GordonCoulston at 21:09, 18 January 2025

2025-01-18T21:09:27Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Dihar
| other_name =
| nickname =
| settlement_type = Village, archaeological site
| image_skyline =
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| pushpin_map = India West Bengal # India
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in West Bengal, India
| coordinates = {{coord|23.126388|N|87.355252|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[West Bengal]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Bankura district|Bankura]]
| established_title = 
| established_date =
| founder =
| named_for =
| government_type =
| governing_body =
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes =
| area_rank =
| area_total_km2 =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m =
| population_total =
| population_as_of =
| population_rank =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym =
| population_footnotes =
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| demographics1_info1 = [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[English language|English]]
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = 
| postal_code =
| registration_plate = WB-
| blank1_name_sec1 = Coastline
| blank1_info_sec1 = {{Convert|0|km|mi}}
| website = {{URL|wb.gov.in}}
| footnotes =
}}

'''Dihar''' is a village and an ancient archaeological site (approximately 4,700 years old) of great antiquarian importance brought into the limelight by [[Maniklal Sinha]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=June 20, 2015 |first=Rakhi |last=Chakrabarty |title=Relic Hunter |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/relic-hunter/articleshow/47740930.cms |access-date=2022-08-16 |website=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref> Located in the [[Bishnupur subdivision]] of the [[Bankura district]] in the [[India]]n [[States and territories of India|state]] of [[West Bengal]]. It is {{convert|8|km}} north of [[Bishnupur, Bankura|Bishnupur]] and is near [[Dharapat]].

==Geography==
{{OSM Location map
| width=360| height=370| zoom=10
| coord={{coord|23|7|30|N|87|30|0|E}}| float=left|caption='''Places in Bishnupur subdivision in Bankura district'''<br />M: Municipal town, CT: census town, R: rural/ urban centre, T: ancient/ temple centre<br />Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations in a larger map may vary slightly
|mark-coord1={{coord|23|10|25|N|87|23|15|E}} | label-pos1=right|label1= Bhara| numbered1=R| mark-title1= [[Bhara]] (R)|label-color1= #800000 |label-size1=11| mark-size1=12|shape1=l-circle| shape-color1=#C42222|shape-outline1=white|label-offset-x1=2
|mark-coord2={{coord|23|1|12|N|87|30|55|E}} | label-pos2=right|label2=Chatra| numbered2=R| mark-title2= [[Chatra, Bankura]] (R)
|mark-coord3={{coord|23|9|0|N|87|37|55|E}} | label-pos3=right|label3=Indas| numbered3=R| mark-title3= [[Indas]] (R)
|mark-coord4={{coord|23|3|10|N|87|26|48|E}} | label-pos4=right|label4=Joypur| numbered4=R| mark-title4= [[Joypur, Bankura]] (R)
|mark-coord5={{coord|22|55|22|N|87|36|36|E}} | label-pos5=right|label5=Jayrambati| numbered5=R| mark-title5= [[Jayrambati]] (R)
|mark-coord6={{coord|23|12|16|N|87|31|50|E}} | label-pos6=right|label6=Patrasayer| numbered6=R| mark-title6= [[Patrasayer]] (R)
|mark-coord7={{coord|23|10|10|N|87|19|25|E}} | label-pos7=top|label7=Radhanagar| numbered7=R| mark-title7= [[Radhanagar, Bankura]] (R)
|mark-coord8={{coord|23|9|15|N|87|16|45|E}} | label-pos8=right|label8=Ajodhya| numbered8=R| mark-title8= [[Ajodhya, Bankura]] (R)
|mark-coord9={{coord|23|0|15|N|87|40|21|E}} | label-pos9=bottom|label9=Laugram| numbered9=R| mark-title9= [[Laugram]] (R)
|mark-coord10={{coord|23|6|40|N|87|18|51|E}} | label-pos10=bottom|label10=Joykrishnapur| numbered10=R| mark-title10= [[Joykrishnapur]] (R)
|mark-coord11={{coord|23|3|50|N|87|19|12|E}}| label-pos11=right |label11=Bishnupur| numbered11=M| mark-title11 =[[Bishnupur, Bankura]] (M)| shape-color11=#800000
|mark-coord12={{coord|23|17|30|N|87|25|12|E}}| label-pos12=left |label12=Sonamukhi| numbered12=M| mark-title12 =[[Sonamukhi]] (M)| shape-color12=#800000
|mark-coord13={{coord|23|1|10|N|87|35|37|E}}| label-pos13=right |label13=Kotulpur| numbered13=CT| mark-title13 =[[Kotulpur]] (CT)| shape-color13=#A40000
|mark-coord14={{coord|23|8|14|N|87|17|57|E}} | label-pos14=right|label14=Dharapat| numbered14=T| mark-title14= [[Dharapat]] (T) |shape-color14=#AA6666
|mark-coord15={{coord|23|7|25|N|87|21|18|E}} | label-pos15=bottom|label15=Dihar| numbered15=T| mark-title15= Dihar (T) |shape-color15=black| label-size15=13|label-color15=black 
|mark-coord16={{coord|23|6|14|N|87|43|20|E}} | label-pos16=left|label16=Akui| numbered16=T| mark-title16= [[Akui]] (T) |shape-color16=#AA6666
|mark-coord17={{coord|22|57|48|N|87|29|51|E}} | label-pos17=right|label17=Baital| numbered17=T| mark-title17= [[Baital, Bankura]] (T) |shape-color17=#AA6666
|mark-coord18={{coord|23|9|50|N|87|33|6|E}} | label-pos18=left|label18=Balsi|labela18= Purbapara| numbered18=T| mark-title18= [[Balsi Purbapara]] (T) |shape-color18=#AA6666
|mark-coord19={{coord|23|3|10|N|87|16|20|E}} | label-pos19=right|label19=Dwadashbari| numbered19=T| mark-title19= [[Dwadashbari]] (T) |shape-color19=#AA6666
|mark-coord20={{coord|23|2|15|N|87|27|42|E}} | label-pos20=right|label20=Gokulnagar| numbered20=T| mark-title20= [[Gokulnagar, Bankura]] (T) |shape-color20=#AA6666
|mark-coord21={{coord|23|7|36|N|87|23|0|E}} | label-pos21=right|label21=Gumut| numbered21=T| mark-title21= [[Gumut, Bankura]] (T) |shape-color21=#AA6666
|mark-coord22={{coord|23|16|28|N|87|31|26|E}} | label-pos22=left|label22=Hadal Narayanpur| numbered22=T| mark-title22= [[Hadal Narayanpur]] (T) |shape-color22=#AA6666
|mark-coord23={{coord|23|0|41|N|87|29|30|E}} | label-pos23=left|label23=Maynapur| numbered23=T| mark-title23= [[Maynapur]] (T) |shape-color23=#AA6666
|mark-coord24={{coord|23|10|36|N|87|34|18|E}} | label-pos24=right|label24=Patit Dommahal| numbered24=T| mark-title24= [[Patit Dommahal]] (T) |shape-color24=#AA6666
|mark-coord25={{coord|23|19|29|N|87|24|58|E}} | label-pos25=left|label25=Madanmohanpur| numbered25=T| mark-title25= [[Madanmohanpur]] (T) |shape-color25=#AA6666
|mark-coord26={{coord|23.2888|87.5548}}| label26=Damodar River| label-color26 = #77A1CB| label-angle26=50| label-pos26=top| label-size26=10| mark-size26=0| mark-title26 =none
|mark-coord27={{coord|23.0968|87.4558}}| label27=Dwarakeswar| label-color27 = #77A1CB| label-angle27=-10| label-pos27=top| label-size27=10| mark-size27=0| mark-title27 =none
|mark-coord28={{coord|23.0982|87.5086}}| label28= River| label-color28 = #77A1CB| label-angle28=25| label-pos28=top| label-size28=10| mark-size28=0| mark-title28 =none}}

===Location===
Dihar is located at {{coord|23.126388|N|87.355252|E|display=inline}}.

<small>Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.</small>

==History==
Belonging to the days of copper-Bronze Age civilisation<ref>http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/27148/12/12_chapter%204.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref> and with an intricate narrative more than three millennia old, it is one of the earliest sites of human habitation discovered in [[Bengal]]<ref name=":0" /> which shows successive layers of prehistory, proto-history and history. Going by the styles of pottery ([[Black and Red Ware]], Red Slipped Ware, Grey Ware, [[Northern Black Polished Ware]], etc. found on different and sometimes intermixed levels), [[microliths]], metallurgical fragments, beads, shells, skeletons, terracotta figurines, homesteads, [[debitage]], shards of bone, and habitational refuge one can place this site in the same archaeo-cultural horizon as [[Pandu Rajar Dhibi]]. By about 2700-1500 BCE [[chalcolithic]] proto-urban people had settled on the northern banks of the [[Dwarakeswar River|Dwarakeswar]], most probably belonging to a socio-culturally and technologically advanced ethno-linguistic group. According to the [[Radiocarbon dating|carbon 14 dating]] of samples from the Hirapur mound, Dihar is the oldest archaeological settlement of the early village farming culture discovered in [[Bengal region]]. Among the four mounds at Dihar, the oldest specimen is from the Hirapur mound, which is 4700 years old.<ref>{{cite journal
|last1=Chattopadhyay |first1=Rupendra Kumar
|last2=Acharya |first2=Dipsikha
|last3=Majumder |first3=Shubha
|last4=Sain |first4=Malay Kumar
|last5=Biswas |first5=Pampa
|last6=Mondal |first6=Bijan
| date = 2013
|title=Excavation at Dihar 2012-2013 : An Interim Report |url=https://www.academia.edu/36290222
|access-date=27 September 2023
|ref = {{harvid|Chattopadhyay et al.|2013}} |journal=Pratna Samiksha |volume=1 |pages=9–33
}}</ref> Early village farming culture in Dihar existed between 2700 BC and 1500 BC,<ref>{{cite book
|last1=Chattopadhyay |first1=Rupendra Kumar
|last2=Bandyopadhyay |first2=KumKum
|date=1 December 2015
|title=Studies in South Asian Heritage: essays in memory of M Harunur Rashid | chapter=A Preliminary Study of the Worked Bone Industry in the Middle and Lower Ganga Valleys: From the Mesolithic to the Early Historic Periods
|publisher=Bangla Academy
|isbn=9789840753833
|ref={{harvid|Chattopadhyay et al.|2015}}
}}</ref> which was contemporary with the Pre-Harappan, Harappan and Post-Harappan periods. After this early proto-historic period, stretching from the copper-Bronze Age to the early Iron Age of the pre-[[Maurya]] to the [[Shunga Empire|Shunga]] eras, nothing noticeable has been discovered at Dihar till confirmed [[Shaivism|Saivite]] activities beginning roughly from around the 13th-14th centuries CE.<ref>{{cite book |last=Das |first=Dipak Ranjan |year=2012 |chapter=Dihar |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Dihar |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref>

==Demographics==
According to the [[2011 Census of India]], Dihar had a total population of 815 of which 416 (51%) were males and 399 (49%) were females. Population below 6 years was 84. The total number of literates in Dihar was 450 (61.56% of the population over 6 years).<ref name=census3-2011>{{cite web| url = http://censusindia.gov.in/pca/pcadata/Houselisting-housing-WB.html |title = 2011 Census – Primary Census Abstract Data Tables | work= West Bengal – District-wise |publisher= Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India | access-date = 14 October 2016 }}</ref>

==Culture==
The remains of the Shnareshwara (ষাঁড়েশ্বর) and Shaileshwara (শৈলেশ্বর) [[Shiva]] temples, built upon one of the primary [[chalcolithic]]/æneolithic habitational mounds, are some of the major attractions at Dihar. Either king [[Prithwi Malla]] of the [[History of Bankura district#Bishnupur kingdom|Malla dynasty]] of Bishnupur had commissioned the temples (their architectural style being referred to as 'rekha [[deul]]') to be constructed in 1346 CE (the date being highly debatable academically) or, as deduced from their structural and architectural affinities, had them repaired, restored and reconsecrated in 1346 CE, as the two temples could have been built by monarchs from earlier dynasties in the form of twin Jain/Buddhist monuments at around the period when the Siddheshwara temple was built nearby at [[Bahulara]] at some point of time during the [[Pala Empire|Pala]] era. Moreover, till date, much academic debate remains over the exact dates of their construction.
The unkempt laterite stone walls of the temples have suffered badly from centuries of erosion but intricate floral designs and miniature human figurines captured in dramatic poses can still be made out. Furthermore, some eroded or defaced images of divinity can also be seen upon the stone panels. Pilgrims, to this day, gather in the area during Shivratri.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080817/jsp/calcutta/story_9698898.jsp
| archive-url = https://archive.today/20130203145838/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080817/jsp/calcutta/story_9698898.jsp
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = 3 February 2013
| title = Next weekend you can be at ... Dihar | access-date = 2009-07-12 | publisher = The Telegraph, 17 August 2008}}</ref>

Both the Shnareshwara and Shaileshwara temples are included in the [[List of Monuments of National Importance in West Bengal]] by the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] (serial no. N-WB-28 & 29).<ref>{{cite web| url = http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist.asp | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140627005558/http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist.asp | url-status = dead | archive-date = 27 June 2014 |title = List of Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains of National Importance| work= West Bengal|publisher= Archaeological Survey of India | access-date = 20 April 2020}}</ref>

See also - [[Bengal temple architecture]]

==Dihar picture gallery==
<gallery>
File:Saileswar and Sareswar temple of Dihar in Bankura district (02).jpg|Shaileswar temple
File:Saileswar and Sareswar temple of Dihar in Bankura district (19).jpg|Sareswar temple
File:Saileswar and Sareswar temple of Dihar in Bankura district (45).jpg|Both the temples
File:Sareswar and Saileshwar temple bishnupur west bengal 03.jpg|Religious ceremony in progress
File:Saileswar and Sareswar temple of Dihar in Bankura district (53).jpg|Shaileswar temple wall
File:Saileswar and Sareswar temple of Dihar in Bankura district (74).jpg|In the Shaileswar temple
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
[[Maniklal Sinha]]

{{commons category|Dihar}}
{{Portal|India}}
{{Wikivoyage|Bishnupur (West Bengal)}}

{{Non-extant Bengal places}}
{{Hindu inscriptions and arts|state=autocollapse}}
{{Bankura District}}
{{Temple towns in West Bengal}}

[[Category:Former populated places in India]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Bankura district]]

Dihar - Revision history

GordonCoulston at 21:09, 18 January 2025