Sunday, May 30, 2021

Lakshmi Devi Temple, Ratanpur, Chattisgarh

Lakshmi Devi Temple, Ratanpur, Chattisgarh

Lakshmi Devi Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, goddess of wealth & good fortune, located in Ratanpur Town in Bilaspur District in Chattisgarh State, India. The temple is famously called as Lakhni Devi Temple by locals. The temple is situated on top of Ekbira Hill on the Ratanpur to Kota Road. Ekbira Hill is also called as Ekbira Parvat, Varah Parvat, Sri Parvat and Lakshmidham Parvat. 




Legends

As per legend, when Ratnadeva III ascended the throne in 1178 CE, his kingdom suffered from famine and his treasury was also empty. His minister, Gangadhar built the Lakshmi Devi temple in this dire situation. Once, the temple was built, the famine ended, and the kingdom was blessed with prosperity and happiness.



History

The temple was built by Gangadhar Shastri, the prime minister of Ratnadeva III, in 1179 CE.



The Temple

The temple is situated on top of Ekbira Hill. The Temple can be accessed through flight of steps. This temple is built in the shape of Pushpak Vimana. Presiding Deity is called as Lakshmi Devi / Lakhni Devi / Ekbira Devi / Pillarini Devi. She is housed in the sanctum. Sri Yantra is also installed in the sanctum.




Festivals

Special worship will be performed during Dhanteras and Deepawali. Mangal Jawara is sown here on the occasion of Navratri and religious rituals are performed.

Connectivity

The Temple is located at about 3.5 Kms from Ratanpur Bus Stand. Ratanpur is located at about 25 Kms from Bilaspur, 30 Kms from Bilaspur Junction Railway Station, 38 Kms from Bilaspur Airport, 65 Kms from Pali, 142 Kms from Raipur and 159 Kms from Raipur Airport. Ratanpur is situated on NH 130 connects Bilaspur to Ambikapur. Frequent Buses are available from Bilaspur.

Location

Mahamaya Temple, Ratanpur – Legends

Mahamaya Temple, Ratanpur – Legends

Sakthi Peethas:

In Hindu mythology, Daksha Yajna or Daksha-Yaga is an important event, which is narrated in various Hindu scriptures. It refers to a yajna (sacrifice) organized by Daksha, where his daughter Sati immolated herself. The wrath of god Shiva, Sati's husband, thereafter destroyed the sacrifice. The tale is also called Daksha-Yajna-Nasha (destruction of Daksha's sacrifice). The story forms the basis of the establishment of the Shakti Peethas, temples of the Hindu Divine Mother. It is also becoming a prelude to the story of Parvati, Sati's reincarnation who later marries Shiva. The mythology is mainly told in the Vayu Purana. It is also mentioned in the Kasi Kanda of the Skanda Purana, the Kurma Purana, Harivamsa Purana and Padma Purana. Linga Purana, Shiva Purana, and Matsya Purana also detail the incident.

Sati-Shiva marriage:

Daksha was one of the Prajapati, son of Brahma, and among his foremost creations. The name Daksha means "skilled one". Daksha had two wives: Prasoothi and Panchajani (Virini). Sati (also known as ‘‘Uma’’) was his youngest daughter; born from Prasoothi (the daughter of the Prajapati Manu), she was the pet child of Daksha and he always carried her with him. Sati (meaning truth) is also called Dakshayani as she followed Daksha’s path; this is derived from the Sanskrit words Daksha and Ayana (walk or path).

Sati, the youngest daughter of Daksha, was deeply in love with the god Shiva and wished to become his wife. Her worship and devotion of Shiva strengthened her immense desire to become his wife. However, Daksha did not like his daughter’s yearning for Shiva, mainly because he was a Prajapati and the son of the god Brahma; his daughter Sati was a royal princess. They were wealthy nobility and their imperial royal lifestyle was entirely different from that of Shiva.

As an emperor, Daksha wanted to increase his influence and power by making marriage alliances with powerful empires and influential sages and gods. Shiva on the other hand led a very modest life. He lived among the downtrodden, wore a tiger skin, smeared ashes on his body, had thick locks of matted hair, and begged with a skull as bowl. His abode was Mount Kailash in the Himalayas. He embraced all kinds of living beings and did not make any distinction between good souls and bad souls.

The Bhutaganas, his followers, consisted of all kinds of ghosts, demons, ghouls and goblins. He wandered through garden and graveyard alike. As a consequence, Daksha had aversion towards Shiva being his daughter’s companion. However, unlike Daksha, Sati loved Shiva as she had the revelation that Shiva was the Supreme God. Sati won Shiva as her husband by undergoing severe austerities (tapas). Despite Daksha's disappointment, Sati married Shiva.

Brahma's Yajna:

Once Brahma conducted a huge yajna (sacrifice), where all the Prajapatis, gods and kings of the world were invited. Shiva and Sati were also called on to participate in the yajna. All of them came for the yajna and sat in the ceremonial place. Daksha came last. When he arrived, everyone in the yajna, with the exception of Brahma, Shiva and Sati, stood up showing reverence for him. Brahma being Daksha's father and Shiva being Daksha's son-in-law were considered superior in stature to Daksha. Daksha misunderstood Shiva’s gesture and considered Shiva's gesture as an insult. Daksha vowed to take revenge on the insult in the same manner.

Daksha Yaga:

Daksha’s grudge towards Shiva grew after Brahma's yajna. With the prime motive of insulting Shiva, Daksha initiated a great yajna, similar to that of Brahma. The yajna was to be presided over by the sage Bhrigu. He invited all the gods, Prajapatis and kings to attend the yajna and intentionally avoided inviting Shiva and Sati.

Dadhichi – Daksha argument:

The Kurma Purana discusses the dialogues between the sage Dadhichi and Daksha. After the sacrifice and hymns where offered to the twelve Aditya gods; Dadhichi noticed that there was no sacrificial portion (Havvis) allotted to Shiva and his wife, and no Vedic hymns were used in the yajna addressing Shiva which were part of Vedic hymns. He warned Daksha that he should not alter the Holy Vedas for personal reasons; the priests and sages supported this. Daksha replied to Dadhichi that he would not do so and insulted Shiva. Dadhichi left the yajna because of this argument.

Sati's Death:

Sati came to know about the grand yajna organized by her father and asked Shiva to attend the yajna. Shiva refused her request, saying that it was inappropriate to attend a function without being invited. He reminded her that she was now his wife more than Daksha’s daughter and, after marriage, is a member of Shiva’s family rather than Daksha’s. The feeling of her bond to her parents overpowered the social etiquette she had to follow. She even had a notion that there was no need to have received an invitation in order to attend as she was Daksha’s favourite daughter and no formality existed between them.

She constantly pleaded and urged Shiva to let her attend the ceremony and became adamant in her demands without listening to the reasons Shiva provided for not attending the function. He allowed Sati to go to her parents' home, along with his followers including Nandi, and attend the ceremony, but refused to accompany with her. Upon arriving, Sati tried to meet her parents and sisters; Daksha was arrogant and avoided interacting with Sati. He repeatedly snubbed her in front of all the dignitaries, but Sati maintained her composure.

Because of Sati’s persistence in trying to meet him, Daksha reacted vehemently, insulting her in front of all the other guests at the ceremony to which she had not been invited. He called Shiva an atheist and cremation ground dweller. As planned, he took advantage of the situation and continued shouting repugnant words against Shiva. Sati felt deep remorse for not listening to her beloved husband. Daksha’s disdain towards her, and especially her husband Shiva, in front of all the guests was growing each moment she stood there. The shameless insult and humiliation of her and her beloved, eventually became too much to bear.

She cursed Daksha for acting so atrociously toward her and Shiva and reminded him that his haughty behaviour had blinded his intellect. She cursed him and warned that the wrath of Shiva would destroy him and his empire. Unable to bear further humiliation, Sati committed suicide by jumping into the sacrificial fire. The onlookers tried to save her, but it was too late. They were only able to retrieve the half-burnt body of Sati.

Daksha's pride in being a Prajapati and his prejudice against his son-in-law created a mass hatred within himself, which resulted in the death of his daughter. The Nandi and the accompanying Bhootaganas left the yajna place after the incident. Nandi cursed the participants and Bhrigu reacted by cursing the Bhootaganas back.

Destruction of the Yajna by Lord Shiva:

Lord Shiva was deeply pained upon hearing of his wife's death. His grief grew into a terrible anger when he realized how Daksha had viciously plotted a treachery against him; but it was his innocent wife who fell into the trap instead of him. Shiva learned of Daksha’s callous behaviour towards Sati. Shiva's rage became so intense that he plucked a lock of hair from his head and smashed it on the ground, breaking it into two with his leg. Armed and frightening, two fearsome beings Virabhadra and Bhadrakali (Rudrakali) emerged. Lord Shiva ordered them to kill Daksha and destroy the yajna.

The ferocious Virabhadra and Bhadrakali, along with the Bhutaganas, reached the yajna spot. The invitees renounced the yajna and started running away from the turmoil. Sage Bhrigu created an army with his divine penance powers to resist Shiva’s attack and protect the yajna. Bhrigu’s army was demolished and the entire premises were ravaged. All those who participated, even the other Prajapatis and the gods, were mercilessly beaten, wounded or even slaughtered.

The Vayu Purana mentions the attack of Bhutaganas: the nose of some goddesses were cut, Yama's staff bone was broken, Mitra's eyes were pulled out, Indra was trampled by Virabhadra and Bhutaganas, Pushan's teeth were knocked out, Chandra was beaten heavily, all of the Prajapatis' were beaten, the hands of Vahini were cut off, and Bhrigu's beard was cut off. Daksha was caught and decapitated, the attack culminated when the Bhutaganas started plucking out Bhrigu’s white beard as a victory souvenir. 

The Vayu Purana do not mention the decapitation of Daksha, instead it says Yagna, the personification of yajna took the form of an antelope and jumped towards the sky. Virabhadra captured it and decapitated Yagna. Daksha begs mercy from the Parabrahmam (the Supreme Almighty who is formless), who rose from the yajna fire and forgives Daksha. The Parabrahmam informs Daksha that Shiva is in fact a manifestation of Parabrahmam. Daksha then becomes a great devotee of Shiva. The Linga Purana and Bhagavatha Purana mention the decapitation of Daksha.

Certain other puranas like Harivamsa, Kurma, and Skanda narrate the story from the perspective of the Vaishnava-Shaiva community feud prevalent in ancient times. In these puranas, there are fights between Vishnu and Shiva or Virabhadra, with various victors throughout. The story of Daksha Yaga in Vaishnava and Shaiva puranas end with the surrendering of Daksha to the Parabrahmam or with the destruction of yajna and decapitation of Daksha.

Aftermath:

As the obstruction of the yajna will create havoc and severe ill effects on the nature, Brahma and the god Vishnu went to the grief-stricken Lord Shiva. They comforted and showed their sympathy towards Shiva. They requested him to come to the yajna location and pacify the Bhutaganas and allow the Yaga to be completed; Shiva agreed. Shiva found the burnt body of Sati. Shiva gave permission to continue yajna. Daksha was absolved by Shiva and the head of a ram (Male goat) meant for yajna was fixed on the decapitated body of Daksha and gave his life back. The yajna was completed successfully.

The later story is an epilogue to the story of Daksha yajna mentioned in Shakta Puranas like Devi Bhagavata Purana, Kalika Purana and the folklores of various regions. Shiva was so distressed and could not part from his beloved wife. He took the corpse of Sati and wandered around the universe. To reduce Shiva's grief, Vishnu cuts Sati's corpse as per Vaishnava Puranas; whose parts fell on the places Shiva wandered. The Shaiva version says that her body disintegrated on its own and the parts fell while Shiva was carrying Sati's corpse in various places. It is believed that the right shoulder of Goddess Sati fell here.

These places commemorating each body part came to be known as the Shakti Peethas. Shakti Peethas are holy abode of the Mother Goddess. Each temple have shrines for Shakti and Kalabhairava. There are 51 Shakti Peethas, representing the 51 letters of Sanskrit. Some of the puranas which came in later ages gave more importance to their supreme deity (depending on Vaishnava, Shaiva, and Shakta sects) in their literature. Shiva went to isolation and solitude for ages and wandered all around until Sati reincarnated as Parvati, the daughter of the King Himavan. Like Sati, Parvati took severe austerities and gave away all her royal privileges and went to forest. Shiva tested her affection and devotion in disguise. He eventually realized Parvati is Sati herself. Shiva later on married Parvati.

Ratanpur:

As per local folklore, Ratna Deva in 1045 AD reached Ratanpur (Manipur) at evening during a hunting expedition. He decided to spend the night under a vat tree near Maha Maya Temple instead of returning to Tuman, his then capital. His sleep was disturbed by supernatural light in the middle of the night. He woke up and found the court of the Goddess Mahamaya in progress where she was present with her attendants. He lost consciousness on seeing the court of the Goddess Mahamaya. Next day morning, he went back to Tuman. Later in the night he had a dream where the goddess asked him to move his capital to Ratanpur which will result in his fame and glory. He built a grand temple for Mahamaya in Ratanpur.

Mahamaya Temple, Ratanpur, Chattisgarh

Mahamaya Temple, Ratanpur, Chattisgarh

Mahamaya Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Goddess Sakthi located in Ratanpur Town in Bilaspur District in Chattisgarh State, India. Goddess Mahamaya is also known as Kosaleswari, presiding deity of old Dakshin Kosala region (modern Chhattisgarh state). The Temple is considered as one of the 51 Shakti Peethas. Being one of the 51 Shakti Peethas of Hindu Mythology, this temple is one of the holiest sites for devotees of the Shakti sect of Hinduism.


Legends

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2021/05/mahamaya-temple-ratanpur-legends.html

History

The Temple was believed to be built by Kalachuri King Ratnadeva I in 1050 CE. The Temple was renovated in 1492 AD by King Bahar Sai. The shrines for Lakshmi and Saraswathi were built by him.


The Temple

This Temple is facing towards North. The Temple follows Nagara style of architecture. There is a huge water tank situated beside the temple. The temple is surrounded by a 18 inch thick boundary wall. The main gate of the temple is adorned with large metal sculptures, one on either side. One sculpture depicts Shiva carrying dead body of Sati and another sculpture depicts Shiva gulping Halahala (poison) which came out of churning the ocean.


There are two rampant lions on either side of the entrance  gate. The gate leads to the inner courtyard. The Sanctum Sanctorum consists of 16 pillared Mandapam and Sanctum. There are two idols present in the sanctum. One idol is Mahamaya in the form of Mahishasuramardhini and second idol is Saraswathi, placed behind the former idol. There are two inscriptions at the entrance of the mandapa dated to the reign of Haihaya King Vahara in 1495 CE.


The main complex of the temple houses the smaller idols of Goddess Mahakali, Bhadrakali, Sun god, Lord Vishnu, Lord Hanuman, Bhairav and Lord Shiva. Most of the idols and motifs used in the temple might have been taken from ancient temple ruins. Some of them were taken from Jain Temples. The main temple is surrounded by huge halls where Jyoti Kalashas are lit on behalf of the devotees. The Kalashas are kept alive for the entire nine days of Navratri.


Festivals

Chaitra Navratri, Ram Navami, Vasantha Navratri, Maha Navratri and Diwali are celebrated in this temple with much fanfare.

Connectivity

The Temple is located at about 1 Km from Ratanpur Bus Stand. Ratanpur is located at about 25 Kms from Bilaspur, 30 Kms from Bilaspur Junction Railway Station, 38 Kms from Bilaspur Airport, 65 Kms from Pali, 142 Kms from Raipur and 159 Kms from Raipur Airport. Ratanpur is situated on NH 130 connects Bilaspur to Ambikapur. Frequent Buses are available from Bilaspur.

Location | Photos

Maluti Temples – Group of Temples

Maluti Temples – Group of Temples

Maluti village houses 72 ancient temples presently. It is said that the Maluti village once housed 108 temples but lost around 36 temples due to nature’s fury and negligence in maintenance. All these temples are located within a radius of 350 metres (1,150 ft). Most of these 72 temples are in semi-dilapidated condition. These temples are dedicated to different denominations of gods and goddesses of Hindu pantheon, mainly to the tutelary deity Mauliksha, and others such as Shiva, Durga, Kali and Vishnu.



The temples are grouped into five different clusters namely Sikir Taraf, Rajar Bari, Madhya Bari, Chhoi Taraf and the Mauliksha temple complex. The largest of the clusters is the combined group of Rajbari and Sikir Bari, filled with several temples different in size and shape. Sikir Bari houses the roofless hexagonal Rasmancha. The Chhoi Taraf cluster is filled with temples made in charchala style. The architectural style of the temples may be classified into five categories namely Chala, Rekha, Mancha, Ek-Bangla and Flat roofed. All these styles are predominantly Bengali except the rekha style which originated in Odisha.



Out of the 72 temples in the village, 57 are Chala temples, 12 are flat roofed temples and Rasamancha, Rekha & Ek-Bangla temples are one each. Out of these temples, 30 Chala temples and one Rekha temple are decorated with terracotta plaques on their facades. Out of this 31 temples, terracotta facades of 7 are intact even at present. 18 temples are partly decorated and 5 have suffered badly from stealing of plaques by antique thieves, poor maintenance and nature’s fury. One terracotta temple is completely dilapidated.



Mauliksha Temple:

The main temple of Maluti Village is Mauliksha Temple. This temple is facing towards west. This temple follows Ek-Bangla style architecture. The Ek-Bangla (do-chala) consists of a hut with two sloping roofs, following the pattern of huts, mostly in East Bengal villages. It consists of sanctum and small verandah. The idol of Goddess Mauliksha has been placed on a square altar inside the sanctum.


Mother Mauliksha is considered as the tutelary deity of the Kings of Maluti Kingdom and guardian deity of Maluti village. Interestingly, this goddess is not found in any Hindu scriptures but is found in Vajrayana Buddhism as the Goddess Pandora. Maluti might be under the influence of Buddhism in ancient past and during the Hindu resurgence, this goddess might have been absorbed into Hindu pantheon. She is said to be the elder sister of goddess Tara.


Rasmancha:

There is only one temple in Maluti village which follows Mancha style. Tulsimancha, Dolmancha, and Rasmancha are the architectural styles comes under Mancha style. Rasmancha is the larger among them. This temple is octagonal in shape and stands over a raised plinth with archway openings on all sides. The prime purpose of this type of temple is to enable the deity to be seen from all sides. This temple is dedicated to Goddess Kali.


Chala Temples:

Chala temples are constructed in the form of traditional thatched huts seen in the villages of Bengal. This type of temple is simple in construction. It consists only one chamber built on square platform. Chala temples are dedicated to Lord Shiva. Three Chala temples have unique shikara combining mosque, church and temple. 30 Chala temples are decorated with terracotta plaques on their facades. Other three sides are left plain.


Flat-roofed Temples:

Flat-roofed Temples are very simple in construction and rectangular in plan. Three sides are covered with walls and front sides are open. The opening on front side is wider with pillars supporting the roof. Most of the temples are dedicated to Vishnu, Durga and Kali. There is a row of human bust in a straight line on the front side just below the cornice of one dilapidated Durga temple in this group. This design indicates the influence of English architecture imported by East India Company during the 18th century CE.


Rekha Deula:

There is only one temple in Maluti village which follows Rekha deula style. This style is quite common in the state of Odisha, adjacent to the state of Jharkhand. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.

Bamakhyapa Temple:

There is a temple dedicated to a saint known as Bamakhyapa where his trident has been deified.

Terracotta Plaques:

The temples have been decorated with terracotta plaque depicting the scenes from the epic Mahabharata & Ramayana, Dashavatara, Dasa Maha Vidyas, Sapta Matrikas, Navagrahas, Krishna Leela, various depictions of Lord Shiva, Durga, Ganesha, Kartikeya, Lakshmi, Saraswathi, the fight between Durga and Mahishasura, scenes of village life and animals. There is a unique terracotta plaque of Lord Krishna with six hands. His hands holds bow, arrow, flutes, singa and sword.



Inscriptions:

There are a few inscriptions on the temples recording the donor’s name, the date of construction and the socio-political history of the period. Most of these inscriptions are dated in Shaka era and in old Bengali script. The inscriptions are written in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Bengali. Some of the inscriptions in this temple records the date of construction in literature form (like a cipher). The donor’s name and the date of construction can be gleaned after deciphering the inscriptions.

Maluti Temples – History

Maluti Temples – History

Maluti is famous for its 72 ancient temples. It is said that the Maluti village once housed 108 temples but lost around 36 temples due to nature’s fury and negligence in maintenance. These temples were built by the Kingdom of Maluti dated between the 17th and 19th centuries CE. The Kingdom of Maluti was also called as Nankar Raj (tax-free kingdom).

This kingdom was granted to a Brahmin named Basanta by the Muslim ruler Alauddin Husain Shah of Gaura (1495–1525) for having saved his hawk (Baj) and returning it to him. Further, he was given honorary suffix Raja and came to be called as Raja Baj Basanta. As Basanta was a religious person, he preferred building temples instead of palaces.

Subsequently, his family divided into four clans and they continued to build the temples in Maluti, their capital, in clusters, inspired by goddess Mowlakshi, their family deity. The name Maluti is said to be derived from Mallahati, the Malla Kings of Bankura. The abundance of Shiva temples at Maluti is due to competition between the four houses of Maluti Kingdom.

Also, the Rajguru of Maluti Kingdom belong to Sumeru Math of Kashi. They might have influenced the kings of Maluti Kingdom to construct more Shiva temples. The Maluti temples were not known to the outside world until A.K.Sinha, Director of Archaeology, Government of Bihar, publicized them, for the first time in 1979.

The first steps taken to conserve the Maluti temples were taken by an NGO called Save Heritage and Environment (SHE). They approached the Global Heritage Fund (GHF) to provide support. The GHF has now included the temples and the village among the world’s twelve vanishing cultural heritage sites. Maluti is the lone representative from India on GHF's list of the world’s twelve vanishing cultural heritage sites.