Bhojeshwar Temple (Bhojpur, Madhya Pradesh)

Religion and architecture, sculpture, drama and an eldritch vision combined in a compelling assertion of reality in the great Bhojeshwar temple at Bhojpur, situated just 50 km away from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.

image credit : jylou

Once upon a time, 900 years ago, Bhojapura, a city centered around a Shiva temple, was founded by the Paramara king of Dhar. And thereby hangs one of the many fascinating tales of our land compounded of history, legend and the rich bardic embroidery that is so typical of the sagas of our past. No one really knows who the Paramaras were. They could have been warrior nomads from the Steppes who had ridden into the reputedly rich lands of India.

The Paramara dynasty lasted for 110 years and produced a lineage of warrior-scholars who were as adroit at waging wars as they were at penning poems. But of all the heroic Paramaras who dominated Malwa, Raja Bhoja was undoubtedly the greatest. He not only fought against the Huns and Chalukyas of Kalyani, he also wrote books on astronomy, medicine, grammar, lexicography, religion, and architecture. And then, according to the legend, he contracted a terrible skin disease.

We often come across this phenomenon of dermatological disorders of kings. The ruler of Surajkund in Haryana, for instance, was a victim of skin disease; so was the great king who built the Sun temple at Konark. Interestingly all such legendary patients had been advised by sages to dig lakes, which would benefit the community, and to bathe in such socially enriching reservoirs. Bhoja’s conflict must have been extremely deep because an ascetic advised him to construct a lake larger than any other in India, fed by 365 springs and bathe in it at an auspicious hour.

image credit : jylou

About 40 kilometers from Bhopal, near the headwaters of the Betwa, Bhoja’s engineers found just such a concourse of natural springs. With great ingenuity, they constructed a lake which spread over 64,750 hectares. The great social benefits of this stupendous work must have soothed the troubled mind of Bhoja because after he bathed in the lake his ailment was cured. It was probably then that, in thanksgiving, he began the construction of the great Bhojeshwar temple.

Today, the ruined and incomplete Bhojeshwar Temple still humbles the mind. Constructed in the latter part of the 11th century, its great stone blocks encompass a doorframe, which towers ten meters high and five meters wide. Four titanic pillars, richly carved, rise to support an incomplete dome. The high noon sun lances through the dome, illuminates a massive pedestal made of three stepped blocks of sandstone, seven meters square. An iron ladder ascends this huge pedestal to reach the uppermost platform, directly beneath the high roof, open to the sky. Dominating this platform and the great brooding temple is a magnificent lingam more than two meters high and over five meters in circumference.

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In the temple, religion and architecture, sculpture, drama and a weird vision combine in a compelling assertion of reality. There is a brooding imminence about this great black temple that demands attention and reverence; and streams of school girls, as bright as moving garlands of flowers, moved up and down the ladder seeking the blessings of the great monolith, bowing to mumbled prayers from an ochre-robed, white-bearded priest who stood near like a vision of a benevolent and slightly portly Father Time.

If the incomplete temple can evoke such awe, how much reverential fear would have been evoked by the final work of Raja Bhoja? But the savant king was fated never to complete his imposing shrine. For, at the glorious end of the Paramara era in 1060, the Chalukyas of Kalyani and Gujarat combined with Lakshmi-Karna of the Kalachuri dynasty attacked Raja Bhoja’s capital. In that fierce battle, Raja Bhoja died defending his kingdom. And so today, only the temple stands, and beyond it, a damaged Jain colossus rides in a whitewashed building. Stones still lie around partially carved as they had been when the sculptors fled nine centuries ago when Bhoja fell. Eagles still wheel in the wide sky as they did over that ancient bloody battlefield. And a train chuffs and mourns across the plain like a sad spirit of a warrior, slowly departing.

But Bhoja?s forty-two-year reign is still celebrated in myth and legend as well as in this time-defying monument. For, as long as the temple stands, and the doorway towers and the sculptures enchant and the great lingam broods with implacable power in the 900-year-old Bhojeshwar, so long will the memory of King Bhoja shine like a diadem.

Mansa Devi Temple (Panchkula, Haryana )

The location of the temple is Bilaspur Village, Mani Majra in Panchkula in Haryana state which is at North West India. And the Year of Construction temple is 1811-1815 A.D and it is Constructed By Maharaja Gopal Singh of Manimajra. The main temple is Dedicated to Goddess Mansa Devi and Other Deities are Devi Saraswati and Devi Lakshmi a Hinduism Religion. The Importance of the temple is that Some hill people cut off the stream, which supplied water to the pilgrims visiting the temple, causing distress to the pilgrims. Thereupon, the goddess appeared in dream of Gurbaksh Singh, ruler of Mani Majra and asked him to construct a temple for her at this place.

image credit : Dena v.d.Wal

Mansa Devi Temple is lying in Bilaspur village, about three kilometers east of Mani Majra in Chandigarh, has two temples dedicated to the goddess. It is believed that the older temple was built by the ruler of Mani Majra. Mata Mansa Devi Temple at Panchkula is a symbol of Himalayan culture and faith. The shrine located on the foot hills of Shivalik is an epitome of age old tradition of ?Shakti? worship in northern India. Himalaya being the abode of Shiva and his consort?shakti? became centre of shakti worship. In the vicinity of Panchkula there are numerous Shakti worshipping centers known by their names such as Chandi, Kalika, Mansa, Bhima etc. Hence, mythological speaking, Chandigarh-Panchkula region undoubtedly continued to be living legends of shaktism where its practices are in vogue. However, the present temple which stands a witness to the exciting past of the Shivalik region is about two hundred years old.

image credit : Nithya Priyan in India

Two temples are located in the complex of Mansa Devi. The main temple is dedicated to Mansa who is worshipped in the sanctum sanctorum both in the form of ?pindi? as well as in her anthropomorphic form executed on a marble. In the sanctum sanctorum she is worshipped with Devi Saraswati and Lakshmi in the form of Pindi (Stone pebbles). Originally the pindis were only worshipped by the devotees. However, in modern times a marble bust of the deity was got sculpted for giving an attractive human look (form) to the deity. She is beautifully decorated with crown and other ornaments. Interestingly the architecture of the main temple (Mansa Devi) is not in consonance with the Shivalik region where usually a typical ? Nagara? or curvilinear spira temples were erected. This is in sharp contrast to the environment of the region as the main temple manifests a typical moghul architecture represented by domes and minarets. Architecturally speaking the temple has been built in Panchayatana pattern in which at four cardinal corners stand four shrines with the main shrine (fifth shrine) being located the centre.

iamge credit : monty_mcmont

Maharaja Gopal Singh of Manimajra constructed the present main temple of Shri Mansa Devi, which is situated on the Shivalik foothills in village Bilaspur, Tehsil and District Panchkula, during the period 1811-1815. At a distance of 200 meters from the main temple is the Patiala temple which was got constructed by Sh. Karam Singh, the then Maharaja Patiala in the year 1840. This temple had the patronage of Manimajra State. After the merger of princely states into Pepsu the Patronage of State Govt. ended and the temples remained neglected. The raja of Manimajra then appointed pujari as ? khidmatuzar? of this temple whose duty was to worship the deity of the temple. After the merger of princely State into Pepsu these pujaris became independent on the matter of controlling and managing the affairs of the temple and the land attached to the temple. They could neither maintain this temple nor provide necessary facilities to the visiting devotees and thus the condition of the temple deteriorated day by day. So much so that there were no proper arrangements for pilgrims visiting the temple during Navaratra melas. The complex was in awfully neglected condition till the establishment of the Board.

image credit : amenhsaka

According to a popular legend, the shrine was originally in the territory of erstwhile princely state of Nahan. Some hill people cut off the stream, which supplied water to the pilgrims visiting the temple, causing distress to the pilgrims. Thereupon, the goddess appeared in dream of Gurbaksh Singh, ruler of Mani Majra and asked him to construct a temple for her at this place. This temple contains thirty-eight panels of wall paintings besides floral designs painted all over the ceiling and the arches leading into the temple. The drawings of the temple are not of high standard but a great variety of themes is illustrated. The other temple is said to have been constructed by Maharaja Karam Singh of erstwhile Patiala State to commemorate his success in the battle

Mahalakshami Temple ( Kolhapur, Maharashtra )

image credit : Ankur P

The four Shakti Peethas of Maharashtra are Tuljapur  enshrining Bhavani, Kolhapur enshrining Mahalakshmi, The Famous Temple In India, Mahur enshrining Mahamaya Renukaand Saptshringi  enshrining Jagadamba. Other Shakti temples in the state are those at Ambe Jogai and Aundh. Kolhapur is located in Kolhapur district and is well connected with Pune, 240 km north. It is on the national highway between Bangalore and Pune. It is situated on the banks of the Panchganga  river and is full of ancient temples and shrines.

The Karavira Mahatmya states that Vishnu resides in the form of Mahalakshmi at Kolhapur. Legend has it that Kolhasura, a demon that tormented the Gods and other beings, was destroyed by Mahalakshmi here at Karavira, and that the spot of his death became a thirtha and that she took abode here in a shrine which constitutes the temple today. (Legend also has it that Parvati – Kolhambika destroyed the demon Kolhasura at Tryambakeshwar).

image credit : Palak-M

Although several parts of the temple are of the second half of the second millennium CE, epigraphic references place the deity in the 7th century CE, and the temple in the 10th century CE.  For a period in the interim, this temple had fallen out of worship and the image of the Goddess was housed elsewhere. Worship was restored in the year 1715 after the Marathas rose to power.

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The main entrance Mahadwara of the temple is the western entrance. Upon entering the Mahadwara one is confronted with several deepamaalas on either side, and enters the Garuda mandap with square pillars and foliated arches of wood, characteristic of Maratha temples. This mandap dates back to the 18th century. An image of garuda faces the sanctum. Another stone mandap, on a raised platform enshrining Ganesh, also faces the sanctum. Following this is the mandap with three shrines facing west. The central one is that of Mahalakshmi and the two on either side are those of Mahakali and Mahasaraswathi.

The image of Mahalakshmi carved in black stone is 3 feet in height. The Shri yantra is carved on one of the walls in the temple. The sanctum is designed such that once a year, the setting rays of the sun fall on the face of the image of Mahalakshmi for a period of 3 days in the months of Pisces and Leo. Above the Mahalakshmi sanctum is a shrine with a Shivalingam and a nandi. The devakoshtas house Venkatesha, Katyayani and Gowri Shankar – facing the north, east and the south. There are a number of subsidiary shrines in the courtyard to the Navagrahas, Surya, Mahishasuramardini, Vitthal-Rakhmai, Shiva, Vishnu, Tulja Bhavani and others. Some of these images date back to the 11th century, while some are of recent origin.  Also located in the courtyard is the temple tank Manikarnika Kund, on whose bank is a shrine to Visweshwar Mahadev.