KHIDRAPUR Khidrapur Temple

The antiquated Kopeshwar sanctuary at Khidrapur in Kolhapur District is committed to Lord Shiva and sits on the bank of River Krishna. There are motivations to trust that despite the fact that the development of Kopeshwar sanctuary began at some point in seventh century AD, the work stayed inadequate to a great extent because of consistent clashes between warring leaders of the area. The redesign was finished just in the twelfth Century by the Shilahara and the Yadava Kings.

This sanctuary is in four sections, all interconnected through vestibules. The main structure you enter through is the Swarga Mandap (Heavenly Hall). The engineering of Swarga mandap is novel. This mandap is round fit as a fiddle and is built with the help of 48 all around cut adjusted stone columns which are set in three circles. Each of the 48 columns has been cut in various shapes - round, square, hexagon and octagon. Another interesting element of Swarga Mandap is that a piece of the round roof in the center (with a range of 13 feet) is interested in the sky. The sanctum is tapered. The outside has shocking carvings of divinities and mainstream figures. Elephant statues support the heaviness of the sanctuary at the base.

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This is an exceptional sanctuary in light of the fact that guests initially get a look at Lord Vishnu as Dhopeshwar in ling structure rather than the Shivaling which is normally the case in sanctuaries blessed to Lord Shiva. The Shivaling is confronting north and the two lings are found in a similar sanctum sanctorum. Another eminent component of this sanctuary is that there is no Nandi at the passageway which is the standard for all Shiva sanctuaries. The folklore behind these extraordinary elements makes for an entrancing clarification.

It is trusted that Daksha, who disliked his most youthful little girl Sati wedding Lord Shiva, led a Yagna to which he didn't welcome the couple. Sati went by her dad's home on Shiva's Nandi to go up against her dad. Dakhsa offended her before the visitors show at the Yagna. Unfit to hold up under any further put-down, Sati hopped in the fire of Yagna and immolated herself. At the point when Lord Shiva came to think about it he was enraged. He rebuffed Daksha by disjoining his head. Master Vishnu assuaged Shiva whereupon he reestablished Daksha's head yet with a goat's head. The irate Shiva was conveyed to Khidrapur sanctuary by Lord Vishnu to quiet him down. Subsequently the sanctuary got its irregular name as Kopeshwar (fierce god). This discloses in the matter of why Lord Vishnu is in the sanctuary as a ling (phallus) alongside Shivling and Nandi is not found in this sanctuary as Sati rode on the Nandi while going by her parent's home.