Malinithan Temple

Malinithan consists of ruins of a Hindu temple of the early medieval period. It is an archaeological site which is located on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The Malinithan archaeological site is located in a sub-division of the Lower Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh and at the base of the Siang Mountains in Likabali town. It is situated on a hill that rises to a height of 21 meters (69 ft), which provides a commanding view of the plains around it and of the Brahmaputra River.

Durga/Kechai-Khaiti was worshipped in the ruined temple in her Shakthi form and was believed to be the chief deity. The archaeological ruins at the site of sculptures of Durga, a Shiva linga, and a bull, the mount of Shiva, relate to worship by people of the Shiva cult. Based on them, archaeologists have inferred that the Shakti cult was practiced in the region.

History of Malinithan Temple

There's an intriguing story associated with the name of the temple, according to which Krishna eloped with Rukmini, the daughter of King Bhishmaka of Vidarbha, and then traveled from Bhishmakanagar to Dwarka. During their journey, they stopped at Malinithan, where they received a wall welcome and were presented with garlands made of flowers plucked from her orchard.

Krishna was so fascinated by the scent of a flower that he addressed Parvati as Malini, meaning "the mistress of the garden." That's how the place got its name - Malinithan. As per another story, the image of a female without a head was unearthed during the excavations, which represented Malini who was the lover of Shiva. The image of the goddess Durga found here is known as "Pupane", an ancient name for the Divine Mother.

Architecture of Malinithan Temple

The archaeological excavations developed a very well-designed and carved plinth of a temple, 8 feet (2.4 m) in height, with damaged columns, and panels, designs of flowers, and sculptures of deities and animals. At the time when the temple was in the excavation process, sculptures of four lions and two elephants were found. The granite sculptures of Kartikeya riding a peacock, Indra riding his mount Airavata, Ganesha mounted over a mouse, and Surya (Sun) riding a chariot, and, and a large Nandi bull was also found here.

This type of temple is known as Asmamayai, which is carved entirely out of stone. Iron dowels revealed in the ruins of the stone temple which resemble the ones found in the Tamreswari Temple of Sadiya show that it was built by the same people.

The archaeological studies of the ruins show that the temple is distinct from the other temples in the northeastern region built with bricks as this was built with granite stones during the period of Hinduism. It was built in the early 15th century by Chutiya king Lakshminarayan. This was the period when the Chutiya kings had started setting Brahmins in different regions of their kingdom offering them land grants.