The existing mosque structure at the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque complex was constructed using parts from earlier temples at the site, Archaeological Survey of India said in its survey report, Live Law reported on Monday.
In the report, submitted to the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the agency said that the archaeological remains recovered during its scientific survey reveal that the pre-existing structure “can be dated to the Paramara [dynasty] period”.
“From art and architecture of decorated pillars and pilasters, it can be said that they were part of earlier temples and were reused while making colonnades of the mosque over the high platform of basalt,” the report stated, according to Live Law.
On March 11, the Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the Archaeological Survey of India to carry out the survey on a plea by a group called the Hindu Front for Justice, which has claimed that the mosque was constructed by “destroying” Hindu temples.
The 11th-century structure, protected by the Archaeological Survey of India, is claimed by both Hindus and Muslims. While the Hindus believe that the Bhojshala is a temple dedicated to the deity Vagdevi, or Saraswati, the building is a mosque for the Muslim community.
Under an arrangement made by the Archaeological Survey of India in April 2003, Hindus perform prayers on the premises on Tuesdays and Muslims offer namaz in the complex on Fridays.
In May 2022, the Hindu Front for Justice filed a public interest litigation against the Archaeological Survey of India’s 2003 arrangement. The group has argued that the Kamal Maula mosque was constructed during the reign of Alauddin Khilji between the 13th century and 14th century by “destroying and dismantling ancient structures of previously constructed Hindu temples”.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court in March said a “complete scientific investigation, survey and excavation, through the adoption of latest methods, techniques and modes of ground penetrating radar and global positioning system survey” should be carried out at the site.
What the ASI report says
In its report submitted on Monday, the Archaeological Survey of India said that the existing structure features extensive colonnades extending in all four directions, decorated with 106 pillars and 82 pilasters.
“Art and architecture of these pillars and pilasters in colonnades suggest that they were originally part of temples,” the report states, Live Law reported. “For their reuse in the existing structure, figures of deities and humans carved on them were mutilated.”
The survey report said that human and animal figures had been “chiselled out or defaced”.
The alterations are evident on pillars and pilasters in the western and eastern colonnades, the lintel in the western colonnade, and the entrance of the southeast cell of the structure, the report said.
It added that the inscriptions in Sanskrit and Prakrit highlight the site’s historical, literary and educational significance, Live Law reported.
The agency said that it had found one inscription mentioning King Naravarman of the Paramara dynasty, who ruled between 1094 AD and 1133 AD.
It also highlighted that decorative motifs featuring human, animal and composite faces carved on several pillars in the western colonnade were “not destroyed”, according to Live Law. The deity figures carved on the window frames in the north and south walls of the western colonnade were also relatively well preserved.
Ninety-four sculptures, sculptural fragments and architectural elements featuring intricate carvings were also discovered, the Archaeological Survey of India claimed.
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