Eklingji () is a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

temple complex in

Udaipur District Udaipur district is one of the 50 districts of Rajasthan state in western India. The historic city of Udaipur is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district is part of the Mewar region of Rajasthan. History Before Udaipur d ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

in western

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is situated in Kailashpuri village (at Girwa Tehsil, Udaipur), near the former capital of Mewar, i.e.,

Nagda Nagda () is an industrial town in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It lies in the administrative headquarters of the city of Ujjain, in the Malwa region of western Madhya Pradesh. It is situated on the bank of the Chamba ...

. Eklingji is believed to be the ruling god ( Kula devata ) of

Mewar Mewar, also spelled as Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasth ...

Princely State and the ''Maharana'' of the Royal dynasty rules as his ''Dewan''(Minister).

History

According to the 15th century text ''Ekalinga Mahatmya'', the original temple at Eklingji was constructed by the 8th century ruler

Bappa Rawal Bappa Rawal (c. 8th century) was a king of the Mewar kingdom in Rajasthan, India. The chronicles consider him to be the founder of the Guhila Rajput dynasty. He is credited with repelling the Arab invasion of India. He is identified as the r ...

. The original temple and

Vigraha In the Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' (, ) is a devotional image, such as a statue or icon, of a deity or saint used during '' puja'' and/or in other customary forms of actively expressing devotion or reverence – whether at Hindu temples or sh ...

(idol) were destroyed during invasions by the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

rulers. The earliest extant idol was installed by Hamir Singh (14th century), who also carried out extensive renovations to the main temple.

Rana Kumbha Kumbhkaran Singh (1417–1468), popularly known as Maharana Kumbha, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mewar in medieval India. He belonged to the Sisodia clan of Rajputs. It was during his reign that Mewar became one of the most powerful politic ...

(15th century) rebuilt the temple, in addition to constructing a

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

temple. His 1460 inscription describes him as "the personal servant of Ekling". In the late 15th century,

Ghiyath Shah Ghiyath Shah, also known as Ghiyas-ud-Din Shah or Ghiyasuddin, was a Sultan of the Malwa Sultanate in the fifteenth century. The son of his predecessor Mahmud Shah I, he reigned from 1469 to 1500. A military leader before his accession, he was ...

Malwa Sultanate The Malwa Sultanate was a late medieval kingdom in the Malwa, Malwa region, covering the present day Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and south-eastern Rajasthan from 1401 to 1562. It was founded by Dilawar Khan, who following Timur's invasion ...

attacked Mewar, and devastated Eklingji's temple. Kumbha's son

Rana Raimal Rana Raimal Singh, also known as Rana Raimal, (r. 1473–1509) was a Hindu, Sisodia Rajput ruler of the Mewar, Kingdom of Mewar. Rana Raimal was the younger son of Kumbha of Mewar, Rana Kumbha and younger brother of his predecessor Udai Singh ...

(r. 1473–1509) defeated and captured him, and obtained a ransom for his release. With this ransom, Raimal patronized the last major rebuilding of the temple complex, and installed the present murti at the main temple. Originally, the temple likely belonged to the

Pashupata Pashupata Shaivism (, ) is one of the oldest major Shaivite Hindu schools. The mainstream which follows Vedic Pāśupata penance are 'Mahāpāśupata' and the schism of 'Lakula Pasupata' of Lakulisa. There is a debate about the origin of this s ...

sect, and was subsequently in the custody of the

Nath Natha, also called Nath (), are a Shaivism, Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism, Tantra and Yoga traditions of the Indian subcontinent.

sect. In the 16th century, it came under the control of the Ramanandis.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Buildings and structures in Udaipur district Hindu temples in Rajasthan Shiva temples in Rajasthan 971 establishments Tourist attractions in Udaipur district 8th-century Hindu temples 10th-century establishments in India {{india-hindu-temple-stub