Ranod is a village in the Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh. It was known as Aranipadra or Ranipadra in inscriptions. Being referred to as tapovana (forest) in its inscriptions, scholars have suggested the etymology of Aranipadra as Arani (a plant whose wood was handy for igniting fire by friction) and padra (common land).1 Henry Cope was the first modern scholar to provide an account of the village and its inscription.2 Cope says the inscription was first brought to notice by Captain A Dewar and belongs to a building locally known as Kokai Mahal. Alexander Cunningham was the first archaeologist to describe the antiquities.3 He says the town was situated on the west bank of River Airavati or Ahirpal Nala, which flows into the Sindh River near Narwar. He attested that it would be an important city in its heydays, as evidenced by its rich Hindu and Muslim ruins. Being surrounded by groves of tamarind, mangoes, and other trees, Cunningham says it would be one of the prettiest places in that part of the country. He describes the most important building in the town as a palace because it was locally known as Khokhai-Mahal, meaning a palace. Tamara Sears4 conducted the first systematic study about the site and its monastery in the early 2000s, followed by that of R N Misra5 in the 2010s.
Khokhai Matha – It is situated north of the modern town. It was constructed in two phases, as evidenced by its inscription. The Matha (monastery) complex has a large courtyard with a two-story building at its south end. This building was built during the first phase and provided a residential quarter for its ascetics. The credit for establishing this monastery goes to Sage Purandara, who belonged to the Mattamayura lineage. The inscription embedded in the left wall of the building tells Sage Purandara initiated King Avantivarman to the Shaiva sect, and the king rewarded him accordingly—the sage later set up a monastery in the tapovana of Aranipadra. This suggests that Aranipadra was a forest recluse for ascetics, and for the benefit of those, Sage Purandara caused this matha for residence and other practices. The Khokhai Matha is one of the earliest such mathas established under the patronage of the Mattamayura saints. The other mathas of this sect are found at Surwaya, Kadwaya, Terahi, and Mahua.
The Matha is a modest rectangular building measuring 61 feet long and 41 feet broad. It has two similar stories: a long pillared verandah in the front and three rooms in a line at the rear wall. An entrance in the verandah leads to the central room, and entrances to the side rooms are provided from within this central room. Four pillars in the middle room suggest its purpose was not residential but congregational and ceremonial. A high plinth beyond the rear line of the pillars indicates that it was raised to support statues of deities or gurus. The position of the pillars and the plinth is such that it allows a circumambulation around. Recently, an image of Bijasen Devi has been installed on the plinth. Small stone-barred windows dimly lighted side rooms. A square tower at the western end of the building has staircases to the upper story and the roof. The roof is built using large stone blocks placed one over the other at their edges, forming a sloping roof. The building reflects the simple and austere design, befitting the wilderness retreat for the forest dwellers.
The matha deteriorated fast and required substantial restoration in about a century. The task was taken up by Sage Vyomasiva, fourth in line after Purandara, who is credited with restoring the past glories of the matha by constructing a few temples and a magnificent tank. He built temples for Shiva, Uma, Natesha, and Vinayaka. However, none has survived. A large stepped tank outside this courtyard, about 45 feet away, is the one constructed by Vyomasiva. These extensions might be necessary due to the increasing number of ascetics after the popularity of the Mattamayura sect and the royal patronage they received from the Kalachuri kings.
Vyomasiva’s successor, Patangashambhu, also added extensions by constructing a beautiful temple for Shiva, five enormous tanks, a surrounding wall, and some gardens. The prakara wall enclosed the original matha on its south edge. The inner portion of the prakara wall has an open cloister running across the courtyard. Rooms were provided at the rear walls of this cloister.
Inscriptions – There is one stone inscription embedded in situ within the matha. This is the earliest inscription detailing the Mattamayura lineage.
- Stone Inscription at Ranod6 — Alexander Cunningham first noticed the inscription at Ranod, engraved on a stone tablet embedded in the left-end wall of the lower verandah. It has 64 lines composed in Sanskrit and written in the Nagari characters of the 10th century CE. It was composed by Devadatta, written by Rudra, and engraved by Jejjaka. The inscription starts with an invocatory verse, om namah Shivaya. The following five verses praise Ganesha, Sarasvati, and Shiva. The next verse tells Shiva that he was once pleased with a Brahman for his sacrifices, which was the origin of the line of sages treated in the following verses. In this line was a sage named Kadambaguhavasi. After him came to Sakhamathadhipati, followed by Terambipala, Amardakatrirthanatha, and Purandara. King Avantivarman, in desire to be initiated in the doctrines of the Shaiva faith, went to Upendrapura to get initiated by sage Purandara. The king duly rewarded the sage. Purandara then founded a matha at Mattamayura, the prince’s town, and at Ranipadra, where this inscription is. After Purandara came to Kavachasiva, followed by Sadasiva, Hridayesha, and Vyomasiva, Vyomasiva surpassed all manner of devotees and learned men by restoring Ranipadra to its past glory and excavating a magnificent tank. He also caused a few Shiva temples to be constructed at the site. The next verse says that the tank may last forever and prohibits planting trees near it. The last verse commands ascetics to sleep on beds and allow women to pass nights within the matha.
1 Misra, R N (2018). Ascetics, Piety and Power – Saiva Siddhanta Monastic Art in the Woodlands of Central India. Aryan Books International. New Delhi. ISBN 9788173056055. p. 112
2 Cope, Henry (1847). Memorandum regarding the recently discovered ruins of Ranode, in Scindeah’s Dominions, published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. XVI. pp. 1079-1088
3 Cunningham, Alexander (1871). Four Reports made during the years 1862-63-64-65, vol. II. Government Central Press. Simla. pp. 303-307
4 Sears, Tamara (2014). Worldly Gurus and Spiritual Kings – Architecture and Asceticism in Medieval India. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300198447. pp. 78-85 | pp. 100-110
5 Misra, R N (2018). Ascetics, Piety and Power – Saiva Siddhanta Monastic Art in the Woodlands of Central India. Aryan Books International. New Delhi. ISBN 9788173056055. p. 112-121
6 Kielhorn, F (1892). A Stone Inscription from Ranod published in Epigraphia Indica, vol. I. pp. 351-361
Acknowledgment: Some of the photos above are in CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain from the collection released by the Tapesh Yadav Foundation for Indian Heritage.