ON the Chandigarh-Manali road (National Highway 21) lies Bilaspur, a town on the banks of the Gobind Sagar.

Under this lake’s rippling waters, lie submerged numerous ancient temples of old Bilaspur. Ravaged by time and covered with silt, they have been under water since 1959-60, when famed American Harvey Sloom built Bhakra Dam. Ironically with this modern achievement, the ancient town of old Bilaspur along with its temples, palaces was submerged in 100 feet of water of Gobind Sagar — the largest man-made reservoir covering 169 sq. km. These temples are visible only when the water recedes for around six months in a year.

These temples are a silent witness to a rich bygone era. On studying these monuments, archaeologist H. Goetz traced Bilaspur’s history as far back to the post-Harshvardhana period when the Pratiharas held sway over the Shatadru (Sutlej).

Bilaspur was originally called Vyasgufa. It is believed that Vyasdeo i.e. Rishi Ved Vyas (who later wrote the Mahabharata) did penance in a cave here. Over the years, the area came to be called Byaspur, and then got corrupted to Bilaspur. Vyasgufa still exists in Bilaspur. Bir Chand, who belonged to the royal Chanderi clan of Bundelkhand, founded his kingdom in Kot Kahlur (Bilaspur) in the foothills of Naina Devi in 900 AD. Vigne, a European traveller, vividly described this beautiful area in 1835.

Most of Bilaspur’s sunk temples, which are in shikhara style, depict the rich Indian art from the 7th to the 12th century.

The submerged 9th-century Ranganath (Lakshmi Narayan) Mandir is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Archeological studies reveal that it was rebuilt over the remains of an earlier edifice. The carvings in this temple bear influence of both the Pahari school of art and art in the Gupta period.

H. Goetz opines that the Ranganath temple is unique as it is the only Indian counterpart of Chandi — Asu in Java.

In the same complex are Dhanduti, a shikhara-style temple, and another temple that is smaller in size and bears Mughal influence. Both are under water.

Another completely submerged shikhara temple dates back to the 17th century. It is dedicated to Lord Hanuman and has a mandap.

Also under water is the 7th-century Shanmukheshwara (also called Khanmukh), a rare temple of Kartikeya, warrior son of Shiva. It lies below the Vyasgufa.

Beautiful murals of Krishna Leela once adorned the walls of now submerged Gopal ka Mandir, built by late Raja Anand Chand. He removed the paintings before the temple sank, and they are currently in possession of the Rani. Citizens want these to be restored to the temple. The temple’s statues have been shifted to the newly built Lakshmi Narayan temple.

Bilaspur’s flat and fertile land called Sandhu ka Har, where the Raja’s airstrip, temples and palaces were found, also met its watery grave. Innumerable fruit trees were washed away. There are no fruit trees left in the town.

The central and state governments have in the past shifted many temples and monuments in India that have been threatened by dam waters, especially in the South. However, no action has been taken to shift the above temples. Just a few pillars and the image of Nandi from the Ranganath temple were brought to State Museum in Shimla in 1973. People often take away pieces of sculpture when the water recedes.

Although the Archaeological Survey of India has identified 14 temples that need to be shifted, the actual number of submerged temples is higher. Obviously, they have been damaged to a great extent by remaining covered under 20 feet of silt. Attempt will be made to make exact replicas of the original monuments.

This monumental task, spread over a year, will involve coordination between agencies like the Archaeological Survey of India, the state’s Department of Tourism and Bilaspur’s Nagar Parishad.