The High Court had in March asked the ASI to undertake a scientific survey of the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex.
For their reuse in the existing structure, figures of deities and humans carved on them were mutilated,” the ASI report, a copy of which is with The Hindu, stated.
The survey found that the existing structure has long colonnades in all four directions decorated with 106 pillars and 82 pilasters.
It also found images of Hindu deities such as Ganesha, Brahma with his consorts, Narasimha, Bhairava and other human and animal figures in the existing structure.
“The opening verses of one of the inscriptions refer to the King Naravarman (ruled between 1094-1133 CE) son of Udayaditya, of the Paramara dynasty,” the ASI report said.
The existing structure at the Bhojshala complex in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district was constructed using remains of a temple that existed earlier at the site, said the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in its scientific survey report, which was submitted to the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday.
The High Court had in March asked the ASI to undertake a scientific survey of the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex. The aim of the survey was to unshackle the mystery that shrouds the structure and to determine the true nature and character of the site, the court had observed.
Explained: What is the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula complex dispute?
The site is an ASI-protected, 11th Century monument. Under an agreement with the ASI, puja is performed at the complex by Hindus every Tuesday and namaz offered every Friday.
The ASI said based on the scientific survey, conducted over a period of three months using technologies such as ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and from archaeological remains studied during the investigation, the pre-existing structure “can be dated to the Paramara [dynasty] period”.
“Art and architecture of the pillars and pilasters in colonnades suggest that they were originally part of a temple. For their reuse in the existing structure, figures of deities and humans carved on them were mutilated,” the ASI report, a copy of which is with The Hindu, stated.
The survey found that the existing structure has long colonnades in all four directions decorated with 106 pillars and 82 pilasters. It also found images of Hindu deities such as Ganesha, Brahma with his consorts, Narasimha, Bhairava and other human and animal figures in the existing structure.
“As human and animal figures are not permitted in mosque, at many places, such images have been chiselled out or defaced. Such attempts can be seen on pillar and pilaster in western and eastern colonnades; on lintel in western colonnade; entrance of southeast cell, etc.,” the ASI said.
The ASI report also said that inscriptions in Sanskrit and Prakrit were found at the site. These inscriptions were datable to the 13th Century CE.
“The opening verses of one of the inscriptions refer to the King Naravarman (ruled between 1094-1133 CE) son of Udayaditya, of the Paramara dynasty,” the ASI report said.
The ASI report also quoted an inscription on the gateway to the tomb of Abdullah Shah Changal at Dhar which had said that the temple “was violently converted” into a mosque.
“Verses 17-18 of the inscription of Khilji king Mahmud, Shah, dated to AH 859 (1455 CE) and fixed on the gateway of the tomb of Abdullah Shah Changal at Dhar (Epigraphia Indo-Moslemica 1909-10) mentions, ‘This brave man reached from Centre of religion in this old monastery with crowd of people together... destroyed the effigies of idols, made this temple into mosque violently’,” the report said.
In the main suit, the petitioner, Hindu Front for Justice, had cited ASI reports prepared from time to time explaining that the originally constructed Bhojshala-Vagdevi temple complex was destroyed or dismantled to install and construct a mosque over it at the instance of Islamist rulers and forces. The petitioners demanded that the ASI conduct a survey to ascertain the true character of the site.
Maulana Kamaluddin, one of the respondents challenged the maintainability of the suit, citing the principle of res judiciata. He also pointed out the a similar writ petition was dismissed by the High Court’s Principal Bench in 2003.
The High Court had recently said that once a survey is conducted scientifically, it can safely place reliance on the report.
The next hearing will take place on July 22. The survey, ordered on March 11 by the HC, started on March 22 and was completed in 98 days.
