History of Khidrapur Kopeshwar Temple
Khidrapur Kopeshwar Temple: 120 Pillars built in the 6th Century from 1 Stone
Explore my visit to the Khidrapur Kopeshwar Temple along with its history, legend and architecture
Even though it’s been a few years since I’ve been to Khidrapur, the journey to this small town is stuck in my head like your favourite movie. The scenes I witnessed were like none other I had ever seen before. It was pure tranquility of nature and village life.
Flat fields stretched on either side of the road with distant mountains holding up the blue sky. Red dots on green, just like Christmas lights, the chillies gleamed in the sunlight. It was a novelty to see small plants pregnant with red chillies. And the uneven village road was the perfect accessory to this experience.
At a slow pace, our car bobbled from these fields, turned into small village roads and finally led us to a doorstep of a quaint temple. We were at the edge of Maharashtra and a step away from Karnataka, no pun intended. There was not a tourist or pilgrim in sight. It was just us.
First Impressions
The doorway made from stone bricks was almost plain and bore no promises for the treasure that lay behind.
Stepping through it, we beheld a temple unlike any other. Stone pillars, innumerable to count, held up this small yet impressive place.
I dare say, it was indeed a blessing for us that this temple is not encumbered with hoards of pilgrims that crowd every famous temple today. Here you could be one with what architects of this temple had to offer, a shrine of God and his peace.
The unmissable pillars that line the exterior and interior might be impressive but they are a mere precursor. Inside lies a whole treasure of shining stone pillars with intricate decorations. And just when you think you’ve marvelled all, the ceiling of this temple opens up to the blue afternoon sky, a sun roof!
With not a soul in sight, it’s hard to know when this temple was built or how. Luckily for me, the priest got chatty after we showed interest in the temple’s architecture and past.
Not Really a Priest’s Sermons
This is what the Priest told us.
This temple was built in the 6th century. They took nearly 200 to 300 years to complete it. This long history means that the temple we see today was a team effort between three dynasties: The Chalukyas, the Shilahara and the Yadavs.
This entire temple might as well have been carved out of a single rock. This rock came from the Sahyadri Mountains that run parallel to the Western coast in the current state of Maharashtra.
The construction began with the Ganesh column. Generally all auspicious events or prayers are begun by remembering Lord Ganesh first. And this temple was definitely a treasure in the making.
The Ganesh column has an idol of Ganesh at its base. And from this Kirtimandap, this entire temple grew. The Kirtimandap has four columns forming a square.
If you look at the overall layout of a temple in this region, it has four main parts. The perimeter or the entrance is called the Swargmandap, the area in the middle is the Sabhamandap where devotees sit then the Antara leads to the Garbhagriha, the heart of the temple where the idol of God is located.
On the 5th of May every year, the sun’s rays fall directly on the Shivling, another anomaly of old Indian temple architecture.
At this temple in Khidrapur, the Garbhagriha is flanked by two legendary figures: Jay and Vijay. From these, the idol of Vijay has been lost to history probably due to a raid by the detested Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
The Beauty of the Pillars
It is indeed impressive to think this temple was built from a rock by craftsmen who weren’t equipped with the tools of the 21st century.
And when I tell you this entire temple has around 108 to 120 columns, it’s almost impossible to gauge the tedious task of patiently crafting a rock into 1 column let alone 120!
And that’s not all, the temple also has 96 elephants on the outside walls. These elephants seem just about ready to step out of the wall and come to life!
And the pillars inside the temple are more ornate than this. They have well crafted idols some depicting tales from the famous Indian moral stories of the Panchtantra.
The Legend
If you’ve been to temples dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Nandi is an unmissable part of the architecture. Here, the first thing that might strike you (after the architecture perhaps) is the missing Nandi!
The why lies in a legend.
Sati was the wife of Lord Shiva. During an event, her father disrespected Lord Shiva by inviting all other gods except him. Sati angered by her father barged in to this event. She was accompanied by Nandi. In her rage, she lit a fire and sacrificed herself. On hearing this, Shiva himself flew in a rage. This form of his, is called Kopeshwar. And since this is a Kopeshwar temple, the Nandi who was with Sati at this time is missing from the temple grounds.
The Nandi is in fact 12km away in Karnataka facing North when the Shivling of Kopeshwar faces South. That’s another interesting architectural anomaly you’ll find here.
If you ever go over to Kolhapur, spare half a day to visit this temple. Its about 60-70km from Kolhapur and worth your time.
No Crowds Ever?
We were told, this quiet temple is packed with thousands of pilgrims every Sunday. So make sure you skip the weekends to truly get the experience of the Khidrapur Kopeshwar temple.
Have you already been to the Khidrapur Kopeshwar Temple? Comment your experience below
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Till then, see you next Friday….
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