Arang, also known as "''The town of temples''" of Chhattisgarh, is a block and a

Nagar Palika In India, a Municipal Council (also known as Municipality, Nagar Palika, or Nagar Palika Parishad) is an Urban Local Body that administers a city of population 100,000 or more. However, there are exceptions to that, as previously Nagar Palikas co ...

Raipur District Raipur district is a district in the Chhattisgarh state of India. Its administrative headquarters is the city of Raipur. The district is rich in mineral resources and there are many wildlife sanctuaries. With a population of 2 million, it is the m ...

in the state of

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...

, India. It is situated near the eastern limits of

Raipur Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Chh ...

City and close to

Mahasamund Mahasamund City is a city in Mahasamund District in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh.It is situated on the Mumbai-Kolkata and Raipur-Vishakhaptnam National Highways. It is one of the largest (ranked 13th) and most important cities in the State ...

City. Arang is an ancient town, which was ruled by the

Haihayas The Heheya Kingdom (also known as Haihaya, Haiheya, Heiheya _sa.html" ;"title="nowiki/> sa">हैहय was a kingdom ruled by the Yadava people, who claimed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. One of the mo ...

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

dynasty. It is famous for its many

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

and

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

temples which belong to the 11th and 12th centuries; these are the Mand Deval Jain temple, the Mahamaya temple, the Panchmukhi temple and the Hanuman temple. Due to the Archaeological finds of a copper plate inscription dated to the

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gol ...

, known as the Arang Plate of Bhimasena II of the clan of Rajarsitulya, has established the town's ancient history as a Hindu and Jain religious centre, which was then under the rule of Hindu kings. The Mand Deval Jain temple is the most ancient of these temples dated to the 11th century where three huge images of

Digambara ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major schools of Jainism, the other being ''Śvētāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic practice of neither possessing n ...

tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a 'ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable passag ...

s are deified in the

sanctum sanctorum The Latin phrase ''sanctum sanctorum'' is a translation of the Hebrew term ''קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים'' (Qṓḏeš HaQŏḏāšîm), literally meaning Holy of Holies, which generally refers in Latin texts to the holiest place of th ...

; these are carved in black stone and polished. Raja Muraddhawaja, Muratdhawaja, Arang, Mandiro ka shahar

Economic activity in the town is mostly related to small scale industries of rice and pulse mills, and many types of forest products. Religious tourism is receiving attention.

History

The name Arang is formed of two words ''ara'' meaning "

saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mo ...

" and ''anga'' meaning "body". According to a legend, god

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

appeared disguised as a Brahmin before ''king Murddhawaja (Mordhwaj)'' of the Haihaya dynasty. The pious king offered him whatever dakshina he wanted. The disguised Brahmin asked for one half of the king's body. The king immediately ordered that he be sawed off, and one half given as dakshina. As he was about to be cut in half, a tear drop fell from one of the eyes. The Brahmin asked the king if the tear drop reflected his regret in accepting his request. The king replied no, adding that the half of the body which he did not ask for weeps as it too would like to be a part of the dakshina. Krishna then revealed himself and blessed the king for his devotion. Arang was ruled in ancient times by the

dynasty. Archaeological finds establishes that the town had an ancient history as the centre of

and

religious faiths. Arang also finds mention in the Hindu epic ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

''. An archaeological antiquary in the form a copper plate inscription dated to the

Gupta period The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gol ...

, known as the Arang Plate of Bhimasena II of the clan of Rajarsitulya was unearthed at Arang. It attests to the reign of this dynasty over Chhattisgarh, particularly of Bhimasena II and five rulers who preceded him. It is inferred that they were vassals of the

. Archaeological finds in Arang also included few Jain images made of gem stones, which are now preserved in the Digambar Jain temple at Raipur. Another historical legend attributed to Arang in particular, and Chhattisgarh in general, relates to the princess Chandini and her lover Lorik. This legend is in the form of folk-poetry which is widely sung in the state. A memorial statue in their honour exists near Arang.

Geography and climate

Arang, a prosperous ancient town, known for its many

and

temples, is located on the west bank of the

Mahanadi River The Mahanadi is a major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around and has a total length of . Mahanadi is also known for the Hirakud Dam. The river flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha and finally merged with Bay o ...

, a

, at . It has an average elevation of . It is from

National Highway 53 The following highways are numbered 53: Cambodia * National Road 53 (Cambodia) Canada * Alberta Highway 53 India * National Highway 53 (India) Ireland * N53 road (Ireland) Italy * Autostrada A53 (Italy), Autostrada A53 Japan * Japan Natio ...

(N.H.53), a four lane expressway to

Durg Durg is a city in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, east of the Shivnath River and is part of the Durg-Bhilai urban agglomeration. With an urban population of 1,064,077, Durg-Bhilai is the second largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after Raipur ...

passing through Arang. It is from

city. There is also a four lane road from Arang to Tumgaon. The nearest airport is the

Raipur Airport Swami Vivekananda International Airport (referred as VARP until February 2018), formerly known as Mana Airport, is a major airport serving the state of Chhattisgarh, India. It is the busiest airport in Central India and the busiest in Chhattis ...

situated near Mana Camp, which is away from Arang. Arang Is located beside

that connects

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Climate

According to the Köppen-Geiger classification, Arang has a Temperate or subtropical hot-summer climate with nomenclature as

Cwa CWA or Cwa may refer to: Organisations * CWA Constructions, a Swiss manufacturer of gondolas and people mover cabins, a division of Doppelmayr Garaventa Group * Catch Wrestling Association, a former German professional wrestling promotion * Contin ...

. The average annual

rainfall Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

is with July and August recording the maximum. The average

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...

is with a maximum of and a minimum of . June is the hottest month of the year with average temperature of and January recording the lowest.

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, Arang had a population of 16,593. Males constituted 51% of the population and females 49%. Arang had an average literacy rate of 64%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 60% of the males and 40% of females literate. 16% of the population is under 6 years of age. As of 2011, the population reported was 19,091, an increase of 1.3% over the 2001 figure, which gives a density figure of 812.7/km² over the Nagar Panchayat area of .

Economy

Economic activity is in the form of small scale industries of rice and pulses mills. It is a commercial town where various types of forest products are marketed in Earlier Days. Arang is one of the three locations chosen for community development in its Chandkhuri development block.

Temples

Arang has many Jain and Hindu temples that are dated to the 11th and 12th centuries. Archaeological excavations carried out in the town has confirmed the town's ancient history as a Hindu and Jain religious centre, which prospered under the rule of Hindu kings. The ancient temples in Arang, which are tourist attractions are: the Mand deval temple, the Mahamaya temple, the Danteshwari temple, the Chandi Maheshwari temple, the Panchmukhi Mahadev temple, and the Panchmukhi Hanuman temple. Of these, the Mand Dewal temple and Bagh Deval temple are particularly ancient and well-known.

Bhand Dewal temple

Ruins of the great Jain temple, Bhand Dewal, at Arang

Bhand Dewal temple, a Jain temple dated to the late eleventh century, is in the Mahakosala area of Arang. It is built in the

Bhumija Bhumija is a variety of north Indian temple architecture marked by how the rotating square-circle principle is applied to construct the ''shikhara'' (superstructure or spire) on top of the sanctum. Invented about the 10th-century in the Malwa regi ...

style of architecture. The plinth of this temple has detailed ornamentation. It has a socle plinth that supports a pedestal, and two rows of sculptures on the wall. The temple layout plan is in a star shape known as stellate (meaning: shaped like a star, having points, or rays radiating from a center) with six "offsets". The temple rises to five floors, which is considered an unusual feature. The temple faces west and is in rundown condition. In the past, a ''

mandapa A mandapa or mantapa () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture. Mandapas are described as "open" or "closed" depending on whether they have walls. In temples, ...

'' (an outdoor pavilion) and a porch probably existed as part of the temple. The temple has three free standing large images of Jain

s deified in the

garbha griha A ''garbhagriha'' or ''sannidhanam'' is the ''sanctum sanctorum'', the innermost sanctuary of a Hindu and Jain temples where resides the ''murti'' (idol or icon) of the primary deity of the temple. In Jainism, the main deity is known as the ''M ...

or sanctum sanctorum. These are carved ornately in black stone and highly polished. The three tirthankaras are

Ajitanatha Ajitanath (lit. invincible) was the second ''tirthankara'' of the present age, ''avasarpini'' (half time cycle) according to Jainism. He was born to King Jitashatru and Queen Vijaya at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku dynasty. He was a liberated soul w ...

Neminath Neminatha, also known as Nemi and Arishtanemi, is the twenty-second ''tirthankara'' (ford-maker) in Jainism. Along with Mahavira, Parshvanatha and Rishabhanatha, Neminatha is one of the twenty four ''tirthankaras'' who attract the most devoti ...

and

Shreyanasanatha Shreyansanath was the eleventh Jain Tirthankara of the present age (Avasarpini). According to Jain beliefs, he became a Siddha – a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Shreyansanatha was born to King ''Vishnu'' and Queen ''Vi ...

. The central figure is adorned with the symbol of a wheel holding two deers in the left hand, and a globe on the right hand. The base of this image has a "winged figure" carving. Carved images also embellish the exterior faces of the temple.

Bhand Deval temple

Bhand Deval temple, which was inferred initially as a Jain temple, is dated to the 11th century. It has similar architectural features as the Khajuraho temple.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Raipur district Cities and towns in Raipur district