Bateshwar and K. K. Muhammad

Bateshwar and K. K. Muhammad

https://ramamohanraocheruku.blogspot.com/2017/03/bateshwar-and-k.html

It is a matter of surprise to know Bateshwar 25 km from Morena town, is an archaeological site comprising about 200 ancient shrines in Morena district, Madhya Pradesh. This site is located on the north-western slope of a range of hills near Padavali, a village about 40 km from Gwalior. The shrines in Bateshwar complex are dedicated mostly to Shiva and a few to Vishnu. The temples are made of sandstone and belong to the 8–10th century A.D. They were built during the reign of Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty, 300 years before Khajuraho temples were built. (Google)

Bata is Vata a Sanskrit word meaning Banyan tree. May be there were Banyan trees aplenty in that area. Bhagwan Eswar being there as an idol would have been named as Bateswar.

VAHANAM VRISHABHOYASYA

VASUKI KANTA BHUSHANAM

VAME SAKTHI DHARAM DEVAM

'VA' KARAYA NAMAO NAMAH

This is quoted by Mr. Muhammad while narrating about the restoration of the said temples. What a great man he is!

Bateshwar is a place as surreal as it gets, not only because of the sheer artistic achievements of those unknown sculptors but so due to the story of resurrection associated with it. But what actually add to the surreal part are the peacocks. The jungles are full of them, and various other birds are also there including parakeets and kingfishers.

It was not one temple but a whole complex of 200 small temples dedicated mostly to Shiva and some to Vishnu. It cannot be authentically told when the decay began but it had been reduced to a pile of rubbles by the 20th century. Local people knew of it and probably preserved some of the folklores through generations but it never received any attention from anyone including scholars and archaeologists.

This situation of hopelessness persisted till 2004 when KK Muhammad, an official from Archaeological Survey of India arrived on the scene and was fascinated by the ruins. Morena happened to be the epicenter of infamous Chambal bandits. Although by that time this menace had been curbed to a large extent, there were still a few operating gangs. Muhammad met and convinced some of them to allow the restoration and offer protection. The process continued and Mr. Muhammad started his work with all his Archeological Survey of India followers along with the help of the bandits. However this chemistry of bureaucracy could not continue for a long. The government slain them for reasons best known to them. By that time the work was in progress and the fragment from the ruins were scouted and matched fragments were united with steel and araldite. 80 of the temples have been faithfully restored after a lot of painful research before the dacoits were shot dead by the Special Task Force (India).   Rest of the artefacts are still lying around the compound. For those who are wondering about the dissipation of bandit gangs were no longer happy as the area surrounded by the hillocks had been overtaken by stone mining mafia. It is us are who are greater enemies of our heritage, whether it is the casual tourists littering and defacing walls or the mafia here bent on obliterating the hills. Hills shake and reverberate with the sounds of explosives.  It was the same place where an IPS officer was run over and the collector shot at. According to Muhammad, several reminders to MP Chief Minister elicited no response forcing him, though being a government officer, he wrote to RSS Chief Sudershan. It was then that the government woke up and created a buffer zone of 750 meters around the site instead of the usual 200 meters. Of course we would never know if other obscure temple sites have already been wiped out before the government gets wise. It is now told that 100 temples are resurrected. Mr. K K Muhammad also retired. Here I shall try to introduce Mr. Muhammad very briefly, He, I opine is a monumental figure in the dense forest of selfish religions for his unflinching gratitude and fidelity for his nation viz. Bharat and its heritage.

Born to illiterate parents in a conventional Muslim family in the village of Koduvally, it was a long and arduous journey that finally led him to international acclaim, national awards and prestigious positions. He wrote a book about himself which is not preeminent as a personal record of the laurels won and the triumphs achieved that this book is significant, but as the memoirs of a road less travelled by, of the conviction and conscience necessary not to stray away from a total commitment to one’s professional ethics, of the loneliness of bold decisions and the joy of doing what is right despite reprimands and setbacks.

 In his own words he says “Sarve Bhavantu SukhinaH… has been my philosophy. I have always been inspired by the Upanishads,” explains the conservationist, who is fluent in Sanskrit and knows important texts like “Manasara Shilpa Shastra” and “Mayamata Vastu Shastra” by heart. “I must have been a Namboodiri in my previous birth,” quips Muhammad.

A big salute to that great man, who did not hesitate to tell to world that there was Ram Temple before the Babri masjid erupted and exhorted to the world about the plots of the leftists to tarnish the image of our culture and impede us to imbibe the legacy.

Swasti.