The Images od Lord Shiva carved on Rocks in Unakoti, Tripura are intersting and Unakoti is a Shaiva Pilgrimage spot.
The word ‘Unakoti’ stands for the meaning “one lesser than a crore”.
It is believed that, there are that many numbers of carvings present here. Lord Shiva stayed at this location for just one night, when he was making a journey to Kashi. He was making the journey along with other gods and goddesses; a total of one crore in numbers.
when the night got over, no one else other than Shiva woke up. As a consequence, he got angry and put a curse on the others to become stone figures. Thus, there are one crore minus one number of stone sculptures present here.
The mythological story related to this place is that, when the night got over, no one else other than Shiva woke up. As a consequence, he got angry and put a curse on the others to become stone figures. Thus, there are one crore minus one number of stone sculptures present here.
Another story revolves around one Kalu Kamar, the famous sculptor. He was assigned the task to build a crore of the deities in his dream. But keeping the last idol unfinished Kalu created his own image. Thus ‘Koti’ could not be completed. So, the place got its name as Unakoti.
The history of old Kailashahar is also associated with Unakoti. A 15th generation descendant of King Jujhar Fa, a Shiva disciple who started the Tripurabda (Tripuri Calendar), prayed for Lord Shiva in a village called Chhambulnagar on the banks of the river Mau. It is speculated that Chhambulnagar, which is mentioned in Rajmala, was situated near Unakoti Hill. The Prince prayed for Mahadeva in Unakoti. For this some people believe that the previous name of Kailashahar was Chhambulnagar. Some believers thought that Har (Shiva) resides in Kailash. Therefore the place was known as Kailash Har which was later on transformed to Kailashahar. A Tripura king named Adi-Dharmapha ruled here in 7th century. He performed a great yagna with much pomp and gaiety. The name Kailashahar found currency since that time.
Unakoti has been included in the tourism map of Tripura and the North-East as a remarkable tourists’ resort. Common pilgrims frequent the place. Tourists from far and wide also converge in Unakoti with much enthusiasm. One can have a trip to Unakoti via Kailashahar or Dharmanagar. The journey takes 20 minutes from Kailashahar and 45 minutes from Dharmanagar
How to reach.
By air: The nearest air terminal is located Agartala.
By road: One can opt for buses, jeeps, taxis or private cars in order to reach this place.
Around 178km from state capital Agartala, .
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