The Chhattisgarh region is traditionally connected with various episodes of the Mahabharata. The Bastar region was known as Mahakantara during this period. The Lakshagraha (house of lac) where the Kauravas planned the Pandavas' assassination was apparently situated here. After the Mahabharata war, the Pandavas' successors occupied the Chhattisgarh region. Sirpur, an important ancient archaeological site, is believed to have been the capital of Bhabrubahana, Arjuna's son with Chitrangada. The Panduvamshi dynasties of Mekala and Kosala that ruled the region during the sixth-eighth century CE claim their descent from the Pandavas.
The depiction of the Pandavas and the Mahabharata scenes are not very frequent in Indian art. Whereas several places across India are associated with the Mahabharata, there is a lack of tangible evidence to confirm whether these associations are recent fabrications or part of the tradition in early and medieval Indian history. We are fortunate to have some evidence from Chhattisgarh suggesting that the association of the region with the Mahabharata was also in vogue during the medieval period.
A few temples constructed during the Kalachuri period of the 11th-13th century CE are decorated with friezes depicting the Pandavas worshipping a Shivalinga. The Deur Shiva temple in Gandai village of Rajanandgaon district was built during the 12th-13th century CE. A lintel panel above the garbha-griha doorway has Nandi over a pedestal in the middle of the panel. Behind the Nandi emerges a linga. Two acharyas are standing on either side, worshipping the linga. Three figures stand on the left side of the linga: Dharmaraja Yudhishthira holding a flower, Bhima holding his gada (club), and Arjuna holding his bow and arrow. On the right side of the linga stand four figures: Nakula and Sahadeva holding shields, Kunti and Draupadi. Trees and animals are depicted at the panel's terminals, suggesting a forest environment and setting. All the human figures have label inscriptions, reading the personal names of the Pandavas, engraved below, leaving no doubt about their identities.
The Sita Devi temple at Deorbija in the Durg district also carries a similar door lintel. Sitting without a pedestal, Nandi is placed in the middle of the lintel. Behind and above Nandi emerges a linga. On the right of the linga are shown seven figures, the five Pandava brothers with Kunti and Draupadi. Here Dharmaraja assumes the priesthood and offers worship to the linga. On Nandi's left are ten figures, one priest and nava-grahas (nine planets). Though the frieze does not carry any label inscription, however, the Pandava brothers are shown carrying their respective weapons, leaving no doubt about their identities.
While the Gandai and Deorbija temples depict the Pandavas in the prominent lintel space, a few other temples place them in less prominent places. The Vishnu Temple at Jangir in the Janjgir-Champa district has a frieze panel embedded in its platform depicting the three Pandava brothers worshipping a linga. This panel shows Nandi over a pedestal with a linga emerging from his back. Dharmaraja holding a flower, Bhima holding a gada, and Arjuna holding a bow and arrow are standing on the left of the linga. A priest is standing on the right, officiating the worship. A similar panel, however, smaller in size than the above, is found over the door jambs embedded in the Ratanpur Fort. This panel shows Nandi over a pedestal, worshipped by two people, each standing on either side. Around the panel are distributed six figures, three on each side. All are shown seated with folded hands. One cannot be certain of the identity of these due to the dire state of the panel, but they could be the Pandavas.
Worshipping Nandi with a linga was certainly a prominent decoration element during the late Kalachuri period. However, did it also serve some political narrative or indicate a specific episode from the Mahabharata? As Kunti is shown in the panels along with the Pandava brothers, we can rule out this episode happening during their exile or the Himalayan journey after the war as, on both occasions, Kunti did not accompany them. The forest environs of the Gandai panel suggest this event took place in a forest. One possibility could be that this episode occurred after the Pandavas escaped from the Lakshagraha and hid in a forest in Bastar. In this regard, we can also consider local legends that place the episode of Bhima's marriage with Hidimba at Bhimkhoj (Khallari) in Chhattisgarh. Thus, the presence of the Pandavas and these legends are reminiscences of the prevalent traditions during the late Kalachuri period.
SAURABH SAXENA
Founder of Puratattva, a documentation of heritage sites
(puratattva.india@gmail.com)