Kopeshwar Temple is at Khidrapur, Kolhapur district,

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

. It 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 dedicated to Shiva. This temple is in

It is also accessible from

Sangli Sangli (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Sāṁgalī''; ) is a metropolitan town and the headquarters of Sangli District in Maharashtra, in south-western India. It has earned the nickname "Turmeric City of India" for being the hub of the Asia's largest produ ...

as well. It was built in the 12th century by

Shilahara Shilahara was a royal dynasty that established itself in northern and southern Konkan in 8th century CE, present-day Mumbai and Southern Maharashtra ( Kolhapur) during the Rashtrakuta period. The founder of the Shilahara dynasty, Sanaphulla, ...

king Gandaraditya between 1109 and 1178 CE. It is to the east of Kolhapur, ancient & artistic on the bank of the

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

river. Even though Silaharas were Jain kings, they built and renovated various Hindu temples, thus depicting their respect and love for all religions. Kopeshwar means angry Shiva .

Structure

The entire temple is divided into four parts ''Swargamandapa'', ''Sabhamandapa'',''Antaral kaksha'' and ''Garbha gruha''. The Swargamandapa has a vestibule with an open top. The sanctum is conical. The exterior has stunning carvings of deities and secular figures. Elephant statues sustain the weight of the temple at the base. In the interior, we first see Vishnu (Dhopeshwar) & Shivaling facing north. But there is no

Nandi Nandi may refer to: People * Nandy (surname), Indian surname * Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe * Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi * Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afr ...

who has a separate Mandir. Separate Actor-Pendal also called swarga mandap, hall, old pillars, carvings of gods & male and female artists in various poses are attractive. The ceiling is semi-circular with matchless engravings. On the outside, complete 'Shivaleelamrit' is carved. The Kopeshwara, an ancient & artistic temple situated on the bank of Krishna is a fine example of ancient sculpture. It was built in the 11-12 century by

. The ceiling is semi-circular with matchless engravings. Inside there is a statue of

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 ( ...

( Dhopeshwar) and Shivling " Kopeshwar " facing north. There is no Nandi who has a separate Mandir. Separate Actor-Pendal, hall, old pillars, carvings of gods and male-female artists in various poses are attractive. This is the only Shiva temple in India with an idol of Vishnu.

The Legend

It is believed that Daksha, who did not like his youngest daughter Sati marrying Shiva, conducted a Yagna to which he did not invite the couple. Sati visited her father's house on Shiva's Nandi to confront her father. Dakhsa insulted her in front of the guests present at the Yagna. Unable to bear any further insults, Sati jumped in the fire of Yagna and self-immolated. When Shiva learned of it, he was infuriated. He punished Daksha by severing his head. Vishnu pacified Shiva whereupon he restored Daksha's head but with a goat's head. The furious Shiva was brought to this place by Vishnu to calm him down. Hence the temple got its unusual name as Kopeshwar (wrathful god). This explains why Vishnu is in the temple in the form of a ling along with Shivling and Nandi is not seen in this temple as Sati rode on the Nandi while visiting her parents' home.

History

The present temple was built by Shilahara kings who were native to Maharashtra. They were feudatories of Rashtrakuta. Apart from the legend, the name might have originated from the ancient name of the town, which was "Koppam". The town witnessed two major battles. The first one took place in 1058 CE between

Chalukya The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...

king Ahavamalla and

Chola The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...

king Rajendra. The Chola king

Rajadhiraja ''Rajadhi Raja'' () is a 2014 Malayalam-language action thriller film directed by Ajai Vasudev, written by Udayakrishna-Siby K. Thomas and produced by Good Line Productions. The film stars Mammootty, alongside Joy Mathew, Siddique (actor), Sid ...

was killed during the battle, and the coronation of the second king,

Rajendra Chola Rajendra I (26 July 971 – 1044), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, was a Chola Empire, Chola Emperor who reigned from 1014 to 1044. He was born in Thanjavur to Rajaraja I. His queen was Vanavan Mahadevi and he assumed royal power as ...

took place right on the battlefield. The second battle took place between Shilahara king Bhoj-II and Devagiri

Yadav Yadavs are a grouping of non-elite, peasant-pastoral Quote: "The Yadavs were traditionally a low-to-middle-ranking cluster of pastoral-peasant castes that have become a significant political force in Uttar Pradesh (and other northern states l ...

king Singhan-II, during which king Bhoj-II was captured by Yadavas and was kept captive on the fort of

Panhala Panhala (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ənʱaːɭa is a city and a Hill station Municipal Council (3177 feet above sea level) 18 km northwest of Kolhapur, in Kolhapur district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of M ...

. This event is recorded in the 1213 CE inscription near the south entrance of the temple. This battle brought the rule of the Kolhapur branch of Shilaharas to end. There are about a dozen inscriptions on the inside and outside of this temple, out of which only a couple of inscriptions are in good condition now. These inscriptions reveal the names of few kings and their officers. All these inscriptions except one are in Kannada language and script. The only Devanagari inscription in Sanskrit language is by Singhan-II and is located on the outer wall near South entrance of the temple.

Swarga Mandap

Entering the Svarga Mandap, there is a circular opening seen at the top. It is supported by 48 hand-carved pillars. At the periphery of the Svarga Mandap there are carved idols of Lord Ganesh, Karthikeya swami, Lord Kubera, Lord Yamraj, Lord Indra, etc. along with their carrier animals like peacock, mouse, elephant, etc. Standing at the center of the Svarga Mandap, one can see idols of Lord Brahma on the left hand side wall of the entrance of Sabha Mandap. In the center, people can see the Shiva Kopeshwar shivling situated in the Garbh Gruha & towards the right hand side wall the carved idol of Vishnu is visible. A stone pedestal mounted east of the temple's southern door has a carved inscription in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

, written in

Devnagari script Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental systems: alphabets, writing system), based on the ancient ''Brāhmī script, Brā ...

. It mentions that the temple was renovated in 1136 by Raj Singhadev of yadav dynasty.

Pop culture

This temple recently came into the limelight when the film shoot of Katyar Kaljat Ghusali was done for the song of "Shiv Bhola Bhandari" in the temple.

Nearest cities

is 36 km and

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Kolhapur is one of the most significant cities in South Maharashtra and has been a hub of historical, religious, and cultural a ...

is 60 km

Nearest Railway Station

Sangli railway station Sangli railway station is a major railway station serving the city of Sangli in Maharashtra, India. It is classified as a Class A station within the Pune Railway Division of the Central Railway Zone under Indian Railways. Location and infrastr ...

which is 36 km is the nearest major city railway station.

station is the nearest major railway station, about away on the Mumbai–Bangalore main line. Sangli railway station is also connected to the city via bus services. From Sangli railway station, there are several trains to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Goa, Mysuru, Hubli, Belgaum, Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bikaner, Ajmer, Agra, Gwalior, Jhansi, Puducherry, Tirunelveli(Kanyakumari), Guntakal, Tiruchirapali, Ratlam, Kota, Nagpur, Itarsi, Chitaurgarh, Abu Road, Gandhidham etc. Sangli station is convenient to reach from Khidrapur.

Sources

* Kanhere, Gopal Krishna. ''The Temples of Maharashtra''. Maharashtra Information Centre 1989 p. 105 asif * Deglurkar, G. B. "Koppeshwar (Khidrapur) Mandir Ani Moorti". 2016. Snehal Prakashan, Pune.

References

External links

Kopeshwar temple in Khidrapur

Gallery

KopeshwarTempleKhidrapurKolhapur.jpg KopeshwarTempleKhidrapurKolhapur1.jpg KopeshwarTempleKhidrapurKolhapur2.jpg KopeshwarTempleKhidrapurKolhapur3.jpg Kopehwar Back Side.jpg Kopeshwar SideView.jpg Kopeshwar Sculpture 01.jpg Kopeshwar Sculpture 02.jpg Kopeshwar Sculpture Ganesh.jpg Kopeshwar Entrance.jpg {{Hindu temples in Maharashtra Hindu temples in Maharashtra Tourist attractions in Kolhapur district