Samadhishvara Temple,
Chittorgarh, Rajasthan
Samadhishvara Temple is a Hindu
Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Chittor
Fort in Chittorgarh in Rajasthan, India. Presiding Deity is called
as Samadhishvara (Lord of Samadhi). Epigraphic evidence suggests that the
temple was constructed in the 11th century and was further renovated
in the 13th and the 15th centuries.
Etymology
Samadhishvara (Lord of Samadhi)
is an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva. The temple is also known as
"Samadhishwar" in Hindi, because of schwa deletion. It is
sometimes erroneously called Samiddheshvara, 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 inscription,
Madana, an official who bore the designation talaraksha, used to worship Shiva
at the Tri-bhuvana Narayana temple constructed by Bhoja in Chittor. This
temple was also known as the Bhoja-svamin-jagati, as attested by a 1301 CE
inscription. The 11th century Paramara king Bhoja is
referred to by the epithet "Tri-loka-Narayana" ("Lord of the
three worlds") in the Sanskrit text 12th century
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 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 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. Nath supports Ojha's identification, based on two historical
prashastis (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 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).
According to the Chirawa
inscription, Madana used to worship the Sadashiva 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 Temple:
A 1150 CE Sanskrit prashasti
inscription discovered at the Samadhishvara temple records the visit of the Chalukya king Kumarapala to the
temple, which it calls "Samadhisha-Maheshvara". It states that
Kumarapala made donations to the temple. Interestingly, the prashasti was
composed by a Digambara 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 tirthankaras and yaksha-yakshinis 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 in line with the non-violence and
celibacy themes of the Jain
monasticism. 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 and Vaishnavite icons.
Renovations:
The temple has been renovated
several times. Based on the 1150 CE inscription which records the visit of and
donations by the Chalukya king Kumarapala to the
temple, R. Nath theorizes that Kumarapala restored the temple, which may
explain some Gujarati 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 Guhila 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 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 Temple
The temple is located within
the Chittor Fort, 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. The building comprises a sanctum
(garbhagriha)
located in the east, an antechamber (antarala),
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. The image depicts Shiva as having three heads, all of which are shown
wearing jata-mukutas (crowns of dreadlocks).
Each of the three faces has a third
eye; 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 (snake
gesture); other hands bear objects such as akshamala (rosary), citron (matulunga),
skull-cup (kapala),
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 stupas, lingas, jinas,
and other deities; religious discourses; and ascetics, Devanganas (celestial
women) in dancing and erotic postures and Other scenes from common life, such
as bullock-carts, camel-carts, and artisans at work. You only need to pay the
entry price for the fort.
Connectivity
The Temple is located at about 5
Kms from Chittorgarh Bus Station, 8 Kms from Chittorgarh Railway Junction, 65
Kms from Bhilwara, 100 Kms from Udaipur Airport, 118 Kms from Udaipur, 174 Kms
from Kota, 311 Kms from Jaipur and 294 Kms from Jaipur Airport. The temple is
located within the Chittor Fort, at the Gaumukha
Tirthasthala, on the northern bank of the Gaumukh Kund reservoir.
By Road:
The Golden Quadrilateral highway system
passes through Chittorgarh, connecting it to much of the rest of India. The
East West Corridor (Express Highway) also crosses it. Chittorgarh is situated
on National Highway No. 76 & 79. National Highway 76 connects to Kota with
a driving time of 2 hours. The bus stand (bus depot) of Chittorgarh is located
between the old and new cities. There are good bus services (private as well as
state-owned) available for Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Ajmer, Bundi, Kota,
Udaipur and other major cities. Rajasthan Roadways (RSRTC) provides a service
for visiting areas around Chittorgarh. Rajasthan Roadways also has premier
services called Pink Line, Silver line and Sleeper Coaches (Grey Line).
By Train:
Chittorgarh Junction is a busy
junction of Western Railway of Indian Railways, Ratlam Division. It has direct
rail links with all major Indian cities including Ajmer, Udaipur, Jaipur, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad,
Surat,
Pune, Kota, Kolkata, Chennai,
Rameswaram, Yeshwantpur, Ahmadabad, Indore,
Ratlam, Gwalior, Bhopal, Nagpur, Bilaspur and Mysore.
By Air:
The nearest airport is located
at Udaipur. The airport is linked by daily air service from New Delhi, Jaipur,
Jodhpur, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Mumbai.
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