Da Parbatia Temple: The Ancient Ruins and Its Rich History
Da Parbatia is a hidden gem among the other scenic places of Tezpur. If you’re someone who loves to visit historical places trying to relive the moments of a past era then there’s nothing better than a quick trip to the town of Tezpur specially the village of Da Parbatia that is home to some ancient legacy and artistic wonder.
Da Parbatia is a tiny village in Assam, towards the west of Tezpur in the district of Sonitpur. Significant architectural remains of a sixth-century temple is seen in this village, standing upon the ruins of an Ahom-era Shiva temple constructed of bricks. During 1924 archaeological digs, a large, intricately carved stone door frame from the sixth century was discovered.
Built over the ancient temple’s foundations, the Ahom era temple ruins are arranged in the shape of a stone-paved garbhagriha and mandapa layout. Over the remains of an old Gupta period temple, a Shiva temple was constructed using bricks during the Ahom period. The Gupta period temple’s remnants were only revealed as a stone door frame when the Ahom period temple was collapsed during the Assam Earthquake of 1897. The most significant discovery here is the stone door frame, which is situated in front of a particular portion of a hollow stone that once held the original Shiva linga. The carvings on the door frame belong to the Gupta period art form. The Gupta period art traditions features human figures at the base of the door posts, representing the river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna which was seen on the carvings of the ancient ruins. Additionally, flying geese carvings were also depicted. It is claimed that this architectural representation is the “finest and oldest specimen of sculptural art in Assam“.
