Unakoti

Description

Unakoti or Subrai Khung is a sculptural emblem and ancient Shaivite place that hosts rock carvings, figures and images of gods and goddesses. The bas relief sculptures at Unakoti are on stylistic grounds ascribed to 7th to 9th century CE, to the period of Pre- Manikya rule. The rock art was patronised by Deva Dynasty of Sri Bhumi in Samatata. The only inscription at Unakoti is on the other Chaturmukhalinga image, consisting of a couple of records in Bengali Characters of the 11th to 12th century CE, which mentions one SriJayadeva, probably a pilgrim.

Unakoti literally means "one less than one crore" or "koti" in Hindi and Bengali. In the local Kokborok language, it is called Subrai Khung. It was put on the UNESCO world heritage site tentative list in 2022. It is the prime tourist spot of Unakoti District, in the Kailashahar Subdivision of the North-eastern Indian state of Tripura.