Twenty two kilometers North-East of Udaipur, chiseled out of sandstone and marble, in a remote pass en route to Nathdwara is a Shri Eklingji temple. It is famous for its 108 temples enclosed by high walls is devoted to this tutelary deity of the Maharanas of Mewar. This temple is really fabulous and shows all the glory of the ancient Rajput Kingdom in its pristine way. It is the foremost of the four major pilgrimage sites of Mewar. It is 1300 years old and was built in 734 A.D.
History :
Bappa Rawal, the founder of Sisodia clan in mewar, is said to have received religious education from a sage Harita Rishi here. The original temple was built here by him, but it has since been rebuilt and refurbished by successive maharanas. Ever since Bappa Rawal’s reign, the temple of Eklingji is regarded as the personal deity temple of the royal family of Mewar. It is said that Bappa has become such a firm devotee of Eklingji that he placed his entire kingdom at the feet of the deity. He proclaimed Eklingji as its ruler and regarded himself as the dewan or agent of the deity, ruling the kingdom on behalf of the deity. Several times the temple was attacked by the invaders. Maharana Mokal started the renovation of the temple and later it was re- built by Rana Rai Mal. The Udaipur maharanas regard themselves as Dewanji (ministers) of Eklingji, a manifestation Of Lord Shiva. The deity is regarded as the real ruler of the state and any power that the maharanas possesses is by virtue of his king. Another temple in the complex is the Lakulish Temple, bult in 971 A.D. It is the only temple of the Lakulisha-Pashupatas. Sect in the whole India. A large lake is situated near this temple of Eklingji Mahadev. This Lake is known as Indrasagar Lake. There are many ancient temples of Lord Ganesh, Laxmidevi temple, and the Bhairavnath temple at the shore of this lake.
Living Testimony of Virile Artistic Talent
The main temple, built of marble and granite, covers an areaof about 2500sq. feet and is about 65 feet in height, has a huge ornate mandapa (pillared Pavilion), under the canopy of huge pyramidal roof composed of hundreds of knots and crowned by a tall tower. In the sanctuary is a the four faced Shiva carved in black marble, of which the east symbolises Surya (Sun), the west-Brahma, the north-Vishnu, and the south-Rudra. The influence on the architecture is clearly that of the Solanki style of Gujarat. A statue of Bappa Rawal, standing with clasped hands, faces the image of Eklingji. Outside the temple is a porch and roofed courtyard supported by the columns with a big bronze statue of Nandi, the attendant bull of Lord Shiva. Two big white statues of elephants stand before the main entrance. A full size statue of Maharana Bhim Singh is also erected in front of the sanctum in a devotional posture. The Shikhar of the temple is 50 ft. high and has a circumference of 60 ft. The sanctum sanctorum has four doors in all the four directions and the door steps are jutted with gems. On each gate there is Nandi (bull) statue facing the idol. In the Western and southern gate the door frames are silver covered. The sunlight comes from the western gate and there is a silver made imade of Lord Surya above the gate. Eastern gate has stone lattices to laid the fresh air. On the northern side of the temple there are two tanks namely as Tulsi Kund and Karz Kund.
Custom & Traditions of Temple :
The temple belongs to the Maharanas and the pooja is performed in a royal manner. Hindu pilgrims come here from far places throughout the year to worship the Lord Eklingji. The descendant of Mewar Dynasty comes here on every Monday to offer their prayers to Lord Eklingji and to seek his special blessings. The temple is largely visited by the hundreds of devotees at the time of Shivaratri, the most significant festival of the temple. The string of religious traditions starts from the early morning including maha aarti and puja. The merriment of the festival continues for two days with a reverential spirit.
The Temple is very grand and magnificent in conception and perfect in execution.
About the Eklingji Trust :
The Shri Eklinji trust was created by Maharana Bhupal Singhji of Mewar, in April 1955. There are provisions made for the restoration and conservation of temples and traditional religious ceremonies. Presently the trust functions under the chairmanship of Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar of Udaipur. A documentation of a project city within a city is in progress and lack of rupees may be spent on this.
Timings:
Morning time: 4.30 am to 7.00 am and 10.30 am to 1.30 pm,
Evening time: 5.00 pm to 7.30 pm
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Darahan Timings of Shri Eklingji
From 11/05/2013 to 17/11/2013
।वैशाख शुक्ल प्रतिपदा से कार्तिक शुक्ल पूर्णिमा तक।
Morning Starts : 04:00 o’clock
Noon Starts : 10:30 o’clock
Evening Starts : 05:30 o’clock
From 18/11/2013 to 01/03/2014
।मार्गशीष कृष्ण प्रतिपदासे फाल्गुन कृष्ण अमावस्या तक।
Mornting Starts : 04:30 o’clock
Noon Starts : 10:30 o’clock
Evening Starts : 05:00 o’clock
From 02/03/2014 to 28/05/2014
।फाल्गुन शुकल प्रतिपदासे वैशाख कृष्ण अमावस्या तक।
Mornting Starts : 04:15 o’clock
Noon Starts : 10:30 o’clock
Evening Starts : 05:15 o’clock
N.B.
1. Darshan keeped open during pooja time.
2. Opening time is fixed but closing time for darshan is not fixed. Pooja takes 02:30 (hh:mm) to 3:00 (hh:mm) time in every phase.
3. Generally darshan are opened 15 minutes earlier and closes 15 to 20 minutes late on every Monday and every Shani Pradosh day.
4. Mostley times are maintained but they can be changed on special days such as Shivratri, Patotsav etc.
5. Please Note that special Puja of Srhi Eklingnath Ji is made during Grahan time in North India (Specially in Rajasthan)
6. Please consider this time table as guide lines. We do not accept any reponcibility for changes in timings.
7 .Temple opening timings are decided according to the seasons of Summer, Winter, Spring as well as according to the Hindu Mewar Calendar.
Find More Temples in Udaipur
Inputs by : Shakti Singh Dulawat
