King Sized Bhojpur Temple – The Incomplete Last Act

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The stage was set for the magnum opus. Somnath Temple had been rebuilt. Bhoj Tal, the huge lake spread over forty kilometres, a marvel of civil engineering, provided water to the people of Bhopal and Malwa. On the banks of Betwa, the city of Bhojpur was founded. Two dams were built on Betwa to channelize water to feed the lake. Hundreds of artisans have sculpted the group of most magnificent temples on the banks of Bhoj Tal at Ashapuri. The treatise called Samarangana Sutradhara on classical Indian architecture was complete. The curtain was raised. The act lasted for several years. Sadly the magnum opus ended without the climax for reasons we might never know.

Bhojpur Temple – Looming Solidity

Bhojeshwar Temple

From a distance, the temple looks like a massive cube of stone sitting on a hill dwarfing the town below. You have not seen anything like this before. For a temple, the shape and dimensions are truly majestic and colossal. You have never seen a temple so different, so huge, and so bare outside. The sqat position provides intimidating presence and conveys massive solidity. You walk up the hill towards the temple on a freshly laid tar path.

Bhojpur Temple – The Huge Platform

The path leads to the stairs that brings you on the top of the seventeen foot high platform or forecourt. The platform has huge dimensions of 106x78x17 feet. There are a couple of chattris in the middle of the platform. And beyond the platform is the colossal west facing facade of the Bhojpur or Bhojeshwar Temple. Looking at the seemingly incomplete temple with no shikhar or superstructure, it is apparent that the platform’s large dimensions were designed to incorporate mandap, mahamandap and antaral that were never built.

Bhojpur Temple – Western Gateway

Images on the Western Wall

Ishaan or Shiv Dwarpal

ASI has installed wooden steps to enter the girbhgriha. The gateway (33 feet high and 16 feet wide) is flanked by huge pillars. The pillars are bare except kirtimukhs and chains with bells. You have seen similar pillars at Qutb complex in Delhi. On both sides of the walls are few images including that of Sursundaris, Yamuna and Ganga. At the base of the pillars on the either side are beautifully sculpted possible Ishaans or Shiv Dwarpal. They seem to be a secondary placement.

Bhojpur Temple – The Massive Shivling

Pillar Capitals and Domed Roof

As you step into the doorway you are blown away by the enormous Shivling mounted on a three stepped pedestal. The priest on the top of the pedestal has climbed with the help of a ladder. The pedestal is about 15 feet high. And in the middle of the pedestal rises the polished Shivling. The ASI sign says that the Shivling (6.7 feet high and 8 feet diametre) along with Yoni Patta rises to a height of 22 feet and is the tallest in the world.

View of the Shivling and Roof

Gandharv

You step down into the girbhgriha. Surrounding the Shivling are four massive pillars. The pillars carry some ornamentation. The inside walls are bare. It is when you look up that you are amazed. The pillar capitals are sculpted with images of deities. The brackets holding the ceiling have bharvahaks. The domed ceiling is generously carved. Eight Gandharvs adorn the outer rim of the dome along with dense carvings of motifs. Gandharvs are celestial beings who guard som and also play music in Indra’ s durbar. According to Vishnu Puran they are sons of Brahma. They have incredible healing powers and are also considered to be divine messengers between humans and Gods.

A Devotee Offers Prayers

You circumambulate the Shivling. High above and unseen, the priest washes the top platform. You try to be careful just in case the pail of water hits you and the camera. On a cold winter morning, there is a steady stream of devotees who offer flowers and light incense sticks at the base of the pedestal. Thousand years later nothing seem to have changed.  And what remains unchanged is the amazing ability of India’s history to leave you wonder struck.

View from Canopies on Platform

You come out to the platform.  Visitors pray at the shivlings on the platform. It is time to explore the complex.

Bhojpur Temple – View from South East with the Projecting Balconies

Lush grounds on the south of the temple look inviting. There are a couple of structures here that could be temple, tomb or stup. The east wall still has the scaffolding as part of continuing conservation of the temple. And then you see the ridge meeting the temple at the north-east corner. This in fact is the extant ramp that was used to haul up the huge blocks of stones to erect the walls of the temple. The stones pushed up on the ramp would be as big as 35x5x5 feet and weigh as much as 70 tonnes each. This is the only temple in the world where the ramp used to carry stones is still extant otherwise it would have been a big mystery figuring out the technology used!

The Ramp and Temple Fragments – View from North West

The temple’s imposing external walls are largely bare except with the relief of balconies high up. There is a possibility that deities were arranged on these balconies. Makar Mukhi Jalashay or Somsutra pierces the north wall from where the water used for washing the ling flows out. People believe drinking this water after pradakshina has curing powers. There are some fragments lying around. They could have come from this temple or were never used as the temple was left incomplete.

Looking at some old photos, it is apparent that the temple has gone large scale conservation. Due to unknown reasons, the dome of the temple had collapsed breaking the yoni patta into two pieces and since then the temple remained open to the sky. The stones from upper levels of walls had fallen off. The platform was in a ruined state. Mr. KK Mohammad of ASI who brought back Bateshwar Temples in Morena back to life, again led the restoration efforts here.

After 1000 years, the temple finally has a roof – no not carved out of red sandstone but a canopy built of fibreglass with inverted lotus motif. ASI did not want to risk another cave-in and therefore installed a lighter dome. From inside, looking up at the ceiling you could have never figured that out. One of the 33 tonne original missing pillar was replaced with a 12 tonne pillar. The structure looks quite impressive and solid in appearance. Good work again by ASI!

Bhojpur Temple – Enclosures with Rock Etchings

Rock Etchings with Temple Plans – Photo Courtesy Gency Chaudhuri

Shivling and Padavali – Photo Courtesy Gency Chaudhuri

You walk towards north west of the temple where you can see some cordoned off enclosures over the rock outcrops. Now this is a surprise. You have seen Ashok Rock Edicts, paintings on rock, but here on the rocks are extensive etchings of buildings and plans. The etchings include elevation and plans; pillars, shikhars and kalas; all pointers that there were elaborate plans to build a large complex of temples. Looking at at drawings of a mandap, it is apparent that the design is entirely new and never seen before. Just beyond is a shivling with footsteps. It is apparent that engraved on rocks are the elaborate blueprints of a large complex of temples that was never built for reasons we will probably never find out.

Raja Bhojdev (1010-1055AD) the greatest ruler of Parmar dynasty ruled over Malwa in Central India where he led several military campaigns in all directions. Once he went after Mahmud Ghazni who had come to sack Somnath. Ghazni promptly retreated to Sindh. As part of North Indian Confederacy, Bhoj fought with Salar Masud, nephew of Ghazni, in the battle of Bahraich where Salar Masud was killed. Bhoj also battled the Western Chalukys of Deccan. Here he partnered with Rajendra Chola I of the powerful Tamil dynasty of Cholas. So while Cholas pushed the Chalukyas from South, Raja Bhoj attacked from the North. The outcome is not clear of this war with Chalukyas. King Bhoj died fighting his one time ally Bhimdev Solanki from present Mahim in Mumbai that was then part of Gujarat and Kalachuri King Vishnukarna ruling from present day Jabalpur in MP.

Raja Bhoj in addition to being a strong military general was a great patron of art, architecture and learning. He was a writer too who authored eleven books out of which Samarangana Sutradhara is the most famous. The 83 chapter treatise on civil engineering systematically explains how to construct buildings, forts and temples. It even has a discourse on building flying machines. To walk his talk Raja Bhoj along with Bhimdev Solanki rebuilt the Somnath Temple after it was sacked by Ghazni in 1024. AtAshapuri, few kilometres from Bhojpur, a complex of twenty six temples was built with the finest architecture. New temple form of Bhumija style was innovated here. Ashapuri was a laboratory where artisans arrived from places as far as the Deccan to develop new styles and forms. It is possible that Bhojpur Temple could have been a new form in the making.

It was time to lift the curtain on the Magnum Opus – time to build a temple so majestic that there would be no parallels in the history of temple building.

Bhojpur the city founded by Raja Bhoj was appropriately chosen as the stage for the magnum opus. The inspiration for the mammoth temple could have come from his comrade King Rajendra Chola.  Rajendra Chola’s father Chola Chola had built the towering Thanjavur Brihadeeswara Temple and Rajendra Chola had built an equally imposing temple nearby. It is also possible that Bhoj might have taken consultation from the Chola stapathis. In that case the engineering aspect in addition to Raja Bhoj’s own temple construction competence would have been foolproof.

Brooding Behemoth

The site chosen was on a hill, overlooking the Betwa river. The palace was nearby so Raja Bhoj could himself keep an eye on the progress. The quarry was again close to the temple site. Remains of unfinished temple members at the site of quarry can be still seen. The planning was perfect. But what could have gone wrong?

The biggest unanswered question is why was the last act left unstaged? Why did the temple remain unfinished even though the Parmar dynasty lasted for another 250 years and grand temples like Udayeshwara Temple continued to be built? Was royal patronage discontinued and there was a funds crunch? Did a natural calamity like an earthquake strike damaging the temple? Was it a case of faulty engineering that  a shikhar could not be mounted? Or was it plain pillage by adversaries?

There are no clear answers but there could be several ‘what might have happened’ scenarios:

v  With the death of Raja Bhoj, his successors might not have taken interest in the temple completion; the royal patronage was stopped and resources diverted to newer projects

v  The adversaries like Solankis or Kalchuris might have damaged the temple as it was a common treatment meted out to the vanquished party

v  Delhi or Gujarat  Sultanate might have pillaged the temple during their Malwa excursions

v  Though the probability is low, there might have been an engineering miscalculation that led to collapse of the roof and the damage to yoni patta. The missing pillar that was replaced or installed by ASI is a big mystery.

v  Though there are no historical records, but a powerful earthquake might have ripped through the area damaging the roof and the outer walls. Temples at nearby Ashapuri have their plinths devastated; something that is impossible to be attributed to humans.

v  Then there is a possibility of combination of wide spread damage by earthquake followed by vandalism.

Even without the last act, Bhojpur Temple is a glorious edifice. The temple that looms over the town built by Raja Bhoj is stuff of legendary stories with which the king is remembered for. Come and see the the lores and legends come alive at Bhojpur.

Getting There: Bhojpur Temple in Raisen district of MP is about 30 kms from Bhopal. Ashapuri is 6 kms south of Bhojpur Temple. You can see Bhojpur Temple, Ashapuri Temples & Museum and Bhimbetka in a single day.

पूरब का सोमनाथ है भोजपुर का भोजेश्‍वर शिव मंदिर

सतीश सिंह February 13, 2011 धर्म-अध्यात्म No Comments

सतीश सिंह

कला और संस्कृति के दृष्टिकोण से मध्यप्रदेश की धरती प्राचीन काल से ही उर्वर रही है। स्थापत्य कला में भी मध्यप्रदेश का स्थान भारत में अव्वल है। स्थापत्य कला का ही एक बेजोड़ नमूना मध्यप्रदेश की राजधानी और झीलों की नगरी भोपाल से तकरीबन 28 किलोमीटर की दूरी पर अवस्थित भोजपुर नामक स्थान पर भोजेश्‍वर के नाम से ख्यात शिव मंदिर है। इसे पूरब का सोमनाथ भी कहते हैं।

21 वीं सदी में भले ही भोजपुर को गिने-चुने लोग जानते हैं, किन्तु मध्यकाल में इस नगर की ख्याति दूर-दूर तक फैली थी। मध्यकाल के आरंभ में धार के महान राजा भोज ने (1010-53) में भोजपुर नगर की स्थापना की थी। इस नगर को ख्यातलब्ध बनाने में मुख्य योगदान भोजपुर के भोजेश्‍वर शिव मंदिर और यहाँ पर बने विशाल झील का था। शिव मंदिर अपने अधूरेपन के साथ आज भी मौजूद है, लेकिन झील सूख चुकी है।

अपनी वास्तु योजना में यह मंदिर वर्गाकार है जिसका बाह्य विस्तार लगभग 66 फीट है। हालांकि इसका शिखर अपूर्ण है, फिर भी यह मंदिर चार स्तंभों के सहारे खड़ा है। ऊँचाई की ओर बढ़ने के क्रम में इसका आकार सूंडाकार हो गया है। तीन भागों में विभाजित निचला हिस्सा अष्टभुजाकार है, जिसमें 2.12 फीट वाले फलक हैं और उसमें से पुनश्‍च: 24 फलक वाली प्रशाखाएँ निकलती हैं। शिव मंदिर के प्रवेश द्वार का निचला हिस्सा अलंकार रहित है, पर उसके दोनों पार्श्‍वों में स्थापित दो सुदंर प्रतिमाएँ खुद-ब-खुद ध्यान आकृष्ट करती हैं। इसके तीनों तरफ उपरिकाएँ हैं जिन्हें तराशे गए 4 स्तंभ सहारा दिए हुए हैं।

शिवलिंग की ऊँचाई अद्भूत और आकर्षक है। 7.5 फीट की ऊँचाई तथा 17.8 फीट की परिधि वाला यह शिवलिंग स्थापत्य कला का बेमिसाल नमूना है। इस शिवलिंग को वर्गाकार एवं विस्तृत फलक वाले चबूतरे पर त्रिस्तरीय चूने के पाषाण खंडों पर स्थापित किया गया है।

आश्‍चर्यजनक रुप से इस मंदिर का शिखर कभी भी पूर्ण नहीं हो सका। अपितु इसको पूरा करने के लिए जो प्रयास किये गए, उसके अवशेष आज भी बड़े-बड़े पत्थर ले जाने के लिए बने सोपानों की शक्ल में हैं।

भोजेश्‍वर मंदिर के पास ही एक अधूरा जैन मंदिर है। मंदिर के अंदर तीर्थकरों की 3 प्रतिमाएँ हैं। महावीर स्वामी की मूर्ति तकरीबन 20 फीट ऊँची है। अन्य दोनों मूर्तियाँ पार्श्‍वनाथ की हैं। इसकी वास्तुकला आयताकार है। इतिहासकारों के अनुसार इसके निर्माण की अवधि भी भोजेश्‍वर मंदिर के समय की है।

भोजेश्‍वर मंदिर के पश्चिम में कभी एक बहुत बड़ा झील हुआ करती थी और साथ में उसपर एक बांध भी बना हुआ था, पर अब सिर्फ उसके अवशेष यत्र-तत्र बिखरे पड़े हैं। बाँध का निर्माण बुद्धिमतापूर्वक किया गया था। दो तरफ से पहाड़ियों से घिरी झील को अन्य दो तरफों से बालुकाइम के विशाल पाषाण खंडों की मदद से भर दिया गया था। ये पाषाण खंड 4 फीट लंबे और 2.5 फीट मोटे थे। छोटा बाँध लगभग 44 फीट ऊँचा था और उसका आधारतल तगभग 300 फीट चौड़ा तथा बड़ा बाँध 24 फीट ऊँचा और ऊपरी सतह पर 100 फीट चौड़ा था। उल्लेखनीय है कि यह बाँध तकरीबन 250 मील के जल प्रसार को रोके हुए था।

इस झील को होशंगशाह ने (1405-34) में नष्ट कर दिया। गौण्ड किंवदंती के अनुसार उसकी फौज को इस बाँध को काटने में 3 महीना का समय लग गया था। कहा जाता है कि इस अपार जलराशि के समाप्त हो जाने के कारण मालवा के जलवायु में परिवर्तन आ गया था।

कहने के लिए तो भारतीय पुरातत्व विभाग द्वारा यह मंदिर संरक्षित है, किन्तु विभाग के द्वारा इसके जीर्णोद्धार के लिए अभी तक कोई प्रयास नहीं किया गया है। यह सचमुच दुखद स्थिति है।

सतीश सिंह

भोजेश्वर मंदिर

भारत डिस्कवरी प्रस्तुति

लेख ♯ (प्रतीक्षित)

गणराज्य

कला

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दर्शन

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भोजेश्वर मंदिर
विवरण	‘भोजेश्वर मंदिर’ मध्य प्रदेश की राजधानी भोपाल से 32 किलोमीटर की दूरी पर रायसेन ज़िले की गोहरगंज तहसील के औबेदुल्लागंज विकास खण्ड में स्थित है।
राज्य	मध्य प्रदेश
ज़िला	भोपाल
निर्माता	राजा भोज
निर्माण काल	1010-1053 ई. के मध्य
प्रसिद्धि	विशालकाय शिवलिंग के लिए प्रसिद्ध है।
	भोपाल
	बसें, ऑटो रिक्शा आदि।
संबंधित लेख	भोपाल, राजा भोज
अन्य जानकारी	किवदंतियों के अनुसार माना जाता है कि इस मंदिर का निर्माण पांडवोंद्वारा माता कुंती की पूजा के लिए किया गया था तथा शिवलिंग को एक रात्रि में निर्मित किया गया था।

भोजेश्वर मंदिर अथवा भोजपुर शिव मंदिर मध्य प्रदेश की राजधानी भोपाल से 32 किलोमीटर की दूरी पर स्थित है। रायसेन ज़िले की गोहरगंज तहसील के औबेदुल्लागंज विकास खण्ड में स्थित प्राचीन काल के इस मंदिर को यदि उत्तर भारत का सोमनाथ भी कहा जाये तो अतिशयोक्ति नहीं होगी। भोजपुर गाँव में पहाड़ी पर यह विशाल शिव मंदिर स्थापित है। भोजपुर मंदिर तथा उसके शिवलिंग की स्थापना धार के प्रसिद्ध परमार राजा भोज द्वारा की गई थी। अत: राजा भोज के नाम पर ही इस स्थान को भोजपुर और मंदिर को ‘भोजपुर मंदिर’ या ‘भोजेश्वर मंदिर’ कहा गया। बेतवा नदी के किनारे बना उच्च कोटि की वास्तुकला का यह नमूना राजा भोज के मुख्य वास्तुविद और अन्य विद्वान वास्तुविदों के सहयोग से तैयार हुआ। मन्दिर की विशालता का अंदाजा इसी बात से लगाया जा सकता है कि इसका चबूतरा 35 मीटर लम्बा है।

प्रसिद्धि

भोजपुर के शिव मंदिर की प्रसिद्धि यहाँ स्थापित शिवलिंग की वजह से और भी अधिक है। पुरातत्व विभाग द्वारा इस मंदिर को विश्व धरोहर में शामिल कराने के प्रयास जारी हैं। कला और संस्कृति के दृष्टि से यहाँ की धरती प्राचीन काल से ही महत्त्वपूर्ण रही है। स्थापत्य कला में भी भोजपुर नामक स्थान पर भोजेश्‍वर के नाम से विख्यात शिव मंदिर काफ़ी महत्त्वपूर्ण रहा है, जिस कारण इसे “पूर्व का सोमनाथ” कहा गया।

इतिहास

मध्य काल के आरंभ में महान राजा भोज ने 1010-1053 ई. में भोजपुर की स्थापना की तथा यहाँ पर भगवान शिव का एक भव्य मंदिर भी बनवाया। इस नगर को प्रसिद्धि देने में भोजपुर के ‘भोजेश्वर शिव मंदिर’ का भी प्रमुख योगदान रहा है। यह मंदिर निर्माण कला का अदभुत उदाहरण है। मंदिर वर्गाकार है, जिसका बाह्य विस्तार बहुत बडा़ है। मंदिर चार स्तंभों के सहारे पर खड़ा है। देखने पर इसका आकार हाथी की सूंड के समान लगता है। यह मंदिर तीन भागों में विभाजित है। इसका निचला हिस्सा अष्टभुजाकार है, जिसमें फलक बने हुए हैं। शिव मंदिर के प्रवेश द्वार के दोनों पार्श्वों में दो सुंदर प्रतिमाएँ स्थापित हैं, जो सभी को आकृष्ट करती हैं।

मंदिर का शिवलिंग

भोजेश्वर शिव मंदिर में स्थापित शिवलिंग की ऊँचाई प्रभावित करने वाली है। अधिक ऊँचाई वाला यह शिवलिंग स्थापत्य कला का उत्कृष्ट नमूना है। शिवलिंग को वर्गाकार एवं विस्तृत फलक वाले चबूतरे पर पाषाण खंडों पर स्थापित किया गया है। मंदिर का शिखर अपूर्ण है, जो कभी भी पूरा नहीं बन पाया। इसको पूरा करने के लिए प्रयास अवशेष रूप में आज भी मौजूद हैं। भोजेश्‍वर मंदिर के पास ही जैन मंदिर भी हैं, जिसमें तीर्थंकरों की प्रतिमाएँ देखी जा सकती हैं। इतिहासकारों के अनुसार इसके निर्माण की अवधि भी भोजेश्‍वर मंदिर के समय की बताई जाती है।

स्थापत्य

मंदिर का निर्माण रूप एवं शैली बहुत ही सुंदर एवं आकर्षक है। विस्तृत चबूतरे पर बना यह मंदिर कई भागों में विभाजित है। मंदिर को देखने पर भारतीय मंदिर की वास्तुकला के बारे में बहुत बातें ज्ञात होती हैं। जैसे इसहिन्दू मंदिर के गर्भगृह के ऊपर बना अधुरा गुम्बदाकार छत भारत में ही गुम्बद निर्माण के प्रचलन को दर्शाता है। कुछ इतिहासकार इसे भारत में सबसे पहले गुम्बदीय छत वाली इमारत भी कहते हैं। कुछ किवदंतियों के अनुसार इस मंदिर का निर्माण पांडवों द्वारा माता कुंती की पूजा के लिए किया गया था तथा इस शिवलिंग को एक रात्रि में निर्मित किया गया था। इस विश्व प्रसिद्घ शिवलिंग की ऊँचाई इक्कीस फिट से भी अधिक है। एक ही पत्थर से निर्मित इतनी बडी़ शिवलिंग अन्य कहीं देखने को नहीं मिलती।

प्रमुख तथ्य

मन्दिर में स्थित शिवलिंग

‘भोजपुर शिव मंदिर’ या ‘भोजेश्वर मंदिर’ मध्य प्रदेश के शिव मंदिरों में से मुख्य मंदिर है। इस मंदिर का विशाल एवं भव्य रूप देखकर हर कोई इससे प्रभावित हुए बिना नहीं रह पाता। भोजेश्वर मंदिर के पश्चिम में कभी एक बहुत बड़ी झील हुआ करती थी। उस झील उस पर एक बाँध भी बना हुआ था, लेकिन अब सिर्फ उसके अवशेष ही यत्र-तत्र बिखरे पड़े हैं। बाँध का निर्माण बहुत ही बुद्धिमतापूर्वक किया गया था। दो तरफ़ से पहाड़ियों से घिरी झील को अन्य दो ओर से बालुकाइम के विशाल पाषाण खंडों की मदद से भर दिया गया था। ये पाषाण खंड चार फीट लंबे और 2.5 फीट मोटे थे। छोटा बाँध लगभग 44 फीट ऊँचा था और उसका आधार तल तगभग 300 फीट चौड़ा तथा बड़ा बाँध 24 फीट ऊँचा और ऊपरी सतह पर 100 फीट चौड़ा था। उल्लेखनीय है कि यह बाँध तकरीबन 250 मील के जल प्रसार को रोके हुए था। इस झील को होशंगशाह ने (1405-1434 ई.) में नष्ट करवा दिया।

किंवदंती

गौंड किंवदंती के अनुसार होशंगशाह की फौज को इस बाँध को काटने में तीन महीना का समय लग गया था। कहा जाता है कि इस अपार जलराशि के समाप्त हो जाने के कारण मालवा के जलवायु में परिवर्तन आ गया था। एक अन्य किंवदंती के अनुसार यह भी कहा जाता है कि इस झील के समाप्त हो जाने के कारण मालवा की जलवायु में भी परिवर्तन हो गया था। इस प्रसिद्घ स्थल पर वर्ष में दो बार वार्षिक मेले का आयोजन किया जाता है, जो ‘मकर संक्रांति‘ व ‘महाशिवरात्रि पर्व‘ के समय होता है। इस धार्मिक उत्सव में भाग लेने के लिए दूर दूर से लोग यहाँ पहुँचते हैं।

लिंगराज से समानता

एक समय था, जब भोजपुर से भोपाल तक फैली झील के अन्तिम छोर पर भोजेश्वर मन्दिर खडा दिखाई देता था। मन्दिर निर्माण के लिये जिस पत्थर का प्रयोग किया गया था, उसे भोजपुर के ही पथरीले क्षेत्रों से प्राप्त किया गया था। मन्दिर के समीप और दूर तक पत्थरों और चट्टानों की कटाई के अवशेष आज भी देखे जा सकते हैं। ‘अर्ली स्टोन टेम्पल्स ऑफ़ ओडिसा’ की लेखिका विद्या देहेजिया के अनुसार भोजपुर के शिव मन्दिर और भुवनेश्वर के ‘लिंगराज मन्दिर‘ व कुछ और मन्दिरों के निर्माण में समानता दिखाई देती है। मन्दिर से कुछ दूर बेतवा नदी के किनारे पर माता पार्वती की गुफ़ा है। क्योंकि गुफ़ा नदी के दूसरी ओर है, इसलिये नदी पार जाने के लिये नौकाएँ उपलब्ध हैं। यद्यपि भोजपुर का प्रसिद्ध शिव मन्दिर वीरान पथरीले इलाके में खडा है, परन्तु आज भी यहाँ आने वाले श्रद्धालुओं की भीड़ में कोई कमी नहीं आई है। प्रतिवर्ष ‘महाशिवरात्रि‘ पर यहाँ लगने वाला मेला देखने लायक़ होता है।

कैसे पहुँचें

भारत के किसी भी कोने से हवाई या रेल मार्ग से भोपाल, मध्य प्रदेश पहुँचा जा सकता है। भोपाल से भोजपुर की दूरी मात्र 32 किलोमीटर है। घूमने के लिये निजी वाहन अधिक उचित रहते हैं। बस स्टैण्ड से भोपाल मण्डीदीप मार्ग पर चलते हुए भोजपुर उतरना चाहिए। यहाँ किराया आठ से दस रुपये प्रति व्यक्ति लगता है। वहाँ से मन्दिर के लिये ऑटो आदि लिया जा सकता है। मन्दिर में या उसके आस-पास ठहरने का कोई स्थान नहीं है, यानि ठहरने के लिये भोपाल ही श्रेष्ठ स्थान रहता है।

Bhojeshwar Temple

Bhojeshwar Temple

Next day I headed for Bhojeshwar temple at Bhojpur district. I did not expect much to be left of an 11^th century temple weathered through centuries of turmoils. But, I was wrong.

Bhojeshwar temple is the temple of Lord Shiva constructed by the legendary Parmar King of Dhar, Raja Bhoj (1010-1053). Bhojpur, the ancient name of Bhopal came from this mighty king who was a great admirer of art and science, apart from being a worthy ruler and great worrier. The king could not complete the construction of the temple due to his death in the battlefield while defending his kingdom from the Chalukyas combined with Lakshmi-Karna of the Kalachuri dynasty. Still the awe inspiring structure of the dream temple of a great visionary compels us to look back at our glorious past. Its great stone blocks encompass a doorframe, which towers ten meters high and five meters wide. Four titanic pillars, richly carved, rise to support an incomplete dome. The high noon sun lances through the dome, illuminates a massive pedestal made of three stepped blocks of sandstone, seven meters square. An iron ladder ascends this huge pedestal to reach the uppermost platform, directly beneath the high roof, open to the sky. Dominating this platform and the great brooding temple is a magnificent lingam more than five meters high and over two meters in circumference. Deity is still worshiped everyday; priest performing the puja befits the ancient temple.

 

Bhojpur Temple

Bhopal: Bhojpur Temple and beyond

http://thinkingparticle.com/blog/bhopal-bhojpur-temple-and-beyond

Submitted by vishnu.kumar7 on Sun, 02/05/2012 – 23:19

• Bhojpur Mandir
• Bhojpur Temple
• Bhojpur Temple Photos
• Bhopal
• Madhya Pradesh

Despite geographical proximity, Madhya Pradesh always evaded by a whisker from my wanderlust and for the same reason, I was always keeping it at the bottom of the stack. But finally the wish materialized in the form of a precipitous trip. Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh became the starting line of my trip to the one of the most incredible landscape of India. Bhopal is a lazy town adorned with scenic lakes and beautiful monuments. It does not fall in any of the popular tourist trails of India hence does not witness a large number of vacationers except those who are deep into archeology and want to stop at Bhopal for their visit to Sanchi and Bhimbetka.

Lake near Taj ul Masajid Bhopal
I am neither into archeology nor following a tourist trail yet unfamiliarity and an unknown landscape always enthralls me which inspired me to visit Bhopal and nearby sites. From the very first glimpse, Bhopal made me intrigued with its vivacious streets and markets. Serenity and unworldliness is completely personified with the group of locals chatting on Indian politics over a tea and enjoying delicious road side snacks. Like any other popular historical town, Bhopal is perfect for a heritage walk across the old city where streets are adorned with ruins and monuments. These second tier cities of India have always allured me with their continual originality. I checked into a cheap lodge, had a road side breakfast and then started a long day journey to Bhimbetkawhich is a popular world heritage site famous for remnants from Paleolithic time (dated to 100000 B.P). Bhimbetka is a whole day trip from Bhopal and if not by the rock shelters, ancient paintings or carvings, you will definitely mesmerize with the scenic terrain in the lap of Satpura. Bhimbetka is already documented in a separate article and hyper-linked with this one.

Bhojeshwar Temple at Bhojpur
Another magnificent monument which you can travel near Bhopal is Siva temple of Bhojpur which is not only luring pilgrims for the reverence it exhibits but also interests those with a bit of inclination in archeology and history.

Siva Temple, Bhojpur

Visiting hours: Sunrise to Sunset
Entrance fee: 10 INR
How to reach Bhojpur temple: Catch a private bus (Low floor city bus) from Bhopal which is going towards Mandideepand ask the driver to drop you at the diversion to Bhojpur temple. From that point, you need to catch one of the frequent shared autos to reach the temple. If coming from Bhimbetka, you can take the diversion from Obaidullaganj but that road is in very bad condition and not worth driving.Bhopal-Bhojpur Temple: 29 km
Obaidullaganj– Bhopal: 14 km

Where to eat: There are many stalls in the temple lane where you can sip a tea and enjoy snacks or even have a light meal.

Remarks: During festival time, this place gets crowded with carloads of tourists from Bhopal.

Mutilated idols at Siva temple Bhojpur
History:

 

The temple stands magnificently on the right bank of the river Betwa, ancient Betrawati, over the rock outcrop. It is about 29 km south-east of Bhopal.This unique temple but incomplete for some unknown reason is ascribed to the illustrious King Bhojadeva(1010-1055 A.D.) of Paramara dynasty of Central India, who was a great patron of art, architecture and learning. The kingBhojadeva was a renowned author who wrote more than eleven books of which Samarnngana Sutradhara a treaty on architecture is the most important.

MYTHOLOGY:

Locally, there are several folklores prevailing in this area. According to one folklore, this temple was built by the Pandavas during their exile. Some People even claim Kunti had left Kama somewhere here along the bank of river Betwa.

Shrines at Siva Temple Bhojpur near Bhopal
ARCHITECTURE:

This west-facing lofty temple is raised on a 106 ft long, 77 ft wide and 17 ft high platform. The incomplete roof of the Garbhagriha(sanctum) is supported on four colossal pillars and twelve pilasters rising to a height of 40 ft. The sanctum is square on plan and enshrines a polished Siva-Iinga. The door-jambs of the sanctum are carved with figures of the river goddesses Ganga and Yamunaon either side. The bracket-capitals of four massive pillars of the sanctum are portrayed with figures of Uma-Maheswar,Lakshmi–Narayana, Brahma-Savitri, and Sita-Rama. Externally the temple is bereft of any ornamentation, except on the front facade. The balconies on the three facades although do not have any functional use, breaks the monotony of the plain walls. Probably these balconies once accommodated family deities of the Saiva cult which are now scattered around the temple.

Closer view of Siva Temple Bhojpur
SPECIAL FEATURES:

It is exhilarating to know that the Siva Linga with its Yoni Patta rising to height of 22 ft is the tallest and grandest in the world. The huge Yoni Patta made of a single block of stone broke into two pieces when a large size stone of the ceiling fell down on it, and thus the temple remained with a broken Yoni Patta and the ceiling open to the sky for centuries. But now the Yoni Patta has been meticulously joined together and the opening of the ceiling has been covered with fiber glass sheet decorated with, the inverted lotus flower which is exactly alike the original architectural remains of the roof.

The temple is survived with a ramp on its back side which was used for the transportation of large size stones to the raising heights during the temple building. Nowhere else in the world the ancient building technology of lifting large size stone architectural members to the top of the structure is extant. The fact that how the builders the temple raised stone as large as 35 x 5 x 5 ft and weighing about 70 tones to the temple could have remained a mystery had this  ramp was not in existence.

Again nowhere else detail tine drawings of the temple such as plan, elevation, pillars and pilasters, sikhara and kalasa have been engraved as a stencil on the rock surface. It speaks that before building, the temple plan and elevation were engraved on the rock.

The presence of ramp, engravings on the rock and the grand Siva Linga enshrined the sanctum make it an unsurpassed heritage of mankind.

Siva linga at Bhojpur Temple near Bhopal
After contemplating a placid sunset at Bhojpur temple, I headed back to Bhopal and had a delicious dinner at Manohar Dairy (One of the most popular restaurant of the city which lies on Hamidia road) and later surrendered myself to sleep with some cryptic scribbling on the pillow side.
Following morning, I caught a transport to Sanchi which was on relatively much better road and I reached there in 1 hour (Catch one of the private busses going towards Vidisha and ask them to drop you at Sanchi). Sanchi is UNESCO world heritage site inscribed for its Stupas, Monasteries, temples, pillars and other structures related to Bhuddhism. Sanchi is comprehensively covered in an independent article so you can read that article for details.

Sunset at Bhojpur temple near Bhopal

After Sanchi, I had almost a half day to roam around and travel other destinations so I headed towards Udayagiri caves those are some 8 km away from Sanchi but could not reached via public transport. There are two ways to reach Udayagiri Caves, the longer one goes via Vidisha. You can hire an auto either from Vidisha or Sanchi to reach Udayagiri Caves. Udayagiri caves are the group of 20 caves lying around a hill (some are on the hilltop). These caves depict statues of deities from Hindu and Jain religion and those are dated from 4^th and 5^th century A.D

Taj ul Masjid Bhopal

after returning back to Bhopal from Udayagiri caves, I got an opportunity to walk around in Bhopal and visited Taj-ul-Masajid, one of the largest mosques of Asia which lies in the old city. Anyone can guide you locating that monument.  It’s an attractive building with a beautiful lake on one side. Old city of Bhopal is exquisite with vibrant lifestyle and colorful streets those will strike you. Later in the evening I also strolled along the upper lake and VIP road and visited some parks on the lake side.

Statue of Raja Bhoj in Bhopal

During the short stay of 2 days, Bhopal left a unique impression as a city and its surroundings. It’s a perfect blend of laid-back life style and decent infrastructure with delicious food corners. With its innumerous unknown attractions in and around, Bhopal left me with frowning curiosity when I was boarding the train to Umaria (Bandhavgarh National Park).

Bhojeshwar Temple

Bhojeshwar Temple

Next day I headed for Bhojeshwar temple at Bhojpur district. I did not expect much to be left of an 11^th century temple weathered through centuries of turmoils. But, I was wrong.

Bhojeshwar temple is the temple of Lord Shiva constructed by the legendary Parmar King of Dhar, Raja Bhoj (1010-1053). Bhojpur, the ancient name of Bhopal came from this mighty king who was a great admirer of art and science, apart from being a worthy ruler and great worrier. The king could not complete the construction of the temple due to his death in the battlefield while defending his kingdom from the Chalukyas combined with Lakshmi-Karna of the Kalachuri dynasty. Still the awe inspiring structure of the dream temple of a great visionary compels us to look back at our glorious past. Its great stone blocks encompass a doorframe, which towers ten meters high and five meters wide. Four titanic pillars, richly carved, rise to support an incomplete dome. The high noon sun lances through the dome, illuminates a massive pedestal made of three stepped blocks of sandstone, seven meters square. An iron ladder ascends this huge pedestal to reach the uppermost platform, directly beneath the high roof, open to the sky. Dominating this platform and the great brooding temple is a magnificent lingam more than five meters high and over two meters in circumference. Deity is still worshiped everyday; priest performing the puja befits the ancient temple.

 

Bhojpur

The painful saga of Bhojpur….

http://blog-spacedump.blogspot.com/

I have scribbled down some part of my memory from my way back …..just an attempt, hope it finds its expression!

Whenever I’m angry I feel like walking, long, very long walk on the streets with no purpose. I can walk from one place to another, one city to another, one state to another. Walking subdues anger. A long walk drains out the physical body and mind runs on minimal ego. The moment ego dissolves, there is no anger. Since if ego is not there, who will get angry ? If you observe closely, self-convincing mechanism is nothing but ego nourishment. For instance, if I have to convince myself (or defend myself) for some particular act, I will throw out reasons to justify my act which would replenish my ego. Unless, I let go ego, self-transformation will only remain theory. Good to be in books but tough to handle. Coming back to my point, walking – till your mind drops. The same principle applies when you go on a pilgrimage located at the top of the mountain. You need to walk till that point. This drains out all the thoughts from the mind and a person becomes receptive to the divine possibility. Possibly, this is also a reason that temples and shrines were built on the top of mountain ranges.

This very physical body is miraculous. I have heard that ‘physical body has a more deeper sense of memory than mind itself’. So, for instance, once we get-up from sleep in the morning, our body remembers how to walk, it doesn’t let us fall. It remembers the training. You might have heard that if you learn cycling, swimming or any such exercises, you don’t need to keep a memory of it. Body knows how to recreate it. Although, this may seem very obvious but body has a much more deeper sense of recognition. Consider the fact that I went to Himalayas, for once, my mind might forget but my body will never forget. It retains that memory. So, one should very consciously make a journey to such places. Very recently, I went to one such place that completely changed the way I look at life.

The place has a story associated with it. I would want to take you through with the legacy of that temple and then describe it more elaborately. While I narrate this story, I’m also recreating the story in itself and its characters. So, part of it is absolutely true with some garnished part which is not true (which I’ve added). So, what is true and what is not, I leave upto you. After all, life is all about finding the truth from the untruth. Isn’t it?

Once lived a King, his name was Bhoj. He was one of the wealthiest kings india has seen so far. He had all kinds of luxuries a man can think of. He had everything a human being can desire. He was so overwhelmed with his riches that now he felt like seeking the spiritual angle as well. He had gathered riches so now was his chance to gather spiritual blessings from god. So, he called upon a Yogi who was an enlightened being and asked for his opinion. In those days, Kings use to seek opinion from gurus and then the decision was taken based on those thoughts. The yogi was an established mystic with knowledge of all the five senses. He suggested the king to establish a shiva linga with all the seven chakras consecrated. This would mean that the linga will resonate the power of all seven chakras that a human body is capable of. The linga will in-turn be like a Yogi in itself without human form and mind. The idea struck the king and he ordered the entire force to start working upon the same. Yogi instructed that he would require 7 male and 7 female to complete the consecration. All 14 people along with the Yogi will form a triangle within the vortex of which tremendous energy can be generated. This energy is nothing but life energy in itself. It is the same energy that we get when we intake food or what we gather from sleep. Hence the process of consecration is called – praan pratishtha (putting life into a matter or space).

The process began. The idea was to build a temple where people can come, sit besides the linga and feel the power of 7 chakras. This would assist many in taking their first step towards spirituality. Lot of groundwork was needed to complete the process. Yogi had all the necessary knowledge that required to form the linga and to consecrate it with life energy. For every chakra, energy will be plugged into the linga and a lock mechanism will be applied. This lock will ensure that the linga will retain the energy for years to come. Though, destiny had its own way. While the consecration process was almost complete, another king who belonged to some different kingdom attacked that territory. During the attack, yogi lost his left leg and the process got stalled. The only way to complete the process would be to have the Yogi to dissolve himself and transfer his energy into the linga. Following which, his disciple would lock the energies and complete the process. The first step was taken. Yogi transferred all his energies into the linga but the disciple got so overwhelmed with the atmosphere and also with the fact that he lost his guru, he could not lock the chakra. This resulted in two things – one, the linga got cracked since it could not retain the energy and two the pain of yogi’s lost leg got transferred into the linga. Though the linga could only be 90% complete, it still resonates with tremendous power and speak volumes of the painful saga of that yogi’s unfinished dream.

The Linga at Bhojeshwar Temple

The place is Bhojpur, it’s in Madhya Pradesh. It is around 40 kms away from Bhopal city. The temple is located in a village and is at the top of a hill. One can even take a long walk to this temple from the city. I feel that  the idea to build the temple at the top of the hill would have been similar as stated earlier. So that, one can drop the mind and come empty. Fill the empty cup and return.

Betwa River

Nearby, flows betwa river which is the primary source of living of that village. A gush of mad winds blow in Bhojpur that encompasses the past and whispers the painful saga of its incompleteness. The tallest living linga throbs with such a powerful force that it nearly shakes every human being whosoever comes in contact with it. The temple is still incomplete. One can see that the pillars are broken and the carvings are damaged. Most probably they might have got damaged during the warfare. The operating charge of the temple is now taken over by Archeological society of India who is also promoting the temple. The temple opens at sunrise and closes by sunset. It is one of the tallest linga present in india. The architecture is beatific and attracts many visitors.
I was in such an awe since I have never seen such a magnanimous attempt of humanity. It was sheer brilliance that the linga stands tall and speaks of its painful saga. I realized that sitting there for a while was so overwhelming. One can go lost in deep trance since that place is so powerful and vibrant with energy. The silence of the village deepens the whole experience. It is so deep that it cuts one apart.

Damaged Relics

This unfulfilled dream was then finished by one of our contemporary yogi in the southern city of India, Coimbatore. It is known as Dhyanlinga temple. Dhyanlinga is 100% complete with all the 7 chakras intact and shines tall with thousands of meditators visiting the temple every day. I have been so fortunate to see both the lingas, sit beside them and share their legacies. Both the lingas only understand the language of silence which is devoid of any religion or caste. One can sit in the their presence and get dissolved as a soap bubble in air.

On my way back from bhojpur, I was thinking that someday I may lose my mind and lose all memories that I have gathered so far but my body will never forget the experience of coming in contact with such an engineering marvel. It will always take me back and invigorate me with the energy that shook the very fundamentals of my existence.

किन्तु यदि आप अपने घर में “नारायण” बनकर रहेंगे तो निश्चय ही आपकी पत्नी लक्ष्मी बनकर साथ रहेगी।

यदि आप अपने घर में “शेर” बनकर रहेंगे तो निश्चयः ही
आपकी पत्नी “दुर्गा” बनकर आप पर सवारी करेगी,

किन्तु यदि आप अपने घर में “नारायण” बनकर रहेंगे तो निश्चय ही आपकी पत्नी लक्ष्मी  बनकर साथ रहेगी।
अब आप तय करें की आप को
क्या बनकर रहना है।।
🙏

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10 लाख हिन्दूओं को बंदूक की नोक पर कश्मीर से भगाने वाले , हजारों कश्मीरी पंडितों को मारने वाली कांग्रेस – पीडीपी – एनसी सेक्युलर है ..

10 लाख हिन्दूओं को बंदूक की नोक पर कश्मीर से भगाने वाले , हजारों कश्मीरी पंडितों को मारने वाली कांग्रेस – पीडीपी – एनसी सेक्युलर है ..

પ્રહલાદ પ્રજાપતિ

देश का राष्ट्रपति मुस्लिम बने तो गौरव की बात …
देश का उप राष्ट्रपति मुस्लिम बने तो गौरव की बात …
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देश की इंटेलिजेंस ब्यूरो का प्रमुख मुस्लिम बने थो गौरव की बात …
महाकुंभ मेले का मंत्री मुस्लिम बने तो गौरव की बात …
महाराष्ट्र के 90% हिन्दूओं का मुख्यमंत्री मुस्लिम बने तो गौरव की बात …
मगर
जम्मू कश्मीर का मुख्यमंत्री कोई हिन्दू बने तो भाजपा की सांम्प्रदायिकता…
और
10 लाख हिन्दूओं को बंदूक की नोक पर कश्मीर से भगाने वाले , हजारों कश्मीरी पंडितों को मारने वाली कांग्रेस – पीडीपी – एनसी सेक्युलर है ..

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देश की राजधानी दिल्ली में ईसाई संगठनों द्वारा इसके खिलाफ जिस मार्च का आयोजन किया गया था उसका नेतृत्व मदर टेरेसा ने किया था।

देश की राजधानी दिल्ली में ईसाई संगठनों द्वारा इसके खिलाफ जिस मार्च का आयोजन किया गया था उसका नेतृत्व मदर टेरेसा ने किया था।

પ્રહલાદ પ્રજાપતિ

स्तुति शर्मा

29 mins

1978 में जब लोकसभा में जनता दल के एक सांसद ओमप्रकाश पुरुषार्थी ने एक निजी विधेयक लाकर देश में धर्मांतरण पर प्रतिबंध लगाने की मांग की थी तो मुस्लिम और ईसाई नेता इसको रोकने के लिए सड़कों पर उतर आए थे। देश की राजधानी दिल्ली में ईसाई संगठनों द्वारा इसके खिलाफ जिस मार्च का आयोजन किया गया था उसका नेतृत्व मदर टेरेसा ने किया था।

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हिन्दू धर्म का आधार धर्मांतरण नहीं बल्कि जन्म है जबकि…

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