This magnificent temple has spectacular architecture. However, it is in ruins and is not as famous as Chola temples of Tanjore and Chandela temples of Khajuraho. This could probably be because of vandalism during Mughal invasion
-Dr Ujwala Chakradeo
On the banks of river Krishna and the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka near Sangli in Kolhapur district, is this beautifully sculpted temple of Shiva – Kopeshwar, built by Yadava kings in 12th century. The temple is in four parts all interconnected by vestibule. The first structure at the entrance is the Swarga Mandap – the hall of heaven. The architecture and design of Swarga Mandap is very unique. This Mandapa is circular in plan and is constructed with the support of 48 intricately carved columns, which are placed in three circles. Each of the 48 pillars has been carved in different shapes, round, square, hexagon and octagon etc. Another unique feature of this Swarga Mandap is its roof. The roof in the center is open to the sky. The 13 feet diameter circular cutout is so perfect that one is reminded of the Pantheon Rome. This is probably because Pantheon has been well publicised and popularised whereas Khidrapur is hardly known to any one of us. The sanctum of the temple is conical. The external façade of the temple is decorated with stunning statues of deities (Shiva, Parvati, Durga. Brahma, Vishnu etc.), dancing girls- sursundaries and animals. Stories from mythology, panchtantra are depicted through these sculptures. The plinth has rows of statues of elephant heads. There are 92 elephants on the base of the temple. Elephants seem to be taking the entire load of the temple structure. The temple has 108 stone carved pillars in the interior. The antaral – vestibule is full of Madaniks or sursundaries, the beautiful women who are adorned with all types of jewelry and costumes which can be considered to be in vogue in present times as well.
One of the songs (bhola bhandari) of famous Marathi movie ‘Katyar Kaljat Gusali’ released in 2015 was filmed in this temple. Since then, the temple is known to many.
The entire temple is in local stone. This can be called a masterpiece of Chalukyan temple architecture, but for whatever reason this temple is not as famous as Chola temples of Tanjore and Chandela temples of Khajuraho. This could probably be because of vandalism during Mughal invasion. The entire temple is in ruin. Very few statues are in complete shape. It is painful to see the condition in which the temple is. On one hand we bow our head to the skill possessed by our ancestors and on the other hand we have to take immediate measures to restore the temple to its original glory.
(The columnist is Principal of SMM College of Architecture, Nagpur and specialises in Bharatiya Architectural Heritage)
