Sirpur is a village in

Mahasamund district Mahasamund district is a district in Chhattisgarh state in central India. The city of Mahasamund is the district headquarters. The district is particularly famous for the historical temple town of Sirpur, Mahasamund, Sirpur besides the Mahanadi ...

in the state of Chhattisgarh 35 km from

Mahasamund Mahasamund 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 11th) and most important cities in the State. Th ...

city and 78 km away from

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 ...

Sirpur
raipur.gov.in on the banks of the river

Mahanadi The Mahanadi River 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 which was the first major multipurpose river valley project after India's independenc ...

.SIRPUR : A Goldmine of History
Prasar Bharti Sirpur was capital of Panduvanshi dynasty in ancient times. The village hosts the Sirpur Group of Monuments consisting of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain temples and monasteries. These are dated from the 5th to 12th century.

History

Sirpur, also referred to as Shripur, Sripura or Sripur (literally, "city of auspiciousness, abundance, Lakshmi") in ancient Indian texts and inscriptions, is a major archaeological site along the

Mahanadi River The Mahanadi River 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 which was the first major multipurpose river valley project after India's independence ...

. Sirpur was capital of Panduvanshi dynasty in ancient times. The site has been significant for its temple ruins of Rama and Lakshmana of the Ramayana fame, as well as those related to Shaivism, Shaktism, Buddhism and Jainism. The site excavations after 1950, particularly after 2003, have yielded 22 Shiva temples, 5 Vishnu temples, 10 Buddha Viharas, 3 Jain Viharas, a 6th/7th century market and snana-kund (bath house). The site shows extensive syncretism, where Buddhist and Jain statues or motifs intermingle with Shiva, Vishnu and Devi temples.Atula Kumar Pradhan and Shambhoonath Yadav (2013)
Sirpur - A unique township of early medieval India
Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 74 (2013), pp. 854-864 The location is mentioned in the memoirs of the Chinese traveler

Xuanzang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...

as a location of monasteries and temples. It was visited in 1872 by Alexander Cunningham, a colonial British India official. His report on a Laxman (Lakshmana) temple at Sirpur brought it to international attention.

Culture

Sirpur is a pilgrimage site for the followers of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

. It hosts a major fair (mela) during the Mahashiv Ratri.The fair is a prominent example of the region's spiritual and cultural traditions.

Transport

Sirpur is accessible from Raipur by a four-lane National Highway 53. Regular bus services connect Raipur and Sirpur. The nearest railway station is Mahasamund railway station (35 km). The nearest airport is the Swami Vivekananda airport at

(IATA: RPR), with daily flights to major cities in India.

Places of interest

* Sirpur Group of Monuments *Barnawapara, a nearby

wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

set midst a hilly terrain and dense forests. The Indian bison

gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ) is a large bovine native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 ...

, cheetal, sambhar, neelgai and

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

are found in this sanctuary.

References

External links