Unakoti had been on wish list for a long time. I heard stories of it and various theories about how these sculptures came to be. All that I read and heard made me believe that it is a key archaeological site, which it is. So, when an opportunity came to visit Tripura, I budgeted a comfortable slot for visiting Unakoti. In fact, Kumarghat was my base in Tripura, which is one of the two places you can visit it from. Our plan was to visit it on Tuesday, but by some stroke of destiny, we had to pre-pone it to Monday.
It was when we reached there, I saw so many people, many wearing the sacred saffron, carrying water from their rivers to do Abishek at Unakoti. It was the Monday of Shravana month. Suddenly, the meaning of the place changed. It was not a dead archaeological place but a living breathing Tirtha. What is known as Kanwar Yatra in North India is followed practically in every part of the country. Young men and even women carry water from distant places, many carry them in pots tied to a rod and pour it on Shiva in the sacred month of Shravan.
Unakoti literally means one less a Koti or a Crore, or 10 million. It is one of the most beautiful archaeological sites that is lying vast open in the hills of North Tripura. It is a living Tirtha that comes alive for Ashoka Ashtami during Chaitra Navaratri when a fair takes place here. This made me think if it was once a Shakta site as Ashtami, that too during Navaratri, is one of the most auspicious days for Devi worship. And, as I saw during Sharavan Somvars or Monday people visit it in numbers.
Legends of Unakoti
The popular legend goes that once Shiva was on his way to Kashi along with Koti or One crore other devatas and his ganas. They made a night halt at this place with a promise to leave early morning. However, in the morning only Shiva got up and everyone else kept sleeping. So, Shiva turned all of them into rocks and he moved on to his favorite city on the banks of Ganga. This is how the sculptures came to be and they continue to be in the rocky region of Tripura. Since Shiva left and the rest 99,99,999 remained here, the place came to be known as Unakoti. Irony is that there are prominent Shiva sculptures and many Shivalingas spread across the site, so did Shiva really leave?
Another legend says once there was a sculptor who worshipped Parvati and wanted to accompany her and Shiva to Kailash and live with them. When Shiva-Parvati was passing by Unakoti hills, he expressed his desire but Shiva was not in a mood to take him along. So, he put a condition that if he can create a Koti sculpture in a night, he will allow him to come to Kailash with him. However, in the morning his sculptures fell short by one and the place got its name as Unakoti.
You can choose the story that appeals more to you. No one has counted the sculptures, but it is true that everywhere you look there are sculptures. Large rocks are carved in-situ – as in where they are. Apart from them, there are sculptures in the form of Murtis and lingas. Many of these are still worshipped. On top of the hill, there is a shed like museum where some of the large life-size sculptures are kept. I found Vishnu, Hanuman, Sri Ram and Uma Mahesh here in the forms that tells me that Ramayana was probably sculpted along with other puranic stories of Vishnu and Shiva.
Visiting Unakoti
As soon as you enter the site through a security gate, and walk towards the main site, you see a beautiful lush green valley in front of you. Neat and steep staircases promise to take you down and then bring you up. As soon as you start going down, the giant sculptures of Shiva and Parvati glace at you, like the prelude of a musical. You wonder at the giant Shiva bas relief, with flowing Jatas as if Ganga is eager to fall free, big earrings and necklace. As soon as you take your eyes off Shiva, you meet his consort Uma, similar in size and style.
From here when you look down you see a waterfall that gathers into a pond at regular intervals. The first one is at the intersection of stairs coming from either side of hill. This is where there is another big bas relief of Shiva, who is also referred as Kotishwara Kala Bhairava sometimes. Surrounding him are several Nandi Murtis in different states of decay. In front of the rock carving are different lingas in stone that are still worshipped. Since it was the Shravan Somvar, lots of people were worshipping, doing abhishek and telling their wishes in the ears of Nandi. A pandit ji was helping people with formal puja. Young men were taking a dip in the pond while women in their red and white saris lit incense sticks while saying their prayers.
The water flows downstream and about 100 meters down; it passes through a gigantic Ganesha sculpture that is surrounded by elephants. The flow is almost like the genes that pass from parents to the son.
Subrai Khung is another name of Unakoti in local Kokbrok language, that you read written just before the first Shiva sculpture you meet. When you stand next to this board, you see the sharp rocks standing tall and you wonder how someone would have sculpted at such heights. Some sculptures are visible only when you go around it, which essentially means you need to go around the whole site. There are some broken pieces lying around and one wonders if it is a crown or a neckpiece.
Living Temples of Unakoti
Across the valley, you need to climb another hill to reach the top. On the way I found so many Shivalingas beneath the trees, a beautiful Chaturmukhlinga in a small mandapa. Close to it on the rocks I saw Lajja Gauri and another female figure that I could not decipher. On top, there is shed with many large sculptures.
Here I found a platform, with temple like steps leading to it, where the Murtis and lingas was being worshipped. A narrow depression on the rock, that was filled with milk, is believed to be the footprint of Vishnu. On the other side was a small Goria Baba temple where a priest told me that this is the original Kailasg where Shiva lived. Indeed, the town close by is called Kailashahar. I would later learn that Goria baba is the Kuldevata of some tribes in Tripura.
As you go up and down the hills, wherever you look there are sculptures. Some you identify, others keep teasing you. You wonder if this was once the largest open-air temple. Was this really something connected to Kashi or the migrants out of India, probably towards South East Asia, planted and carried stories from Indian Itihasa-Purana.
Historians date these sculptures to at least 7-9th CE but that is just a guess based on style. It could be much older. An inscription only mentions a visit in 11-12th CE indicating it existed before that. To me, these sculptures tell us the deep historical roots of our Puranik stories.
Travel Tips
Unakoti is good 5-6 hours drive from Agartala. You can stay either at Dharamnagar or Kumarghat and visit Unakoti from there. It is about 45 minutes from either place.
Budget good 3-4 hours for the site. Wear comfortable shoes and carry your water.
Food is available outside the gate.
Unfortunately, no guides either as a book or in person are available to give a guided tour.
You can enjoy the famous Queen Pineapple of Tripura in this region.
