Skip to main content

Featured Post

2023 - The Year That Was

Places impact you for a variety of reasons. And the same place impacts different people in different ways. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual experiences, where every single person’s experience is unique. And personally, every spiritual experience is unique, the same person can have different deeply spiritual experiences at different places, at different times. This thought has emerged because of my own experiences over the years, but especially so this year, with different and unique experiences at various places I have visited recently. I began this year with a visit to Baroda (Vadodara) with friends. It was meant to be a relaxed trip, a touristy trip, with our sons. We enjoyed ourselves to the hilt, but the highlight of that trip was a visit to the Lakulisha temple at Pavagadh. It was the iconography of the temple that I connected with, and I spent a few hours simply lost in the details of the figures carved around the temple. There was an indefinable connect with

Temples of Bikaner - Part 3: Laxmi Nath Temple

The temple resounds with bhajans, sung of Meera and Krishna. Devotees enter, and settle down in any available space, and join in the singing, enthusiastically. It’s evident that everyone knows the words. There are no queues, but there is a sense of order. No one is in a hurry. They wait patiently for others to have darshan before getting up for a closer look at the Lord. The temple is small, but beautiful, with intricate paintings on the ceiling. There is no space to stand and admire, so I sit down, along with everyone else, and allow my eyes to wander over the ceiling, rather than the image in the sanctum.




The Laxmi Nath Temple was built in 1504, during the reign of Rao Luna Karan, the 3rd king of Bikaner. There might have been older shrines around, or even right here, but this was one of the first Hindu temples built here. It is dedicated to Vishnu, seen here as Laxmi Nath, along with his consort, Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, suggesting that, during that period, the early 16th century, there was a strong Vaishnavite presence in Bikaner. This is believed to have been one of the earliest temples built by the royal family, and the Lord is believed to have been their patron deity, under whose influence they ruled this land.

The main shrine is a small one, as I have mentioned, and the paintings on the ceiling are embellished with gold, a technique we see at the Junagadh Fort as well. Around the central temple are other smaller shrines, dedicated to the many Gods of the Hindu pantheon. The entire complex is a walled one, and photography is prohibited.

The Laxmi Nath Temple Complex, as seen from the Jain temple


The Laxmi Nath temple is located right next to the Jain temple, and both temples would have been constructed around the same time. While the Jain temple, being more elaborate, took over 40 years to build, and was completed in 1514, the Laxmi Nath temple took 22 years to complete, and was ready by 1526.

The spires of the Laxmi Nath Temple, as seen from the Jain temple


A comparison of the two temples leads to some interesting thoughts. Built roughly around the same time, the architecture, as well as the ornamentation of the Jain temple is far more elaborate. While the Laxmi Nath temple is considered to be the temple of the royalty, does it also hint that the merchants even then had far more wealth available, even for construction of temples, than royalty?


And yet, it is the Laxmi Nath Temple which is a hub of activity, with locals visiting and offering prayers. While the Jain temple is also under worship, the visitors are more tourists than locals, since many of the wealthy Jain merchants have shifted to other cities and only visit occasionally. 

A newly married couple visit the temple, immediately after their wedding. This, apparently, is a common custom in the area. 

Disclaimer: These posts are based on two trips to Bikaner – the first one, a personal trip, and the second, when I was invited by Narendra Bhawan. While the first was an enjoyable experience with my family, I barely spent a day here, and while it was enough to see the sights, it was too quick to leave an impression.

The second trip, which was on invitation from Narendra Bhawan, filled the gaps and added a context to all that I had seen before, which actually helped me write. While the experiences are courtesy Narendra Bhawan, the words are, needless to say, all my own! 

Related Posts:



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw

Rama Temple, Gokarna

To my right , the waves rush to the shore, eager to merge with the sand. To my left, the same waves crash against the rocks, their spray diverting my reverie as I ponder over the beauty of nature, and wonder what first brought people here. Was it this beauty that encouraged them to build a temple here, or was it the fresh, sweet spring water flowing from the hill here that made this place special? No matter what the reason, I am glad my auto driver brought me here. We are at the Rama temple in Gokarna, just a few minutes away from the Mahabaleshwara Temple, yet offering so different a perspective.

Pandharpur Yatra 2023

The first time I visited Pandharpur was back in 2007 . The names Vitthal and Pandharpur, were just names to me. I had heard of them, but that was about it. Seeing the lord standing on the brick, hands on his hips, was memorable, but more memorable was the sight that greeted us as we walked out of the main sanctum of the temple. In the mandap just outside were a group of devotees singing abhangs , and dancing. This was the first time I had heard abhangs , and even almost 15 years later, I can remember the welling of feeling within me, listening to the songs, and how fascinated I was by the sight of the devotees dancing, lost in their love of the Lord. Over the years, as I have read more about Vitthal, and participated in Ashadi Ekadashi programmes at Puttaparthi, that first experience has stayed clear in my mind and heart. Every time I tell my Balvikas students of the saints who sang of Vitthala, it is that experience that I re-live. I visited Pandharpur again, in 2010, but that experie