A Marvel of Construction and Stone Carvings, Shri Kopeshwar Temple, Koppam ( Khidrapur) Dist Kolhapur

Introduction.

Khidrapur is a village where the river Krishna flows on three sides, and only one side is open for access to and from the outside world. Khidrapur is 60 km from Kolhapur, 39 km from Sangli, and about 280 km from Pune. Access to Khidrapur from both Sangali and Kolhapur is via various Maharashtra state highways that crisscross the area. 

It is technically a nondescript village like many other villages in the area. What sets this place apart is the Kopeshwar Temple.

So what makes the Kopeshwar Temple so special that it gives Khidrapur fame? Let us find out through this blog.

Shri Kopeshwar Temple, Koppam (Khidrapur)

The first and foremost speciality of Shri Kopeshwar temple is the presence of a Shiv Linga and a Vishnu Linga in its Garbha Gruha or the Sanctum Sanctorum. There may be a few temples that have both Siva and Vishnu present in the same Sanctum Sanctorum.

The Construction. 

The construction of the Shri Kopeshwar temple in Khidrapur started around 700 CE. As this place kept changing hands from one king to another, it is difficult to pinpoint who actually built this temple. Still, the finality came from the Shilahara dynasty king Gandaraditya in 1178 CE.

Made from black basalt rocks from the Sahyadri Hills, which are at least 70 to 100 km away from Khidrapur, the construction material was transported to this place by itself, a technological wonder of the time when transportation means were Limited. It appears that the stones were mined in the Sahyadri Hills and transported to this location using bamboo crafts through various rivers, including the Krishna River, which flows right next to it. In fact, many believe that this Temple is in the riverbed itself. 

Long Shot, the Temple (Courtesy Shrihari Koli)

The Temple. 

Let us now visit this Temple, which is full of intricate carvings of gods, goddesses, and various animals, birds, and flowers. As we enter the temple premises through one of the entrance Gates of its Bastian-like outer periphery, the visitors immediately realise that this Temple is built in a depression and there are high grounds around this Temple where Khidrapur village is located in all four directions. Unlike many other Hindu temples where a raised platform is used to further construct the main temple, this Temple rises from the ground, and that seems to be a reason that this Temple did not suffer much damage due to earthquakes, which are a common occurrence in this belt. 

The base of this Temple is made up of an elephant layer, consisting of various elephant statues made out of solid rocks on the three sides of this Temple, and the beauty is that no two elephants are the same. Unfortunately, various invaders following different religions other than Hinduism have broken most of the elephant statues, and many other statues inside this Temple have been defaced. On these three sides where elephant statues make a series around the temple, there is one different thing, that thing is, in the centre of these three sides, one can see Lord Shiva riding his Nandi. Even these statues are broken.

 Right above the elephant layer is the human layer. While it is called the human layer, the statues in this layer are a mix of Gods, goddesses, various female forms like dancers, etc., and male forms, including a Chinese and an African man. 

One of the Elephants of the Elephant Base of the temple (Courtesy Shrihari Koli)

The main Shiva temple stands on these two layers. There are four major parts of this Temple, which served different purposes in that glorious era of this Temple. 

Swarg Mandap.  

The first structure or part that a visitor comes across is the Swarg Mandap. The speciality of this Swarga Mandap is the 48 stone pillars that support its roof. The Swarga Mandap has a direct circular opening to the sky. This Temple has various spiritual significances, and this circular opening of the Swarg mandap to the sky is part of this spiritual thinking. This opening represents human beings' direct connection to the sky, and thus to heaven.

The Swarg Mandap, Side view (Courtesy Shrihari Koli)

Two natural phenomena are associated with this opening in the roof of the Swarg Mandap. First is Kirnottsav or Utasav of Rays. This happens in the first week of May when the sun rays fall directly on the Shiv and Vishnu Lingas. The second one is on Tripurari Purnima, when the moon perfectly lines up right on top of the circular roof, right in the centre of this opening.    

Swarga Mandap Opening, a perfect circle (Courtesy Shrihari Koli)

Kirnottsav, View from the Garbha Gruha (Courtesy Shrihari Koli)

Kirnottsav, Sun Rays illuminating both the Lingas (Courtesy Shrihari Koli)

Moon right in the center of the Swarga Mandap Opening (Courtesy Shrihari Koli)
 

Deepottsav, Khidrapur (Courtesy Shrihari Koli)

This Temple also celebrates Deepotsav on this day, when thousands of lamps are lit in the campus. 

It seems that Swargamanda served as a place for artist singers and dancers to perform in the service of Shri Kopeshwar Mahadev. 

Sabha Mandap.

This is the second part or structure that we see in this Temple. This structure is supported by 60 well-carved black basalt stone columns. The main columns of this Mandap have Kirtmukh carved on them. Kirtimukh was a demon with a boon to have his face carved on every Shiva temple entrance, and his never-ending hunger was to be satisfied by eating the sins of every devotee who crossed Kirtimukh at the entrance to enter the Sanctum Sanctorum. Interestingly, no two faces of Kirtimukh carved on these columns have the same decoration.

The Sabha Mandap also has a central raised platform with a circular stone on it. The circular stone in both the Sabha Mandap and Swarg Mandap seems to be meant as a stage for the performance taking place in this temple.

There are a large number of carvings on columns, the roof, and other structures, and connoisseurs of art will spend a couple of hours here enjoying the carvings.

A careful look at the entrance of Swarg Mandap reveals that it has no symbols that are usually found on the entrance of a temple. It is the Sabha Mandap entrance that has all the symbolism of a temple entrance. That is a direct pointer to a thought that the original temple did not have Swarg Madap, which must have been built by a later ruler subsequently.

Sabha Mandal also must have served as a place of discourse, debate, and various performances. Obviously, this must have been the happening place of this Temple.

Sabha Mandap (Courtesy Shrihari Koli)

Antaral or Vestibul.

This is a passage that connects the Sabha Mandap to the Garbh Gruha, Sanctum Sanctorum, of this Temple. In olden days, the Sabha Mandap had natural light, the Garbha Gruha had oil lamps, and this passage used to be fully dark. Maybe it was to acclimate one's eyes to be able to see things in the Garbh Gruha, which had very dim light. Metaphorically, it is said that this passage helped people leave the mundane world behind, gather their thoughts, and focus their thoughts on the deity inside before transiting to the Garbha Gruha. In the present day, this passage is illuminated. There are some carvings here, too.

Dwarpal at the entrance of the Antaral (Courtesy Shrihari Koli)

Garbha Gruha.

The most sacred part of any temple is this place. In the Kopeshwer temple, the Garbha Grugha has a Shiva Linga and a Vishnu Linga. There is a mythological story behind the presence of both of them together in the Garbha Graha, related to Shiv and Sati (one can check this story on the internet). The connection of the Shri Kopeshwer temple with this story is that this is where Bhagwan Shiv, who got very angry due to Sati's self-immolation, was pacified by Bhagwan Vishnu. That explains the presence of. Vishnu Linga in the Grantha Gruha.

With this, we have finished visiting the Shri Kopeshwer temple. We saw the exterior of the temple, and we also visited all 4 main parts of the temple interior, namely. Swarga Mandap, Sabha Mandap, Antaral, and Garbha Gruha.

Shri Shiva and Shri Vishnu Linga (Courtesy Shrihari Koli)

Beautiful Decoration (Courtesy Shrihari Koli)

Tit Bits

There is an Owl who has made this temple it's home for last few months. One can find it perched on one of the beam of this temple, mostly in Sabha Mandap 

The Owl in the temple (Courtesy Capt Ravi Sohonee)

Conclusion 

This Temple is a jewel from every angle. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has big plans for the beautification of this complex, and the work is going on. Visiting this Temple is highly recommended. It would be best to reach one day prior and stay at Kurundwad or Narsobachi Wadi for the night (20 km from Khidrapur, which is still a village) and visit this Temple in the morning around 7 am for seeing the carvings, etc., peacefully, without much of a crowd and perfect natural lighting for photography.

Taking a guide for this visit is highly recommended to get properly introduced to all the sculptures and hear the stories that are connected to this Temple. There are many guides there; however, we took Shrihari Koli, a knowledgeable guide, and we were very happy with his explanations. He can be reached at 8208475295.

Don't wait. Go for this visit.

Another photo of the temple (Bonus Photo, Courtesy Shrihari Koli)

 

Day Trips around Baku, Azerbaijan

  Azerbaijan, as a country, was introduced in our previous blog, which can be accessed here - harshad : A day in Baku City, Azerbaijan

This blog covers one of the  day excursions from Baku in detail and just mentions the other day trips that travellers can enjoy during their visit to Azerbaijan

Day trip to Yanardag, Ateshgah, Mud Volcano, and Gobustan.

Yanardag. Yanardag literally means Burning Mountain.  This natural wonder is about 3000 years old. The natural gas beneath the ground has been seeping through the rocks and burning for all these years, and unlike Mud Volcanos, which are formed by natural gas that comes out with mud, this gas discharge is clear gas without mud.

Yagardag Selfie Point

This area was once home to Zoroastrians, and the fire served as a bond between them and nature. This natural wonder is part of the historical fire worship practised in this area, like the worship performed at the Fire Temple described in the latter part of this blog.

Eternal Fire burning for over 3K years

Admirers of Yanardag Fire

Gubustan.  This place of historic importance has Petroglyphs, or rock engravings, dating back to over 5,000 BCE or earlier. The prehistoric men of that era engraved a variety of objects, such as people, animals, and even a boat carrying people, etc. 

This place is really intriguing. Prehistoric people had knowledge of boats, river travel, dances, and animals, which is really surprising.

Glimpse of Gobustan

Petroglyphs (rock engravings), Human figures, People rowing a Boat

Animals

Ateshgah. This is a 17th-century Hindu, Sikh, and Zoroastrian Fire Temple. This has a fort-like pentagonal perimeter wall with rooms built inside along the walls. These rooms were most likely meant for travelers and monks. There are Hindu, Sikh, and Zoroastrian inscriptions on the stone above the doors of these peripheral rooms in Sanskrit and Farsi, indicating widespread cultural exchange between these communities in those times. The fire here, once upon a time, was due to natural gas seeping through the earth; however, today the fire that is seen is lit by natural piped gas supplied to this place. The religious importance of this place for Hindus, Sikhs, and Parsis must have been very high about two centuries ago.

Ateshgah, the peripheral wall with the entrance gate

The Market complex, inside the main compound but outside Ateshgah walls

Main Fire Temple, Ateshgah

The Atesh (Fire)

Stone Tablet in Devnagari at the entrance of one of the rooms

Bhagwan Ganesh in one of the rooms

Stone Tablet in Gurumukhi

Mud Volcano.   The readers know that Azharbijan is called the land of fire. This is because there is a lot of natural gas under the earth in Azerbaijan, and that gives birth to places like Yonardag and a large number of mud volcanoes. These mud volcanoes are formed by gas seeping through the Earth's crust, and this gas brings along water and mud from beneath the Earth's crust. 

Mud Volcanoes, the Landscape

One such area where tourists can see mud volcanoes in action is part of Gobustan National Park. You can see small raised mounds of earth. On top of these mounds, the mud volcanoes can be seen. However, it is not necessary that the mud volcanoes can be seen only on top of the earth mounds; sometimes the mud volcanoes may sprout from the plain area also. 

Mud Volcano close up

Another Shot

It is fun to watch mud volcanoes in action from a close quarter, as they are warm but not hot, their plume does not rise high, and they are very safe even when one is very close to them. The bud-bud sound, water, and mud coming out make these Mud Volcanos an interesting place to see and enjoy. 

Conclusion. This is an enjoyable trip that can be easily done in a day. One must learn a bit more about these places before the trip to derive the full value of this trip.

Other day trips from Baku (not done by us). There are mainly three to four circuits that can be done as a day trip from Baku. We described one such trip above. The other trips that can be done from Baku are -

(a) Guba, Candy Cane Mountain, and Khinaliq Village.

(b) Shamakhi, Ismailli, Gabala Mountain, and Sheki (Practically four regions of Azerbaijan).

(c) Khizi and Shahdag (the European part of Azerbaijan).

There are various combinations that get created out of the above-mentioned destinations. One can pick and choose and travel accordingly.

It may also be a good idea, subject to the availability of time, to stay in the mountain region for three to four days rather than making a day trip.

This is the end of this blog. All the comments are welcome. They encourage us to produce more and better blogs.

A day in Baku City, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, a modern country worth visiting. Baku is its Capital. In this blog we are visiting this city, virtually.

We recently travelled to Azerbaijan for a quick four-day trip. However, let us know more about Azerbaijan before we visit Baku.

Azerbaijan has a dramatic blend of East and West, offering everything from the walled Old City of Baku—a UNESCO World Heritage Site amid striking modern skyscrapers—to the vast landscapes stretching from the lush Caucasus Mountains to the Caspian Sea shores. Known as the "Land of Fire," this country at the crossroads of Europe and Asia is celebrated for its ancient Zoroastrian temples, bubbling mud volcanoes, Silk Road caravanserais, and a patchwork of thriving artisan villages.  Its capital Baku is an ultra-modern city that takes pride in its glorious past.

Most travellers from India spend four to eight days at Azerbaijan. The direct flights from Mumbai and Delhi, along with a quick visa that can be obtained online, are other factors that contribute to this.

What to do in Azerbaijan

Generally, the four-day itinerary can be divided into three parts as follows (the fourth day being the departure day).

One day is utilised for the Baku City tour.

One day is meant  for an excursion to Gobustan Rock Carvings, Ateshgah Fire Temple, Mud Volcano and Yanardag Fire Mountain. Time permitting, one can also visit Bibi Heybat Mosque, a very aesthetically designed, beautiful building.

One day can be spent for excursion to Shahdag Mountain, Candy Cane Mountain and one or two enroute destinations.

There are a few more day excursions that can be done, but the above-mentioned ones are by and far the best. We only did the city tour and , Gobustan, Ateshga, and Mud Volcano.. We kept day three free and enjoyed the Boulevard vibes that day.

We will now do a virtual trip of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan

Baku City Tour

Baku has the right mix of ancient and modern. This being the capital of oil-rich Azerbaijan, its new area has skyscrapers, wide roads, and well-organised squares and gardens. Baku gives a feeling of being in Dubai.

What can we see in Baku in a day? Baku has  many places worth a visit, but what gets covered in a day is as follows-

(a) Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center and Museum. This massive and artistically designed building is named after the first president of independent Azerbaijan. The building's fluid form. by itself is a visual delight, but that is not all, it also houses a vintage car museum and eight floors of various spaces, including an auditorium that can house 1000 participants. There are many exhibitions that happen here on a day-to-day basis. 

The big I love Baku sign for Instagrammers is also located here. A detailed visit can take over two hours, but if one wants to enjoy the aesthetics of the building and see one odd exhibition, it may still take about one hour. Heydar Aliyev Center is omnipresent landmark as almost all major roads from Airport and other places flow around this place. Now let us see some photos -

Heyder Aliye Centre 

Vintage Cars in the Vintage Car Museum in this Center

(b) Flame Towers - These are three tall towers shaped in such a way that they appear like leaping flames coming out of the fire. They signify eternal fire and also represent what the name "Azerbaijan" means, the Land of Fire. one of the towers houses a housing complex of 130 apartments, the second one is a hotel, and the third one is an office complex.

Flame Towers

Highland Park - This large park, not far from Flame towers and (Caspian Sea) Boulevard, this park has viewing points giving an almost 360 degree view of Baku and its shoreline. More importantly, it also serves as a sacred place as it has a Alley of Martyrs where memorial stones of the Azerbaijani Soldiers who died for the nation and an eternal flame are placed along the longest walkway. Since there are walkways and gardens at multiple levels in this garden, it is a walker's paradise. This park also serves as a cultural space to hold cultural programmes. This park also features the upper station of the Baku Funicular.

Baku Funicular - Built in 1960, this half-kilometer funicular has two coaches that alternately go up and down. It connects Highland Park to Neftchilar Avenue at a square right next to the beginning of the Boulevard. Since Highland Park is situated on higher ground, the Funicular makes it easy, comfortable, and a unique way to descend to the areas around the Boulevard. 

The Boulevard - The rich and famous of oil-rich Azerbaijan built huge mansions along the shore of the Caspian Sea about 100 years ago. Along came this Boulevard, which was artificially created on this Caspian Seafront. Today, Boulevard has over 5 kilometres (or maybe more as when certain areas are considered, this Boulevard actually extends to 24 km). It is a place that has something to offer for everyone. There is a Carpet museum along it. There is also a mini Venice where gondola boats take you through a small canal. It also has gardens, a performance arena, and food courts. It also has a toy train which runs along the length of the main Boulevard, and it is fun to enjoy this ride. There is also a big mall at the funicular end of the Boulevard, called Deniz mall, where many food outlets are available. One can spend at least half a day at Boulevard.

The Boulevard

Mini Gardens at Boulevard

Daniz Mall

Nizami Street - a street that is the happening place and the centre of activities in Baku. Nizami Street is where the original trading areas developed around 175 years ago. During detailed urban planning to manage the increasing population, this street was developed in the Baku (old) town around 1860. This street today boasts many big brand stores, restaurants, and other places of entertainment. This street also had houses of the rich and famous of Baku, and they are architectural marvels even today. Nizami street today is a pedestrian-only street, and when one chooses a hotel, be mindful to select a hotel in the old city around Nizami Street, but not on Nizami Street, unless you are comfortable lugging your luggage.

Nizami Street is where one should go for fun and nightlife. Don't miss visiting Nizami Street during your stay in Baku. 

Food Outlet By-lane of Nizami Street

Fountain Square  - This Square is on a radial of Nizami Street. This radial has mostly eating joints of various types, and this street originates from Fountain Square, where there is also a food court. This square, which has a huge arena, is used for public gatherings and functions. It is a lively place throughout the day and transforms into a happening place at night.

Practically, the Nizami Street, Fountain Square, and the Boulevard form the area where one should be to have a good time.

The Fountain

Icheri Shahar - Contiguous to the Boulevard, Nizami Street, Old Baku and Highland Park stands the old Citadel of Baku, called Icheri Shahar, meaning Inner City (old walled city). This was the only settlement in this place from 1200 CE (some say from 700 CE) till the Russians captured it in 19th century. With the arrival of the Russians, the outer settlements started coming up, which were obviously called Behari Shahar, meaning Outer city. 

As of today, there are two major attractions in the Icheri Shahar area. First is the Maiden Tower, a bastion of the old fort. History has it that it was part of a period when Iran and Azerbaijan adhered to Zoroastrianism and housed a fire temple. There are stories of the fortress of Baku under siege when a heavenly maiden appeared and saved Baku, hence Maiden Tower. Today, the tower houses a small museum on every floor, and there is a good view of Baku, including Icheri Shahar, from the tower top.

Another important landmark of Icheri Sheher is Shirvanshah Palace, which was built by the Shirvanshah dynasty king in the 15th century CE. It is a complex consisting of a palace, a diwanhana, a mosque, a burial place for the royals, and a mausoleum of a Sufi Saint.

This place is one of the two landmarks, the other being the Maiden Tower.

A Mosque entrance near the palace

Icheri Shahar Street

Maiden Tower

This, by and large, finishes the Baku city tour. This city is a delightful place to visit.  Baku has a variety of hotels, hostels, and B&Bs. Our favorite area to stay is Old City and Nizami Street, but there is a caution: Nizami is supposed to be a vehicle-free street. Staying at Nizami may entail carrying your own luggage for a short distance.

Food options are also aplenty, and vegetarian food is available. That means vegetarians can travel worry-free.

Baku is a safe city for everyone, including single female travellers. Overall, this place is worth visiting.