UNAKOTI

Unakoti means one less than a crore and it is said that these many rock cut carvings are available here. As per Hindu mythology, when Lord Shiva was going to Kashi along with one crore gods and goddesses he made a night halt at this location. Unakoti is also known as Ankor wat of the North-East.

 It is a place of worship with huge rock reliefs celebrating Shiva. Unakoti literally means "one less one crore" or "koti" in Hindi and Bengali. In the local Kokborok language, it is called Subrai Khung. and the prime tourist spot of Unakoti District, in the Kailashahar Subdivision of the North-East Indian state of Tripura.

The images found at Unakoti are of two types: namely rock-carved figures and stone images. Among the rock-cut carvings, the central Shiva head and gigantic Ganesha figures deserve special mention. The central Shiva head known as Unakotiswara Kal Bhairava is about 30 feet high including an embroidered head-dress which itself is 10 feet high. On each side of the head-dress of the central Shiva, there are two full-size female figures - one of Durga standing on a lion and another female figure on the other side. In addition, three enormous images of Nandi Bull are found half-buried in the ground. There are various other stone as well as rock-cut images at Unakoti.

LOCATION

Unakoti lies 178 km to the northeast from Agartala which has the closest airport, 8 km to the
east from Kailasahar district headquarters of Unakoti District 148 km to the south-east from Silchar The nearest railway station is 19.6  km away at Dharmanagar Railway Station on the Lumbding-Sabroom Section From Dharmanagar railway station it takes about 30–40 minutes by car. Travelling from capital town Agartala has become much easier nowadays.

PRESERVATION

The site has suffered centuries of neglect causing degradation and loss of considerable scale to the rock art. Since its adoption by the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) as a heritage site, the situation has slightly improved, though a lot of work including substantial excavation remains to be undertaken. The Centre has recently granted Rs 12 crore to the state for developing the area, 178  km from here, as a major tourist destination.