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During excavation in Godkhar village of Katkamdag block, a very ancient statue belonging to the Pala dynasty period has been found. Experts believe that this idol is of Uma-Maheshwar and probably dates back to between 9th to 10th century.
Hazaribagh: Hazaribagh of Jharkhand has always been in the news for its historical identity and cultural heritage. Many untouched chapters of history are still buried in the soil here, which need research. At the same time, once again the history of medicine has come out in the ground in Hazaribagh. In fact, during excavation in Godkhar village of Katkamdag block of the district, a very ancient statue belonging to the Pala dynasty period has been found. Experts believe that this idol is of Uma-Maheshwar and probably dates back to between 9th to 10th century. Famous archaeologist Dr. Neeraj Mishra of Ranchi Unit has also confirmed this.
The incident came to light when Dhanva Devi, a resident of Ambedkar Nagar of Godkhar village, was digging the foundation for the house provided under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. During excavation by JCB machine, suddenly a big piece of stone buried in the soil came out, which after cleaning became clear that it was a rare archaeological statue. Within no time this news spread like wildfire in the entire area and a huge crowd of villagers started gathering there.
Local people informed this to Murari Singh, a senior journalist of the area. He immediately sent the photo and video of the idol to archeology expert Dr. Neeraj Mishra. After seeing the photo, Dr. Mishra said on the basis of preliminary study that this idol appears to be of Uma-Maheshwar and its construction period could be around 9th-10th century. Joint sculptures of Shiva and Parvati were quite prominent during the reign of the Pala dynasty and stylistically this sculpture appears to follow the same tradition.
After the discovery of the idol, there is an atmosphere of both curiosity and faith in the village. The family from whose land this idol was found, has kept it safe in their house and has also started worshiping. Villagers are continuously coming to see it. The people of the village say that this is a very sacred and historical heritage, hence a temple should be built for it in the village itself and it should be consecrated. At the same time, some people are also worried that after the intervention of the Archeology Department, what further steps will be taken and whether this statue will remain in the village or will it be transferred to a museum.
The elders of the village said that during earlier excavations in this area, small remains have been found, which indicate that there might once have been an archaeologically rich settlement here. For this reason, experts consider this area full of possibilities in terms of historical discoveries.
Important archaeological remains have already been found in Hazaribagh district. Very ancient remains are scattered in the Chhadwa Dam area, which were inspected by experts, but till now formal exploration has not started there. Apart from this, Buddha statues from the Buddhist period were also found in Bahoranpur village, which further strengthened the historical importance of this area. It is clear from these incidents that Hazaribagh is a very rich district not only in terms of natural beauty but also in terms of historical heritage.
