“Unakoti” means “one less than crore”. It is the prime tourist spot of Tripura in the Kailashahar Subdivision. It is a Shiva pilgrimage and dates back to the 7th- 9th centuries, if not earlier.
Likewise, it is nestled in between nature’s beauties with lush greenery surrounded by hills and forests. The place is peaceful and worth spending time seeing the sculptures of many Gods and Goddesses by curving a rock. The legends are quite interesting and there are mainly two stories that go with it. According to the first myth, Lord Shiva was traveling to the holy city of Kashi (Varanasi) along with one crore Gods and Goddesses, and he chose Unakoti as a place for night halt. Lord Shiva instructed everybody to get up before sunrise the next day for an early start. Come dawn the next day and Lord Shiva found that he was the only one awake. This had angered him, and he had cursed all others to turn into stone images.
The other myth goes like this. There was a local artisan and potter called “Kallu Kumhar” who was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. Upon his fervent prayer and insistence of Parvati, Shiva agreed to fulfill his wish of going to Kailash, the abode of Shiva & Parvati. But he put one condition on his grant. He had to sculpt a Koti (one crore) image of Shiva, Parvati, Nandi, Ganesha, and other gods and goddesses in one night and must finish before the first rays of the sun hit the earth. Kallu Kumhar, took the challenge and worked on like a man possessed. But as luck would have it he was still short of one image when the ray of sunlight touched the earth, thus his hope of visiting Kailash in person remains unfulfilled.
Unakoti is great in its rights. Seeing the scenic beauty, I was mesmerized and took a deep breath looking at it from the entrance. I tried counting the sculptures while looking around, but I was lost for a moment seeing their uniqueness and noticing the distinct Tribal influences in the sculptures of God and Goddesses. It was a rare piece to explore and understand the curving beauty. The faces, the ornaments, and everything around have a subtle hint of Tribal art.
At the bottom, the falling of spring water dominated the scene and also the center point of attraction is the huge face of Lord Shiva known as “Unakotishwar Kal Bhairab”. This is a vast sculpture of just the face of Lord Shiva on the vertical rock face, with three eyes and a gigantic decorated headgear. The head is measuring 30 feet including the 10 feet tall headgear would be one of the largest that are found in India.
The Unakotishwar Shiva is worshiped daily, and a priest stays there. Flowers were strewn in front, evidencing the regular flow of the devotees. Further down the hillock, as I climbed down the long stone steps for some forty to fifty meters, another set of interesting sculptures emerged in front of my eyes.
There were the famous ‘Ganeshas’ of Unakoti. On the vertical rock face which looked almost gallery like wall. There are three imposing Ganesha carved out of the rock. On the right, is a gigantic image of a seated Ganesha with four arms. The dress has amazing details, with the knot at the belly seeming almost lifelike. There are two more standing Ganesha statues on the left. The one in the middle is a Sarbhuja (six-armed) Ganesha with three tusks, and the one on the left is an Asthabhuja (eight-armed) Ganesha with four tusks.
It cannot be said with certainty who had taken the pains to create sculptures of this magnitude. Some of the traces are fading away, even some of the sculptures are broken due to weather changes. According to the ASI board, it could be assumed that Unakoti flourished as a great Hindu pilgrimage place for over 300 years.
How to reach:
Unakoti is about 190 km from the state capital Agartala, and it’s a five-hour journey from there if you hire a cab to Kailashahar or Dharmanagar from Agartala.
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Otherwise, from Agartala one can take a train to Kumarghat station on the Agartala Railway Station. But beware of this train timing. Another best way to travel is by bus from Agartala which would take close to six hours. Roads are single-lane, but manageable by a small hatchback. Kailasahar is the closest town and Unakoti is about 8 km from Kailasahar. Dharmanagar is another prominent city which is 22 km away. From Dharmanagar or Kailasahar hire a private car to take you to Unakoti as local transport like bus is not easily available.
Where to stay:
There are many hotels if you are staying in Agartala. I can suggest some:
You can either stay at Kailashahar or Dharmanagar. Unakoti has ‘Unakoti Tourist Lodge’ run by Tripura tourism. At Dharmanagar, you can stay at Uttermegh Tourist Lodge or at Hotel Pachabati, a good private hotel offering comfortable AC rooms. It is nice, clean, and conveniently located. Since accommodation is limited, it is wiser to make a prior booking.
Where to eat:
There are no interesting cuisines or eating places to recommend around this region. But you may find some small shops on the way to Unakoti where you can find “atte ke roti,” “seasonal sabji,” or “egg burji,” which is a light meal and good to have while we travel. Or else, carry some fruits, sandwiches, or anything light you prefer, and also do not forget to carry water bottles.
Best time to visit:
September to November, February to April
Thank you for reading it. I am happy to share about it. I will come up with more interesting things next time.