Telkupi Gurudi Deul Temple, West Bengal

Address

Telkupi Gurudi Deul Temple Telkupi, Purulia district West Bengal 723133

Diety

Tirthankara

Introduction

Telkupi (or Tailakampi) is a submerged location of archaeological interest in Purulia district of West Bengal, India. The area, along with most of the temples situated there, was submerged in 1959 as a consequence to the construction of a dam across Damodar river at Panchet in Dhanbad district, then in Bihar. The Jaina architectural ruins of temples (Bhairavasthan) submerged by Panchet Dam in the Damodar River. Jainism spread in Purulia during this time. It is believed that a majority of traders who came to Tailakampi were Jains and hence the religion proliferated in this region. Deities of a number of Hindu gods and goddesses have also been unearthed and it is believed followers of both the religions lived in harmony. Telkupi – 1200 year old ruins of Jain temple which was submerged deliberately under the newly constructed dam by Damodar Valley Corporation without allowing any scope for documentation or translocation. Telkupi was a major Jain settlement with temples and other artefacts dating back to the 9th century Pala period.

Puranic Significance

Formerly known as Tailakampi, Telkupi is the capital of Rudrasikhara, a local ruler of the area in 11th century, who helped Pala king, Ramapala, to recover Varendra from Bhima. The royal chronicle of Panchkot Raj of Shikhar dynasty mentions that Rudrashikhara rose to power in 1098 AD. India historian Niharranjan Ray assumes that he ruled from 1070 to 1120. Sandhyakar Nandi in his poem Ramacharitam comments that like a wildfire, Rudrasikhara, was an expert in warfare, crushed the pride of the rulers of rivers and mountains. Tailakampi was a commercial hub in 10th to 13th century.It is believed that most of the temples were funded by the ‘Banik’ or business people.