Kurukshetra board urged to conduct study on ‘Draupadi Koop’ at Brahma Sarovar

Nitish Sharma

Kurukshetra, June 9

An independent research scholar, who has been working on lost Buddhist sites in Haryana, has requested the Kurukshetra Development Board(KBD) to study the ancient structure named ‘Draupadi Koop’ at the Brahma Sarovar and determine its true nature.

Sidhartha Gauri, the research scholar of Buddhist Art and Culture and Heritage of Haryana, said during a study of Buddhist sites in Kurukshetra, he came across some reports of Sir Alexander Cunningham in which the ‘Draupadi Koop’ site was mentioned as Mogalpura.

He claimed, “There is a site at the Brahma Sarovar, named ‘Draupadi Koop’ and part of it is used in the ritual practices. During my study of Buddhist sites, I came across the reports of Sir Alexander Cunningham in which he has mentioned this site as ‘Mogalpura’ in his ‘Four reports of archeological survey of India’ made during the years 1862-63-64-65 volume 2.”

Gauri, in support of his claim presented the text of Cunningham’s report, and said “Alexnder Cunningham has mentioned that the great lake of Kuru-Kshetra is an oblong sheet of water 3,546 ft in length from east to west, and 1,900 ft in breadth. In the middle of the lake there is an island 580 ft square, which is connected with the north and south banks by two broken bridges 26 ft broad. In the west half of the island, there is a deep square tank called Chandra-kupa, or “Chandra’s well,” which is one of the places of pilgrimage, although it is not enumerated in the list which I obtained from the Mahatmya. The island is bound by a brick wall and the lake itself is surrounded by a continuous flight of brick steps. Both these works, as well as the two bridges, are attributed to Raja Birbal, the witty companion of Akbar.”

“The whole place is said to have been desecrated in the reign of Aurangzeb, who built a castle on the island called Mogalpura, from which his soldiers could fire on any pilgrims who might venture to bathe in the holy lake. But with the decline of the Mughal Empire and the consequent ascendancy of the Sikhs, many of the old shrines has been restored and new shrines established, he added.

The research scholar said, “I have requested the member secretary of the KDB to study the ancient structure from any of the archeological departments of the state or the Central Government to determine its true nature. The pilgrims must know what kind of atrocities people faced in history. I am yet to get any response regarding my request. The objective is not to hurt the beliefs but to ensure that the true nature of the historic sites are not changed as it creates missing links in history, and sets wrong traditions.”

Meanwhile, Upender Singhal, honorary secretary of the Kurukshetra Development Board, said, “The board has got the request. There are many stories, including the Mahabharata period stories, associated with the site and that is why it got the name ‘Draupadi Koop’. With the passage of time, there have been several modifications with the structures, yet it is an old structure and the survey will tell its historic value. However, the survey will only tell about the last built structure and not about the legends associated with the site. We welcome the suggestion of the research scholar and we are considering getting a survey conducted.”