Unakoti literally translates to one short of one crore or 10 millions. The rock reliefs & relics of Tripura are the most famous and visited tourism destinations in Tripura. There are many tales regarding the coming into being of this place and all legends encircle around Lord Shiva. It is a sacred place for the Saivite sect of Hinduism. Unakoti is about 178 KM away from Agartala, the capital city of Tripura. The marvellous rock carvings, murals with their primitive beauty, waterfalls are not to be missed. Unakoti means one less than a crore and it is said that these many rock cut carvings are available here. As per Hindu mythology, when Lord Shiva was going to Kashi along with one crore gods and goddesses he made a night halt at this location. He asked all the gods and goddesses to wake up before sun rise and proceed for Kashi. It is said that in the morning, except Shiva himself, no one else could get up so Lord Shiva set out for Kashi himself cursing the others to become stone images. As a result we have one less than a crore stone images and carvings at Unakoti.
These carvings are located at a beautifully landscaped forest area with green vegetation all around which add to the beauty of the carvings.The images found at Unakoti are of two types, namely rock-carved figures and stone images. Among the rock cut carvings, the central Shiva head and gigantic Ganesha figures deserve special mention. The central Shiva head known as ?Unakotiswara Kal Bhairava? is about 30 feet high including an embroidered head-dress which itself is 10 feet high. On each side of the head-dress of the central Shiva, there are two full size female figures - one of Durga standing on a lion and another female figure on the other side. In addition three enormous images of Nandi Bull are found half buried in the ground. There are various other stone as well as rock cut images at Unakoti. Every year a big fair popularly known as ?Ashokastami Mela? is held in the month of April which is visited by thousands of pilgrims.
The word ‘Unakoti’ stands for the meaning “one lesser than a crore”. It is believed that, there are that many numbers of carvings present here. Lord Shiva stayed at this location for just one night, when he was making a journey to Kashi. He was making the journey along with other gods and goddesses; a total of one crore in numbers. The mythological story related to this place is that, when the night got over, no one else other than Shiva woke up. As a consequence, he got angry and put a curse on the others to become stone figures. Thus, there are one crore minus one number of stone sculptures present here. In a wonderfully designed terrain, encircled with forests full of greeneries, the stone carvings are located. The surrounding makes the carvings even more appealing.
