The Samadhishvara Temple (

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that ...

: Samādhīśvara) is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

located in the

Chittor Fort Chittorgarh (literally Chittor Fort), also known as Chittod Fort, is one of the largest forts in India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fort was the capital of Mewar and is located in the present-day city of Chittorgarh. It sprawls ove ...

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 ...

, India. It is dedicated to

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

, who is called "Samadhishvara", that is, "Lord of

Samadhi Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...

". Epigraphic evidence suggests that the temple was constructed in the 11th century, and was further restored in the 13th and the 15th centuries.

Etymology and names

Samadhishvara ("Lord of

") is an aspect of the Hindu god

. The temple is also known as "Samadhishwar" in Hindi, because of

schwa deletion In phonology, syncope (; from ) is the loss of one or more sounds from the interior of a word, especially the loss of an unstressed vowel. It is found in both synchronic and diachronic analyses of languages. Its opposite, whereby sounds are adde ...

. It is sometimes erroneously called Samiddheshvara (

: Sammidheśvara), but multiple historical records establish that Samadhishvara (also known as Samadhisha) is the correct name of the temple's deity. In modern times, the temple's deity is also known as "Adbhut-ji" or "Adbad-ji", a name also used for the deity of a 15th-century Shiva temple near Surajpole. The name "Adbhut-ji" seems to be a local name for the three-faced aspect of Shiva; both the temples contain a three-faced idol of Shiva.

History

Origins

One theory identifies Samadhishvara temple as the Tri-bhuvana Narayana or Bhoja-svamin temple referred to in historical records. According to the 1273 CE

Chirawa Chirawa is a municipal town and tehsil in Jhunjhunu district of Shekhawati region in Rajasthan state of India. Its elevation is above sea level.Paramara king

Bhoja Bhoja was the Paramara dynasty, Paramara king of Malwa from 1010 until his death in 1055. He ruled from Dhara (city), Dhara (modern Dhar), and Military career of Bhoja, fought wars with nearly all his neighbours in attempts to extend his king ...

is referred to by the epithet "Tri-loka-Narayana" ("Lord of the three worlds") in the 12th century

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 ...

text ''Gana-Ratna-Mahodadhi''. Because "Tri-bhuvana" and "Tri-loka" are synonyms (both meaning " three worlds"), historian G. H. Ojha theorized that the Tri-bhuvana Narayana temple at Chittor was built by the Paramara king Bhoja. Ojha further identified this temple as the present-day Samadhishvara temple. Ram Vallabh Somani, a scholar who wrote on history of Mewar under the patronage of the descendants of the

Sisodia Sisodia or Sisodiya may refer to: * Sisodia (surname), an Indian Hindu surname * Sisodia dynasty, a Hindu dynasty * Piplia Sisodia, a village in Madheya Pradesh, India * Sisodiya Rani Bagh, a palace in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India See also *Sodhi ...

royal family, disputes Ojha's identification. Based on a 984 CE (1041 VS) pillar inscription, Somani concludes that the Samadhishvara temple pre-dates Bhoja, and was built in the 10th century. Somani theorizes that the Tri-bhuvana Narayana temple referred to in the historical records was a different temple, which may have been destroyed during the Khalji conquest of Chittor in 1303.

Art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

R. Nath disputes Somani's theory, pointing out that the alleged 984 CE pillar inscription is not available to any scholar except Somani, whose research contains several errors. Somani has not made available the original inscription or its full text, citing "administrative reasons", which Nath dismisses as a flimsy excuse. According to Nath, Somani's reading of the year could be wrong: the veracity of Somani's other writings on the inscriptions of Rajasthan has often been questioned by other scholars, including historian

Dasharatha Sharma Dasharatha Sharma (1903–1976) was an Indologist with a particular interest in the history of the Rajasthan region of India. Born in the Rajasthani city of Churu, he studied in the city of Bikaner and at the University of Delhi. He had degree ...

. Nath supports Ojha's identification, based on two historical

prashasti ''Prashasti'' (IAST: Praśasti, Sanskrit for "praise") is an Indian genre of inscriptions composed by poets in praise of their rulers. Most date from the 6th century CE onwards. Written in the form of poetry or ornate prose, the ''prashastis'' s ...

s (eulogistic inscriptions) composed by Veda Sharman: * A 1274 CE stone slab inscription at Chittor records the restoration of Gaumukha Tirthasthala area (in which the temple is located) by the

Guhila Guhila, also called Guhil and Guhadatt, was the ruler of Idar and Mewar from 566-568 AD. He is known as the founder of the Guhila dynasty The Guhilas of Medapata colloquially known as Guhilas of Mewar were a Rajput dynasty that ruled the Ki ...

king Samarasimha. A verse in this inscription invokes Shiva as Samadhishvara, and also refers to a second slab which is now lost. * A 1285 CE stone slab inscription discovered in a Shaivite matha at the Achaleshwar temple of Abu records that the previous prashasti composed by Veda Sharman at Chittor was related to two famous temples: one of Samadhisha (that is, Samadhishvara), which was famous as Tri-bhuvana; and the other of Chakrasvamin (an aspect 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 ( ...

). According to the Chirawa inscription, Madana used to worship the

Sadashiva Sadasiva (, ), is the Supreme Being in the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition of Hinduism. Sadasiva is the omnipotent, subtle, luminous absolute, the highest manifestation of Shiva. Sadasiva is believed to bestow ''anugraha'' and ''vilaya'', or grace and ...

aspect of Shiva at the temple: the Sadashiva is depicted as having five faces and ten hands. However, the main idol of Shiva at the Samadhishvara temple has only three faces and six hands. Nath explains this discrepancy by theorizing that the original idol of the temple was destroyed during the Khalji conquest, and was later restored by the 15th century king Mokala-simha. The current idol is a relatively modern one, and post-dates Mokala-simha.

Jain imagery

A 1150 CE Sanskrit prashasti inscription discovered at the Samadhishvara temple records the visit of the

Chaulukya The Chaulukya dynasty (), also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty that ruled parts of what are now Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India, between and . Their capital was located at Anahilavada (modern Patan). At times, their rule extended ...

king Kumarapala to the temple, which it calls "Samadhisha-Maheshvara". It states that Kumarapala worshipped the temple's deity and his consort (that is, Shiva and

Parvati Parvati (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: Sanskrit phonology, /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the Devi, ...

), and made donations to the temple. Interestingly, the prashasti was composed by a

Digambara ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major Jain schools and branches, schools of Jainism, the other being ''Śvetāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic pract ...

Jain monk. Based on this, and the fact that Kumarapala patronized Jainism, art historian M. A. Dhaky theorized that the Samadhishvara temple was originally a Jain shrine. In his support, Dhaky also cited the presence of several images of Jain

tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...

s and

yaksha The Yakshas (, , ) in Mythology are a broad class of nature spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Bud ...

yakshini Yakshinis or Yakshis (, , Prakrit languages, Prakrit: ) are a class of female nature spirits in Hinduism, Hindu, Buddhism, Buddhist, and Jainism, Jain religious mythologies that are different from Hindu deities, Devas and Asuras and Gandharva ...

s in the temple. R. Nath disputes this theory, pointing out that the inscription clearly states that Kumarapala worshipped Shiva and Parvati during his visit to the temple. Moreover, according to the ''Moha-Parajaya-Nataka'' composed by Kumarapala's minister Yashahpala, the king converted to Jainism only at a later date, in 1159 CE. Nath explains that the Jain imagery does not have any religious connotation: it is one of the several scenes depicting life of the general public of Chittor, which included the Jains. He points out that other motifs at the temple depict women in erotic postures, battles, and hunting: these are not inline with the non-violence and celibacy themes of the

Jain monasticism Jain monasticism refers to the order of monks and nuns in the Jain community and can be divided into two major Religious denomination, denominations: the ''Digambara'' and the ''Śvētāmbara''. The monastic practices of the two major sects ...

. In addition, he cites the 12th century CE text ''Aparajitaprccha'', which recommends that the Jain icons should be depicted on the ''jamgha'' (middle wall) of a temple along with

Shaivite Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the supreme being. It is the second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million Hindus, found widely across South Asia (predominantly in ...

and

Vaishnavite Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

icons.

Restorations

The temple has been restored several times. Based on the 1150 CE inscription which records the visit of and donations by the

king Kumarapala to the temple, R. Nath theorizes that Kumarapala restored the temple, which may explain some

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

i influence on the art and architecture of the temple. As mentioned above, according to a 1274 CE stone slab inscription, the area around the temple was restored by the

king Samarasimha (also known as Rawal Samar Singh). This is further corroborated by the 1285 CE Achaleshwar inscription. A 1428 CE black marble slab inscription discovered at the temple records its restoration by king Mokala-simha (also known as Rana Mokal Singh). It uses the words "Samadhisha" and "Samadhishvara" to describe the temple's deity. The 1460

Kumbhalgarh Kumbhalgarh (lit. "Kumbhal fort"), also known as the Great Wall of India, is a fortress on the westerly range of Aravalli Hills in Kumbhalgarh in the Rajsamand district of the Rajasthan state in India. Situated approximately from Rajsamand c ...

prashasti inscription also refers to Mokala's restoration of the temple. The temple is also referred to in the 1460 CE Kirtti-stambha prashasti inscription. Two short inscriptions, dated 1442 CE and 1458 CE, record architects paying obeisance to Samadhishvara. Since 1956, the temple has been administered by the Government of India's

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...

Architecture

The temple is located within the

, at the Gaumukha Tirthasthala, on the northern bank of the Gaumukh Kund reservoir. Since it was built and restored over a period of five centuries (11th-15th century), it features several sculptural styles. Temple de Samiddheshwara.jpg , The temple from a distance Chittorgarh-Samiddheshwara Temple-03-20131014.jpg , Three-faced Shiva Chittorgarh-Samiddheshwara Temple-04-20131014.jpg , Depiction of a

sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

procession Chittorgarh-Samiddheshwara Temple-05-20131014.jpg , Pavilion of

Nandi (bull) Nandi (), also known as Nandikeshvara or Nandideva, is the bull ''vahana'' (mount) of the Hindu god Shiva. He is also the guardian deity of Kailash, the abode of Shiva. Almost all Shiva temples display stone images of a seated Nandi, general ...

Chittorgarh-Samiddheshwara Temple-06-2013101.jpg , An ornate pillar Samadhiswara Temple Inside Chitaurgarh Fort.jpg , Sculptures The building comprises a sanctum (

garbhagriha A ''garbhagriha'' () is the innermost sanctuary of Hindu and Jain temples, often referred to as the "holy of holies" or " sanctum sanctorum". The term ''garbhagriha'' (literally, "womb chamber") comes from the Sanskrit words ''garbha'' for ...

) located in the east, an antechamber (

antarala ''Antarala'' (Sanskrit: अन्तराल; ) is a small antechamber or foyer between the ''garbhagriha A ''garbhagriha'' () is the innermost sanctuary of Hindu and Jain temples, often referred to as the "holy of holies" or " sanctum ...

), and an entrance hall ( gudha-mandapa). It has three entrance porches (''mukha-chatushki''), on its northern, western, and southern sides. The sanctum is located at a lower level than the general floor level of the temple, with six stairs descending from the antechamber to the sanctum. The sanctum contains an image of Shiva, which R. Nath describes as a work of poor quality from artistic point of view. The image depicts Shiva as having three heads, all of which are shown wearing ''jata-mukuta''s (crowns of

dreadlocks Dreadlocks, also known as dreads or locs, are a Hairstyle, hairstyle made of rope-like strands of matted hair. Dreadlocks can form naturally in Hair#Texture, very curly hair, or they can be created with techniques like twisting, Backcombing, ba ...

). Each of the three faces has a

third eye The third eye (also called the mind's eye or inner eye) is an invisible eye, usually depicted as located on the forehead, supposed to provide perception beyond ordinary sight. In Hinduism, the third eye refers to the ajna (or brow) chakra. In bot ...

; the right face bears a terrifying expression, while the centre and the left faces bear a peaceful expression. The right head shows the Aghora aspect of Shiva, it features a ringlet of snakes and a skull on the ''jata-mukuta''. Shiva's body is shown having six hands: one hand is raised in the ''sarpa-

mudra A mudra (; , , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. As well as being spiritual ges ...

'' (snake gesture); other hands bear objects such as

akshamala A japamala, , or simply Japay mala (; , meaning 'garland') is a loop of prayer beads commonly used in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. It is used for counting recitations (''japa'') of mantras, prayers or other ...

(rosary),

citron The citron (''Citrus medica''), historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick Peel (fruit), rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the Citrus taxonomy#Citrons, original citrus fruits from which al ...

(''matulunga''), skull-cup (

kapala A kapala (Sanskrit for "skull") is a skull cup used as a ritual implement (bowl) in both Buddhism Tantra and Tibetan Buddhist Tantra (Vajrayana). Especially in Tibetan Buddhism, kapalas are often carved or elaborately mounted with precious met ...

), and snake (''sarpa''). The nara-thara (raised platform depicting humans) of the temple features several scenes from public life: * Hunting, a historically popular pastime * Battles * Royal processions and courts * Religious themes, including worship of

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

s, lingas, jinas, and other deities; religious discourses; and ascetics * Devanganas (celestial women) in dancing and erotic postures * Other scenes from common life, such as bullock-carts, camel-carts, and artisans at work

References

Bibliography

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{{Hindu temples in Rajasthan Shiva temples in Rajasthan Chittorgarh Fort