3rd January, 2022
Around 4 hours from Agartala you will find hills, rock and hill cliffs carved with hundreds of exquisite stone images of Shiva and other Hindu divinities. No one has actually counted the number of images that are present there – but the name should give us a clue. Unakoti means one less than a crore.
Historians date the sculptures here to the 8th-9th century CE.
Even today, very little is known about its origins, who commissioned the work or even what purpose it served. Interestingly, members of tribes from the surrounding areas still throng to Unakoti.”Every year on Ashokashtami (eighth day of the Chaitra month of the Hindu calendar), local tribes congregate for a fair or mela, known as the Astami mela or Unakoti Mela.
Its not clear why these were built. Legend claims that there was a mason who want to please Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. He swore that he would make one crore images of the Lord in one night. But by day break he was one short. Hence the name “Unakoti”. According to another legend, Shiva once spent a night here en route to Kashi. 99,99,999 gods and goddesses followed him. He had asked his followers to wake up before sunrise and make their way towards Kashi. Unfortunately, none awoke, except Lord Shiva himself. Before he set out for Kashi alone, he put a curse on the others, turning them to stone and that is how the site got its name.
The most famous of the carvings here is UnakotishwarKalBhairav. The head gear of the carving is 10 feet. On each side of the head-dress of UnakotishwarKalBhairav, there are two full size female figures – one of Durga standing on a lion and another female figure on the other side. In addition three enormous images of Nandi Bull are found half buried in the ground.
