Rupban Mura Kotbari Comilla Bangladesh

Rupban Mura is a Buddhist temple complex of an 8th century. It is 200 meter apart from the Comilla BARD and south part of Kali Bazar market near Kotbari. It is a significant archaeological site in Bangladesh. This Bihar was built by the king Balbhatta. The first excavations of this site started at the time of the Second World War.

Excavations have revealed here the remains of a remarkable semi-cruciform shrine of medium size (28.2m east – west, 28m north – south), together with some subsidiary structures, including an octagonal stupa and another one on a square base. A boundary wall within the oblong stupa courtyard encloses all these. Its regular entrance is on the east, facing the monastery entrance. Deep diggings have revealed three main periods of building and repairs and rebuilding, the earliest corresponding to 6th-7th centuries AD. Few remains of the latest period (10th-11th century AD) survive now in this heavily disturbed site.
The Cruciform Shrine Originally built as a solid stupa on a square base; it was subsequently converted into a semi-cruciform shrine in the second period (8th century AD). It has a peculiarity not noticed elsewhere. Instead of a single chapel built in each of the long arms of the cross, a group of three long narrow chapels was built in the eastern (front) side of the shrine.
In the middle chapel the colossal stone Buddha, now exhibited in Mainamati Museum, was discovered. The same peculiarity is noticed in the closest Itakhola Mura grand stupa, also on the eastern side facing the door. Fragments of bronze images found in other chapels suggest installation of such images there.