Dudhai
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Dudhai (दूधई) is a small historical village in the Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
Origin
Variants
- Dudhai (दूधई) (जिला ललितपुर, उ.प्र.) (AS, p.440)
- Maholi
- Dugdhakupya
History
We get following information about Dudhai from the Puratattva-site.[1]
Though now reduce to a small village, Dudhai was once a significant and important town. It was the capital of the southern half of the present Lalitpur. According to a tradition, the district of Lalitpur was divided between two chiefdom, the middle boundary of which passed through the Lalitpur town. These two regions were referred as Haraspuri and Dudhai.
Ruchira Shrivastav, in her PhD report, mentions that during the end of twelfth century and start of thirteenth century, two brothers Devpat and Khovpat were residing at Devgadh. As per legends, they had access to the philosopher’s stone (paras mani), which made them very rich. They constructed various temples in and around Devgadh, including Dudhai. As per a legend, the Badi and Choti Barat temples at Dudhai were constructed by them.
She further tells that the old name of Dudhai was Maholi (as mentioned in “Bharat ke Digambar Jain Tirth”) & Dugdhakupya (as mentioned in “Epigraphia Indica vol I, page 214”). I do not have the first book in my possession, however I checked the volume of Epigraphia Indica. The editor of that inscription does not mention any identification of the name Dugdhakupya, therefore identification by Ruchira might be a later thought.
The definitive history of the town can be traced from the Mughal period when it attained certain importance. Abul Fazl mentions that Lalitpur and Dudhai were parganas under the Chanderi Sarkar which in turn was one of the Sarkar under the Malwa suba.
The first scholarly reference of Dudhai comes from Alexander Cunningham in his survey reports. He visited the town in 1874-75 and described its monuments in details. He tells that the village was situated on the ridge to the north of the Ram Sagar, a large artificial lake. He further tells that with construction of roads connecting with other villages, the people of Dudhai who earlier emigrated had started to return. He also touched upon the legends and traditions on the history of the place.
The next reference is from A Fuhrer however he merely repeated what was mentioned in Cunningham’s reports. In 1889, Keilhorn, in Indian Antiquary vol. XVIIII, edited the inscriptions at a temple in Dudhai. However he remained silent on the monuments of the place.
1889 also sees an attempt from P C Mukherji who described the antiquities of Lalitpur in great details. This was an important work from the scholar as it contained a good number of plates providing plans and sketchings of the monuments and ruins.
The Imperial Gazetteer of India for United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, prepared in 1905, refers Dudhai as a ruined town standing on the bank of an artificial tank. The same position is taken in the Jhansi Gazetteer, prepared in 1909, where Dudhai is referred as a decayed village. The Gazetteer of the North-Western Provinces ascribed these monuments to the ancient Gonds however the people were unanimous in referring them to Raja Jalandhar Chandel.
दूधई
विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[2] ने लेख किया है ...दूधई (AS, p.440) झांसी ज़िला, उत्तर प्रदेश का एक ऐतिहासिक स्थान है। मध्य युगीन बुंदेलखंड की वास्तुकला की सुंदर कुतियाँ, विशेषकर चंदेल तथा परवर्ती राज्य वंशों के समय में बने मंदिरों के अनेक अवशेष दूधई से प्राप्त हुए हैं।
पुरातत्व विभाग के सर्वेक्षण में दूधई के जंगल में 'अखाड़ा' के नाम से लगभग एक ह़ज़ार वर्ष पुराना मन्दिर प्रकाश में आया है। यह विशाल मन्दिर वृत्ताकार है, मध्य में आँगन और इसके चारों ओर अनेक कक्ष बने हैं, जिनमें विविध देवियों की मूर्तियाँ स्थापित हैं। मन्दिर स्थापत्य कला की दृष्टि से अभी तक ज्ञात 'चौसठ योगिनी' का सबसे पुराना मन्दिर है।[3]