Kopeshwar Temple (Khidrapur):
MightyHikers
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj & Chhatrapati Shambhaji Maharaj ki jai.....
LOCATION: Sangali to Khidrapur temple 44
kms, 61 kms from Kolhapur, 415 kms from Mumba, 272 kms from Pune . Best time to visit: Any time throughout
year.
It was built in the 12th
century by Shilahara king Gandaraditya between 1109 and 1178 CE. It is to the
east of Kolhapur, ancient & artistic on the bank of the Krishna river. Even
though Silaharas were Jain kings, they built and renovated various Hindu
temples, thus depicting their respect and love for all religions. Kopeshwar
means angry Shiva . The entire temple is divided into four parts Swargamandapa,
Sabhamandapa,Antaral kaksha and Garbha gruha.
The present temple was
built by Shilahara kings who were native to Maharashtra. They were feudatories
of Rashtrakuta. Apart from the legend, the name might have originated from the
ancient name of the town, which was "Koppam". The town witnessed two
major battles. The first one took place in 1058 CE between Chalukya king
Ahavamalla and Chola king Rajendra. The Chola king Rajadhiraja was killed
during the battle, and the coronation of the second king, Rajendra Chola took
place right on the battlefield.
The second battle took
place between Shilahara king Bhoj-II and Devagiri Yadav king Singhan-II, during
which king Bhoj-II was captured by Yadavas and was kept captive on the fort of
Panhala. This event is recorded in the 1213 CE inscription near the south
entrance of the temple. This battle brought the rule of the Kolhapur branch of
Shilaharas to end.
A stone pedestal mounted east of the temple's southern door has a carved inscription in Sanskrit, written in Devnagari script. It mentions that the temple was renovated in 1136 by Raj Singhadev of yadav dynasty.
This temple recently came
into the limelight when the film shoot of Katyar Kaljat Ghusali was done for
the song of "Shiv Bhola Bhandari" in the temple.
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