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All about Tripura’s Unakoti, the ‘Angkor Wat of the North-East’ seeking UNESCO world heritage tag
GS Paper – 1,Indian Art and Heritage
Why in the News?
● Unakoti, famously known as the ‘Angkor Wat of the North-East’, is vying for a UNESCO world heritage tag with both the government and ASI working to preserve the lakhs of Shaivite rock carvings figures and images of gods and goddesses.
● “The structures of the rock-cut sculptures are gigantic and have distinct mongoloid features and display almost the same mystical charm as the spellbinding figures in the Angkor Wat temple of Cambodia.
Unakoti:
● Dating back to the 7th-9th centuries, Unakoti is a ‘Shaiba’ (Saivite) pilgrimage site with marvellous rock carvings, murals with their primitive beauty and waterfalls.
● Literally, Unakoti means ‘one less one crore’ in Hindi and Bengali and it is believed that these many rock carvings (ninety-nine lakh ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine) are present here.
● In the local Kokborok language, it is called Subrai Khung and is the central tourist spot of the Unakoti District in the Kailashahar Subdivision of Tripura.
