Some
places appeal so much to your heart that you get an intense desire to visit them
again; Kopeshwar Temple is one of such place. I visited Kopeshwar Temple this
March on our trip to Kolhapur. Kopeshwar Temple is located in a small village
called Kirdapur which is around 60 – 65 Kms from Kolhapur.
We headed for Khidrapur in a car and took up road to ‘Narsobachi wadi’. It was pleasant drive through lush green fields of sugar-cane.
This wonderful temple belongs to
Lord Shiva, and named as ‘Kopeshwar’. There is a mythological story behind the
name ‘Kopeshwar’. Devi Sati (daughter of King Daksha) was married to lord
Shiva. King Daksha was not fond of his son-in-law and thus dint invite Sati
& Shiva to the yagna
(hindu ritual performed along with holy fire) he was about to
perform.
Devi Sati felt bad and humiliated. She went to her father seeking the reason for not inviting her husband to the Yagna. In turn, King Daksha insulted Shiva in fromt of her. The insult of Lord Shiva was unbearable and intolerable to Sati. She immediately jumped in the yajna and destroyed herself.
Hearing this news, Shiva lost his
temper and punished King Daksha by cutting his head. It is believed that angry
Shiva wandered around and it was finally at this place that his anger subsided.
Hence the temple got its name, Kopeshwar i.e. ‘Kop’ means anger and ‘Eshwar’ means lord
Shiva.
As soon as one enters the
temple premises, the temple’s aura takes over and the entire appearance of this
temple takes us in to a different age altogether. The temple is made up of
Black stone and the architecture of the temple resembles itself with that of
Konark of Puri and other traditional ancient south Indian temples.
Temple stand firm with beautiful stone carvings depicting scenes from the
Mahabharata, Ramayana, flowers, trees, birds, human figures. As you step into
the beautiful Temple, you can actually feel the coolness. There are superbly
carved pillars which support the stone ceiling that is open to the skies.
The inner temple is more cold and
dark. The shiva linga, burning lamps make the atmosphere peaceful and divine.
I was
surprised to know that there was no nandi in the temple in spite of the fact
that it is Shiva mandir.
It is
sad that most of the sculptures are badly damaged and mutilated. There are no
exact historical evidences of ‘who destroyed what’ but it is very painful to
see such beauty and art ruined.
 |
| Mutilated Sculptures |
Kopeshwar Temple reminded
my mother of the wonderful architectural carvings temples of Halebidu and
Bellur.
Kopeshwar temple gave me much more
than I expected. It gave me peace, joy and an opportunity to appreciate the
sculptures and carvings.
It is really sad that
such wonders are still unknown to the tourists. There isn’t much written and
published about this place. Though this temple comes directly under the control
of Maharashtra Tourism and has been declared as a heritage temple by the
Archaeological Survey of India it is the not marketed at all.
This ancient architectural splendor
should be made popular so that more and more people of similar interests can
come and visit here. Through this blog I wish to promote this place and request
you all to visit this temple on your visit to Kolhapur.
It is a beautiful place
of carvings, such splendid artwork, nearly lost, is a pity thing. Kopeshwar,
is strictly no miss-miss place if you are planning a visit to Kolhapur.
Read about my visit to Radha Krishna Prem Mandir in Vrindavan.
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