The Forgotten heritage of Jatar Deul

Bikram Datta

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I am an undergrad history student at University of Delhi. I derive my true happiness from delving into historical research, where i can explore and uncover the knowledge about past cultures. Meanwhile, Indian classical music also has been a source of comfort and inspiration for me. My passion for history and music shapes my academic journey and personal fulfillment.

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Introduction

Jatar Deul is a beautiful remnant of an ancient era, rising with pride at the heart of the dense mangrove forests at Sundarbans in the South 24-Parganas of West Bengal. This lofty brick tower, also called Jatar Deula or Jotar Deul, has long kept many mysteries and legends alive and remained, over time, the center of attraction for historians, archaeologists, and travelers alike. Anointed a Monument of National Importance under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Jatar Deul is the unmatched fusion of beauty and architectural elegance, historical delusion, and paradoxes in what looks almost an eternal ambiance.

How and When Was It Built

The temple’s dating is one of the foundations upon which its understanding rests; in this context, a Sanskrit copper plate found near the site in 1875 assumes significance. The plate is claimed to record that Raja Jayantachandra (or Joychandra) constructed the temple in Şaka 897, or 975 AD. But the plate itself has since been lost, and there is no verification of its authenticity. Different scholars have estimated the period of Jatar Deul’s construction to be anywhere between the 10th and 13th centuries AD, based on comparative stylistic and architectural grounds. Some suggest affinities with the Ichhai Ghosh Deul near Kenduli, thought to have been constructed during the reign of Devapala (c. 810–840 AD), and argue for an early date. Others have pleaded for a later one based mostly on characteristics such as the form of the curvilinear tower and its decorative motifs, putting it to possibly the early 13th century.

Such a multitude of divergent interpretations—some from colonial sources and others from local sources—reflecting the enigmatic origin of the temple: colonial surveyors found the temple engulfed in dense forest in the late 18th century; Satishchandra Mitra and J.F. Blackistone, with varying degrees of commitment, waxed eloquent about this “timeless” temple, sometimes linking it to the Pala or Sena eras of around 1000 A.D.

Architectural Motifs

**Nagara style layout (Source: IAS Gyan)**

Architecturally, Jatar Deul embodies a fascinating mixture: it is built in the Kalingan (Oriya) Deula tradition with an uplifting “Deul” or shrine tower, and carries features of Nagara style associated with North Indian temple architecture. Square in plan, the temple measures about 9.37 meters (approximately 30.7 feet) on each side externally and has a projection on the inside looking slightly rectangular, an arched entrance to the east about 2.9 meters wide. The temple rises to great heights-an impressive figure of roughly 30.48 meters (100 feet)–thus, making it the loftiest of all living structures in the region. Now somewhat high also for the present is the inner sanctum or cellar that is equally square (approx 3.05 meters or 10 feet on all sides), located approximately 1.83 meters beneath ground level and reached by some steps.

The temple is built of thin country bricks and is ornamented with few carved bricks hither and thither upon the exterior. From the minutiae remaining of such ornamentation decipher geometric forms interspersed with floral and perhaps terracotta motifs, indicative of a proto-elegant style. The moulded bricks with geometric/floral designs, a terracotta Shivling, clay lamps, pottery shards, carving ivory as ornamentation, a stone water channel, and now an ornately carved stone door jamb with elephant and floral motifs have all been thrown in by ASI excavations that testify to the temple’s sacred significance.

Originally the spire (tower on top) was form by a corbelled construction-bricks were placed one over the other in a steps to give the curved profile. The original spire was damaged, however, alleged as man was hunting treasure; the present version is a much later reconstruction which does not have the elegance of the original. At some point, stucco was put on in order to protect the temple from salinity, humidity and rising waters from the nearby Moni River.

Significance

Local scholars associate Jatar Deul with worship of Shiva, one theory connecting the word to the Sanskrit word “Jata” meaning something like “matched hair” referring perhaps to some image within that might be described as “Jatadhari” (Shiva with matted locks), hence Jatar Deul. Other local theories relate to the worship practices of Nathajogi or Tantric Buddhism, which worshipped the linga form, and may have carried that symbolically Shaivite or Tantric meaning into the temple, with even suggesting the tower to represent the linga which, along with its sanctum forming the symbolic representation of the yoni.

Architecturally, Jatar Deul is one of the oldest brick temples in Bengal, and a rare example of Oriya-influenced temple design in the Sundarbans. This moot location deep within the mangrove forest, only approached by rivers and the roughest ground, is testament to an ancient civilization or its strategic significance now vanished. To historians, it is the mark of a great dynasty-the Chandra dynasty of Vanga and Samatata-which would bring political identity into the locality along with the dominant Pala power elsewhere in Bengal.

Present Condition

**Kalidas Dutta (Source: Academia.edu)**

Under the auspices of the Archaeological Survey of India, the conservation of Jatar Deul was carried out, albeit in a way that some claim obscured portions of its original form and decorative details. In the early 20th century, local scholar Kalidas Dutta began to foster its archaeological viability, leading to ASI interest in the site despite mangrove wilderness conditions. Most of the artistry has fallen victim to “unplanned reconstruction.”

Many issues of conservation are still present:

* Salinity and humidity from the coastal environment have continually eroded the brickwork.
* Cyclone Amphan in May 2020 uprooted several trees around the site, further exposing it to strong winds and salt-laden waves.
* While stucco coatings provide protection, they may also mask and compromise the long-term integrity of the underlying brickwork.

Tourism, Traditions & Accessibility

It was not easily accessible, being located at some distance from the more usual tourist places, till the humiliation it suffered a few years ago brought Jatar Deul to the notice of inquisitive travelers. Local volunteers, and on one occasion a handful of MPs, have started to work to improve infrastructures and amenities for tourists. Thousands show up at the temple in April-May (Baisakh), when a horse race, a time-honored custom of the locals, is held in the grounds close to the temple—though this is on some instances cancelled because of rain or logistical problems.

Wayward though the access may sometimes seem on the route to Jatar Deul-by train to Mathurapur or Jaynagar by road; crossing the river; then hopping on a rickshaw or trekking to charming rural scenes with an occasional sugarcane juice stand; until with suddenness, the view of the tower through the forest.

Conclusion

Jatar Deul, an architectural and historical jewel, stands as a lone monument emerging from the Sundarbans in magnificent glory after centuries of artistic act of reverence and political legacy. Whether carved by a lost dynasty, dedicated to the worship of Shiva, or arising out of the Tantric tradition, its purpose remains concealed in the sands of time. What stands before us is the magnificent hundred-foot Oriya tower swathed in carved bricks; indeed, the shining evidence of a once-advanced civilization in a region so remote and inaccessible that temple-building has almost faded out of memory. Unfortunately, several centuries of natural decay, ill-conceived restoration, and environmental assaults have robbed it of much of its original glory. Yet, within the confines of its vanishing outlines and mighty silence, Jatar Deul holds the very essence of Bengal’s cultural heritage. It reminds us that history often survives in places where one least expects it—in marshy fringes, abandoned towers, and unspoken tales waiting to be resurrected.

Jatar Deul is thus one of the most powerful symbols of resilience and mystery, appropriately standing up, drawing explorers, researchers, and custodianship to respectful handling of the subjects. Let us celebrate and protect this mute sentinel of Sundarbans history.