Context: The Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court delivered a historic 242-page verdict declaring the disputed Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Dhar district a Hindu temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati).
About The Bhojshala Complex:
What it is?
- The Bhojshala complex is an 11th-century protected historical monument that originally served as a premier center for Sanskrit learning and a temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati). Over centuries of regional shifts, parts of the temple structure were utilized to construct the Kamal Maula Mosque, making it a deeply contested religious site.
Location:
- District: Dhar (historically known as Dhara), Malwa region, Madhya Pradesh, India.
- Geographical Context: Located in the city of Dhar, which served as the capital of the famous Paramara dynasty.
History:
- The Foundation (1000–1055 A.D.): Founded by Raja Bhoja, the most celebrated monarch of the Paramara dynasty. Being a great patron of arts and literature, he established this grand college (shala) to attract scholars and students from across India.
- Successor Contributions: The center was expanded and maintained by immediate successors like Udayaditya and Naravarman, and later patronized by King Arjunavarma Deva (early 13th century).
- Islamic Conversion: In the 14th century, during the rule of the Malwa Sultanate, the site was converted into a mosque. It became associated with the tomb of the Sufi saint Shaikh Kamal Maula, giving rise to its dual identity.
- Modern Administration: It was designated a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act in March 1904. Under a 2003 ASI circular, a compromise arrangement permitted Hindus to perform puja on Tuesdays and Basant Panchami, while Muslims were allowed to offer namaz on Fridays.
Architectural Features:
- Temple Pillars and Layout: The monument features a large open courtyard surrounded by side colonnades and a prayer hall. The delicately carved pillars and decorated ceilings used throughout the mosque display definitive Hindu temple motifs and structures.
- Sarpabandha Inscriptions: The site uniquely preserves two Sarpabandha (serpentine chart) pillar inscriptions.
- One contains the Sanskrit alphabet along with noun and verb terminations, while the second charts personal terminations for the ten tenses and moods of Sanskrit grammar.
- Prakrit Odes: Stone slabs engraved with two distinct odes to the Kurma-Avatara (the crocodile/tortoise incarnation of Lord Vishnu) written in Prakrit are fixed to the walls.
- Classical Sanskrit Drama: Slabs lining the mihrab contain a theatrical composition written by Royal Tutor Madana (disciple of Jain scholar Ashadhara) during King Arjunavarma’s reign.
- Mutilated Deities: The latest ASI survey recovered 94 sculptures (including images of Ganesha, Vishnu, and Narasimha) and documented chopped-off structural images along the pilasters.
