Ancient Temple Emerges Out Of Mahanadi River In Odisha

Nayagarh: Surveyors have found a 500-year-old temple submerged in River Mahanadi at a village in Nayagarh district.

According to reports, a survey team of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) found the ‘mastaka’ (top) of the temple submerged in the river waters at Padmabati in Bhapur block.

The finding is part of INTACH’s Mahanadi Valley Heritage Sites Documentation project, which is being undertaken by historian Anil Dhir.

Project assistant Deepak Kumar Nayak said the temple was dedicated to Gopinath Deba, a form of Lord Krishna, the New Indian Express reported.

“The temple may date back to 15th to 16th century considering its construction style of the ‘mastaka’ and materials used,” Nayak added.

According to local heritage enthusiast Rabindra Kumar Rana, Padmabati village was part of Satapatana (a combination of seven villages) in the past. However, with Mahanadi changing its course, the entire place was submerged in the 19th century and villagers along with deities of all the temples were moved to higher lands. The present day temple of Lord Gopinath at Padmabati village has the original idol of the presiding deity.

Locals said there are around 22 temples in the area which are under water but only the ‘mastaka’ of Gopinath Deba temple was visible for some years as it was the tallest.

The last time the ‘mastaka’ was seen was 11 years back. “In the past one year, it was seen for 4 to 5 days due to changing water level,” Rana said.