few images installed in the central position have been subordinated to other deities fixed in the niches.
Recent Discovery at the Site :-
Interestingly, a few years back noted BHU historian I S Roy found a Ceylonese seal while walking on a field adjacent to the hill near Mundeshwari temple. The pyramid-shaped stone seal with inscriptions in Brahmi script along with photograph also find mention in one of Roy's articles in a Numismatic Society of India journal published in 2004.
Maharaja Dutthagamani (101-77 BC), a powerful independent king of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), had constructed a great stupa and a large assembly of priests attended its consecration ceremony in the Mundeshwari hills. According to experts, the seal acted as passport for Ceylonese pilgrims and ensured safe passage during their long journey through various kingdoms to Buddhist pilgrimage centres in India. Experts believe that earlier routes to Buddhist centres at Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh and Kapilvastu in Nepal were via Mundeshwari temple in Bihar's Kaimur district.
To be continued...