Barakar is a

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

Asansol Asansol is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the second largest city in West Bengal. It is the 33rd largest urban agglomeration in India by population. Asansol is the district headquarters of Paschim Bardhaman district. Accordi ...

Paschim Bardhaman district Paschim Bardhaman district is a predominantly urban mining-industrial district in West Bengal. The headquarter of the district is Asansol. It was formed on 7 April 2017 after bifurcation of the erstwhile Bardhaman district as the 23rd distric ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. It is governed by the Asansol Municipal Corporation It is situated at the border of the states of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

and

. The

Grand Trunk Road Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sadak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sadak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. It r ...

passes through Barakar. The neighbourhood is located on the banks of the river Barakar.

Geography

Urbanisation

As per the 2011 census, 83.33% of the population of Asansol Sadar subdivision was urban and 16.67% was rural. Asansol Sadar subdivision has 26 (+1 partly)

Census Town In India and some other countries, a census town is designated as a town that satisfies certain characteristics. India In India, a census town is one which is not statutorily notified and administered as a town, but nevertheless whose population ...

s. Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map. .

Asansol Municipal Corporation

According to the Kolkata Gazette notification of 3 June 2015, the municipal areas of Kulti, Raniganj and Jamuria were included within the jurisdiction of Asansol Municipal Corporation. *For language details see Salanpur (community development block)#Language and religion

Begunia temples

This is a group of four temples, out of which two consists of a simple cell each, surmounted by a tower-roof and there are traces of a mandapa in front. There are four temples in one complex known as Begunia temples. The fourth temple, last from the entrance, seems to be the oldest and was built around 8th-9th century. It is amongst the oldest rekh-deul temples in West Bengal. Two other temples are dated around 14th-15th century. The temples have

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

lingams and idols of

Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

and

Durga Durga (, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic ...

. Many stone idols have been discovered in the complex. Some are

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

idols but others are Jain idols, possibly belonging to the older fourth temple. Thereafter, it became a

Shaivite Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the supreme being. It is the second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million Hindus, found widely across South Asia (predominantly in ...

centre and was also a

Vaishnavite Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

centre at some point of time.Ghosh, Binoy, ''Paschim Banger Sanskriti'', (in Bengali), part I, 1976 edition, pp. 219-221, Prakash Bhaban

Barakar picture gallery

File:KITLV 88210 - Unknown - Temples at Barakhar in British India - 1897.tif, Front view of Ganesh and Durga temples, photographed by JD Beglar in 1872 File:Panchanana Temple, Barakar, Burdwan District, Bengal - 1872.jpg, Panchanana temple, photographed around 1872 File:Temple No. 5 (Siddheshvara Temple) in Barakar, Burdwan district of West Bengal in 1872-73.jpg, Siddheswara temple, photographed by JD Beglar in 1872 File:Barakar-hanuman-mandir.jpg, Hanuman Mandir, Barakar

References

External links

{{Major temples in West Bengal Neighbourhoods in Asansol