Maluty is a small temple village in Pakur district in the northeastern corner of Jharkhand on the border with West Bengal. The village houses over 108 terracotta temples of the seventeenth century and is a national heritage. The temples, however, have faced destruction due to illegal stone mining, which is rampant throughout the Dumka hill range in which it falls. Maluty, known locally as the temple village, has a rich historical association. It was known as Gupta Kashi in ancient times. Mention of the place can be found as far back as 185-75 B.C. in the Sunga dynasty records and tradition holds that the great horse sacrifice or Aswamedha was once upon a time practiced here by Raja Pushyamitra Sunga. Later, Bajrayani Buddhists practiced Tantrik rituals in the place. The matriarchal deity Mauluiksha-ma is worshipped here giving Maluty its name. It is said that Adi Shankaracharya came here and from here began the Vedic upheaval against the Buddhists and that even today the Dandiswami of Varanasi’s Sumeru Math comes here regularly on an annual pilgrimage. Information and Images: Bulu Imam, ‘Maluty Temples: Problems and Solutions’, Context Vol II, Issue 1, spring/summer 2005. More information of Jharkhand’s archaeological remains, Mesolithic rock art, village rural painting tradition and culture can be found in Bulu Imam’s new book, ‘Antiquarian Remains of Jharkhand’. View details here: http://goo.gl/IxhMFI