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'{{Infobox Hindu temple |name = Malinithan |image = Malinithan2.jpg |image_size = 250px |alt = |caption = Ruins of Malinithan temple |map_type = India |coordinates = {{coord|27|39|24|N|94|42|21|E|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} |coordinates_footnotes= |map_caption = Malinithan in [[Likabali]] |other_names = |sanskrit_translit = |script_name = |script = |country = [[India]] |state = [[Arunachal Pradesh]] |district = [[Lower Siang district]] |locale = Likabali |elevation_m = |elevation_footnotes = |deity = |festivals = |architecture = |temple_quantity = |monument_quantity = |inscriptions = |established = |year_completed = 14th to 15th centuries |creator = Chutiya king Lakshminarayan |temple_board = |website = [http://arunachalpradesh.gov.in/malinithan.htm] }} '''Malinithan''' is an archaeological site which consists of ruins of a [[Hindu]] temple of the early medieval period on the northern bank of the [[Brahmaputra River]] in the Indian state of [[Arunachal Pradesh]]. It was built by [[Chutiya kingdom|Chutiya king]] Lakshminarayan in the early 15thcentury. This was the period when the Chutiya kings had started setting Brahmins in different areas of their kingdom offering them land grants. The archaeological studies of the ruins indicate that the temple was built with granite stones during the period of [[Aryan]] influence in the region, distinct from the other temples in the northeastern region built with bricks.<ref name=Arun>{{Cite web|url=http://arunachalpradesh.gov.in/malinithan.htm|title= Malini Than| accessdate= 3 May 2015|publisher=Government of Arunachal Pradesh}}</ref> [[Durga|Durga/Kesai Kaiti]] is believed to be the chief deity who was worshipped in the ruined temple in her [[Shakthi]] form.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} ==Location== The Malinithan archaeological site is located at the base of the Siang mountains in the [[Likabali]] town and a sub-division of the [[Lower Siang district]] of Arunachal Pradesh.<ref name=Arun/><ref>{{cite web|title=Likabali|url=http://villagemap.in/arunachal-pradesh/west-siang/likabali+circle/249900.html|accessdate=3 May 2016}}</ref> It is situated on a hill that rises to a height of {{Convert|21| m}}, which affords a commanding view of the plains around it and of the Brahmaputra River.{{Sfn|Sali|1998|p=148}} ==Legend== In local mythology, it is said that when [[Krishna]] wanted to marry [[Rukmini]], the daughter of King [[Bhishmaka]] of [[Vidarbha]], he abducted her prior to her wedding with [[Shishupala]]. Krishna and Rukmini then travelled from Bhishmakanagar to [[Dwarka]], stopping at Malinithan on the way over, where they were guests of [[Shiva]] and [[Durga]], who were doing penance. Parvati, Shiva's consort, warmly welcoming her guests, presented them with garlands made of flowers plucked from her orchard.<ref name=Arun/>{{Sfn|Sali|1998|p=148}} Krishna was so enamoured by the beauty and the scent of the flowers that he addressed Parvati as Malini, meaning "the mistress of the garden", and since then the place is named as Malinithan.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} In another legend it is said that an image of a female without the head, which was unearthed during the excavations, represented Malini who was the lover of Shiva. The image of the goddess Durga found here is also known as "Pupane", an ancient name for the Divine Mother.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} ==History== The archaeological finds at the site of sculptures of Durga, a Shiva linga and a bull, the mount of Shiva, relate to worship by people of the Shiva cult. Based on these, archaeologists have inferred that the Shakti cult was practiced in the region. A copper plate inscription of the Pala Kings gives further confirmation that an Aryan colony existed on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra in the northeastern region where worship of Shiva and Parvati was in vogue. It was one of the three leading centers of [[Shaktism]]; the other two centers are stated to be Bhaghawati, the mother goddess at Gorehoga village in [[North Lakhimpur]], and Hahithan in [[Dhakuakhan]] in the west end [[Tamareswari]] in the east. There was also then{{specify|when?|date=January 2017}} the influence of the Vasudeva cult, the earliest form of [[Vaishnavism]] in Assam, which was followed during the reign of Mahabhuti Varman (554 AD). From all archaeological evidences at the site, archaeologists have opined that the temple belonged to the early medieval period in India.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} ==Features== [[File:Malinithan1.jpg|right|thumb|Raised plinth of the ruined temple]] The archaeological excavations revealed a very well designed and carved plinth of a temple, of {{Convert|8| ft}} height, sculptures of deities and animals, designs of flowers, damaged columns and panels.<ref name=Arun/> Four sculptures of lions on two elephants were found at the four corners of the ruins of the temple. The architects of the temple are said to be skilled craftsmen who were brought from Aryan India, outside of Assam.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} Among the sculptures found at Malinthan, five notable ones carved out of granite stone are of [[Indra]] riding his mount [[Airavata]], [[Kartikeya]] riding a peacock, [[Surya]] (Sun) riding a chariot, and [[Ganesha]] mounted over a mouse, and a large [[Nandi bull]].{{Sfn|Sali|1998|p=148}} On the basis of the erotic [[Maithuna]] sculptures found here in different postures it is believed that [[tantras|tantricism]] prevailed here as a fertility rite of the primitive tribal people who held the "mother principal as the procreative power of nature".{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==Bibliography== * {{cite book|last= Sali |first=M. L. |title=India-China Border Dispute: A Case Study of the Eastern Sector|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z6y2E9gw5oIC&pg=PA148|date=1 January 1998|publisher=APH Publishing|isbn=978-81-7024-964-1|ref=harv}} [[Category:Hindu temples in Arunachal Pradesh]] [[Category:Shiva temples in India]]'