Know About The History Of Bhojshala, Saraswati's Temple In Madhya Pradesh

A team of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is currently in Bhojshala Complex located in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar to continue a survey which began on March 22 following the direction of the High Court. For Hindus, the Bhojshala Complex is a temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati), while for Muslims, it is the site of the Kamal Maula mosque.

According to an arrangement in 2003, Hindus perform puja at the complex on every Tuesday from sunrise to sunset while Muslims offer namaz on every Friday from 1 pm to 3 pm. The complex is open to visitors on other days. The ASI team now started excavation inside the Bhojshala complex as a part of the survey.

History of Bhojshala

Raja Bhoja ruled between 1000-1055 A.D. The great monarch of the Paramara dynasty, was a huge patron of learning and knowledge. He founded a college at Dhar which subsequently came to be known as Bhojshala, where students from all over the area came to quench their intellectual thirst and study disciplines like science, grammar, medicine and philosophy.

Along with his literary and art support, Raja Bhoja began constructing a Shiva temple at Bhojpur. It is believed that if the construction would have been completed, the temple would have been double the size of the Hindu temples at the Khajuraho. The temple was actually only partially completed, and the epigraphical evidence confirms that Bhoja founded and built Hindu temples.

Kamal Maulana Mosque

Remnants of the Bhojshala or the temple of Saraswati are still seen in the Kamal Maulana Mosque which was turned into a mosque by the Muslim rulers of Dhara. The mosque consists of a large open court with a porch in front colonnades at sides and a large prayer hall at the back in the west. The carved pillars used over the mosque and delicately carved ceilings of the prayer hall appear to have belonged to Bhojshala. Valuable compositions have been recovered from engraved slabs of stones fixed to walls of the mosque.