THE NARRATIVES OF THE 18th C TERRACOTTA TEMPLES OF BARANAGAR: A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY

Abstract

The present research had its genesis in an aspiration to work on narratives of religious architecture. During the review of the available literature on the terracotta temples of Bengal which are built during the medieval period, it was noted that the aspect of narrative intentions of the portrayals of the temples facades has never been allotted significant space in the works of previous authors. Besides, most works deal with the temples covering a vast swathe of area. Consequently, the works failed to project an in-depth analytical view about the narratives of the temples of those areas. In such circumstances, often, the statements of the authors regarding narrative intention became generic. So, the prospective study decides to opt for temples of a small area to get a comprehensive understanding of the narrative intention of the portrayals that are found on the temples’ facades of a certain area and the most immediate choice was Baranagar in Murshidabad, West Bengal. The place has some astonishingly decorated terracotta temples built by Rani Bhabani during the mid-eighteenth century. Researchers in the field of archaeology acknowledged that the elaborate terracotta works on the facades of these temples possess immense narrative potential to reconstruct the history of the area at a certain time. One can find narratives of life, values, society, environment, culture, religions, mythology, space, communication systems, and many more, all in one area. Therefore, these temples are an exemplary representative for studying narratives. In the chapters of this dissertation, the terracotta temples of Baranagar and their facade ornamentations have been discussed in detail with illustrations and the aid of archaeological materials, supplementary historical documents of foreign traveler accounts, and frequent on-spot investigations. In many cases, throughout the thesis writing, depictions are validated with various types of archival evidence. The method helps to cross-corroborate both the sources, with each type of evidence giving profundity and explanation to the other. During the on-spot study, it was observed that a significant portion of the facades of the temples depicts mythological stories and images of gods and goddesses. However, a substantial number of plaques have been found mainly on the base friezes which depict contemporary social activities, thus providing valuable material to study narrative intention. The portrayals are grouped and sorted based on thematic content which helps to develop the objectives for the present study. The study tries to find out if there is any connotation in the depictions which helps to understand the quotidian life of the people prevalent in the late medieval Bengal. It also i investigates the depictions to acquire some sort of knowledge about the socio-economic activities of the people of different strata prevalent during that time. Apart from the depictions related to ritual and religious practices of the ascetics and general religious-minded people, the depictions related to Hindu mythology as well as the depictions of religious cults practiced are also initiated. The study finds that the portrayals on the facades of the temples act as visual evidence to understand the social life of the people of late medieval Bengal as well as provide valuable insights into the culture, economy, and religious life prevalent at that time. However, it is quite unfortunate that gradually with the progress of time these temples have been susceptible to the process of decay and loss of beauty to a great extent. The governments, archeologists, and folklorists should work towards some needful steps to preserve the glory of these temples and save them from extinction.