Introduction

Tripura, one of the eight states in the North-East India, is an abode of natural beauty. Spread out
through its uneven terrain, there are many gems of the princely state of Tripura which unfolds the
history in front of us. One such historical monuments is the Bhuvaneshwari Temple in Udaipr, the
headquarter of the Gomati district.

Historical and Cultural Significance

There are numerous folk-tales about the temple. A popular folk-tale is that there used to be human
sacrifices every new moon in the antiquity. Devi Bhuvaneshwari had been satisfied with human
blood. Apart from this, numerous goats and buffaloes were also sacrificed here.
At the invitation of Maharaja Birchandra Manikya, Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore came to
Tripura and here, this temple of Bhuvaneshwari devi inspired him to write the novel ‘Rajarshi’.
Watching the Gomati river being drenched by the blood from sacrifices, a little girl asked Maharaja
Gobinda Manikya - 'এত ো রক্ত কেন?' (‘Why so much blood?’) – this founded the base for Tagore’s
famous novel ‘Rajarshi’ (1887). Startled by this simple yet deep question by the little girl, the king
realized the flaw in the tradition of sacrifice and ordered a complete ban on animal sacrifice in the
kingdom. The rest is about the effect this decision had on the king and the kingdom. The Head priest
of Tripura, Raghupati was completely unhappy with King's decision and decided to teach him a
lesson by plotting Manikya's assassination bringing in confidence king's dim-witted brother
Nakshatra Rai and his own adopted son Jai Singha. Jai Singha was an indecisive, confused, dim-
witted and day-dreaming character who took all his life’s decisions by asking the statue of the deity.
Nakshatra Rai was comical character who was afraid of Raghupati. Raghupati was a strong willed
person, resembling Chanakya. He formed alliance with Muslim ruler and used his army to attack the
kingdom of Tripura. At the end, Raghupati realized his fault and driven by guilt and rage, threw the
statue of the deity into the river. Till now, there is no statue in the temple. ‘Rajarshi’, literally
meaning the amalgamation of a ‘Raja’ (King) and a ‘Rishi’ (Saint), depicts the transformation of
Maharaja Gobinda Manikya into the Saint-King. Born a king, Gobinda Manikya passes through
various phases of sacrifice and self-realization to find peace. Rabindranath splendidly delved into the
depths of the human psyche and brought out the gems that rejuvenate the mind with its inner
beauty. In 1890, Rabindranath wrote the drama ‘Bisarjan’ based on the novel ‘Rajarshi’. Thus,
Bhuvaneshwari temple had been immortalized through the works of Tagore not only in Tripura but
in the entire world.
Time changed. The capital of Tripura shifted from Udaipur to Agartala. Later, monarchy
ended and Tripura became a state of democratic India. In the flow of time, Bhuvaneshwari temple
started to lose its nobility gradually. Now, there is no idol in the temple, there is no tradition of
sacrifice, Raghupati, Jai Singha are forgotten history. Currently, the govt. of Tripura started
renovating the temple premises with an objective to attract tourists.

Architectural Significance

The temple was built in between 1667 - 1676 A.D., during the reign of Maharaja Govinda Manikya.
The temple is constructed on a 3 feet high paved terrace. The roof features the typical Char-chala (4
slanted roof) style with stupa like crowns on the entrance and core chambers. The stupa on core
chamber is adorned with floral motifs are exquisite.
The architecture of the temple is influenced by the art of Bengal, which was mainly religious
in nature and was expressed through the medium of temples. These brick temple architectures form
one of the most distinctive groups of sacred monuments in India. The temples constitute a coherent
series in their architecture and sculpture, characteristically expressed mainly in brick and terracotta.
There were four different types of construction prevalent in this area in 17th Century –
 Traditional Style
 Hut Style
 Pinnacled Style
 Flat Roof Style
Bhuvaneshwari temple is an example of Hut style architecture. A simple form of domestic hut is
been reproduced in case of hut style temples. The struts supporting the gable ends and bamboo
framing done for the walls are often reproduced as a decorative feature in brick temples. Even the
bamboo rafters on which the thatch rests in case of hut mat be reproduced on the inner vault and
supporting poles on the inner vault. This design is referred to as Ek-bangla or Do-chala. Two such
huts, one as a porch in front of the other as shrine constitute as Jor-bangla or Char-chala design. This
is the most distinctive contribution of Bengali art to temple architecture.

Another reason behind the imitation of vernacular hut form for temple construction was the
evolution of local cults that occurred during the same period. Most of the local deities in this region
which were worshiped in huts, when transformed incorporating the services of Brahmins, were
housed in brick temples copying its original form. This progression from mud and thatch to brick was
later continued in stucco and concrete construction.
 If on the roof of a Char-chala temple, a miniature temple is built then the temple is called as
Aat-chala. This typical hut form when imitated in bricks or stone the result is more decorative than
utilitarian. For construction of a Char-chala roof, a square plan is covered internally by a dome on
pendentives to give it a hut shaped roof. In case of Aat-chala temples on elongated base, the
chamber roof extends lengthwise from a central dome on arches and narrow corbelled vaults. Do-
chala design is also supported on similar type of large vault with curved ridges and lower edges
construction. This type of construction was also used for porches of Aat-chala temples. Blue-prints of
different types of Hut style roofs are illustrated below –

Even though Jor-bangla or Char-chaala design was developed from Ek-bangla or Do-chaala,
examples of latter very rarely exist. During the Mughal period Do-chala roof should have been taken
up by Muslims, and even exported to other parts of India, where it became a prominent feature of
seventeenth century architecture of Delhi, Lahore, Gulburg, from where it passed in the eighteenth
century on to the palace balconies and garden pavilions of Rajashtan. In this region, this form was
majorly used for entrance gateways to temple enclosures or for subsidiary buildings.
Due to abundant availability of good alluvial soil and scarcity of stones, temples were rarely
built with or faced with stone in this region. The temple was built with well-fired bricks. These brick
sizes vary not only from region to region and from century to century but also within the same
building. Mortar used for laying brick was made from mixture of powdered brick and lime. Very hard
Pankha plaster was done on roofs. Vaults and walls of plaster were made from snail lime mixed with
river sand. Bricks are laid as stretchers, with half bricks to fill the gaps and avoid successive vertical
joints. Different shapes of bricks are used such as long thin bricks laid edgewise as framing bands,
triangular bricks as filling pieces and flat plaques coordinated in large scale sculptural compositions,
these all carefully interlock. Vaults and domes are also created with bricks laid as stretchers. In
arches, bricks are cut to form tapering voussoirs. Curved layers of brickwork are employed to create
vaults as well as swelling contours of temple cornices and roofs. Bricks are laid diagonally to
decorate supporting arches and pendentives.