The Temples of Intrigue -- around Lonar

Daityasudan Temple – Inside the MTDC resort, you may find a large photograph of this temple hanging on a derelict wall. An enquiry about its whereabouts may evoke a cursory reply so typical of all MTDC staff. You can never expect to get a detailed response or a historical perspective about any place from them.  This gem of a temple however is definitely worth a look. Having visited the Ajanta known for its Buddhist architecture and the Ellora with its Shaivite history, I found Daityasudan to be belonging to the latter period of history.

The exact date of its construction is assumed to be somewhere around the 6th Century AD (Ellora being built from the 5th century onwards, I presume there could be some overlap here as this temple had the Chalukya rulers as their patrons). Legend has it that a demon called Lonasur used to reside here along with his sisters and used to harass the locals, who appealed to Lord Vishnu for help. The Lord promptly arrived in his Daityasudan avatar, and freed the villagers from the demons wrath. The Demon was slayed and buried within the crater so the local belief goes,  due to which the water gets its vivid color (more details on the water in my earlier Blog on Lonar)



Khajuraho revisited





Khajuraho some more





Khajuraho again and again



The architecture has an asymmetrical Star shape and some of the carvings on its walls remind you of Khajuraho.  A standing image of Surya in the back of the temple gives a belief that the temple was originally dedicated to the Sun God, though this may not be the case when you observe the interiors.  The inner most sanctum sanctorum has the idol of Lord Vishnu standing atop Lonasur. The orginal idol was constructed of Meteorite material. 
The temple though is in urgent need of repairs and you could see the damage done to some of the carved figurines adorning the temple walls, thankfully though it has been able to protect itself from graffiti mongers who had made the idols inside the crater their targets.  I was told by the locals that the original idol was stolen some time back and has not been recovered since, so considering now there is little left to protect you may not find any Security around its vicinity.   



A damaged idol of Ganesha in need of repairs




the large mound opposite the temple


Scattered broken idols are seen in the temple courtyard, an idol of Lord Ganesha was prominent. An unusual mound of earth was located bang opposite the temple, is there something more the ASI needs to dig into?

The brickwork at the entrance stands out in stark contrast to the intricate stone work of the rest of the temple, this might have been added to the temple as a restoration work for some damage due to an invasion perhaps

The Reclining Maruti Temple - Located a little distance away from the crater is a unique temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman, unique due to the reason that this may be the only place where you find the deity in a reclining pose. Legend has is that when the Meteorite impacted Lonar, a small chunk broke away and landed in this place which has now become the Temple. The shape of the idol may not resemble Lord Hanuman but is venerated for its medicinal value, locals believe the magnetic property of the idol can help get your BP levels in limits. The entire idol is cast in saffron color. The temple precincts belong to some local family which has been preserving this pretty well so you may want to visit this for its uniquness than the devotion

The Temples inside the Crater

Situated at the periphery of the crater are 14 small and big temples dating back to over 1300 years. Built by the Yadav dynasty, almost all of them now lie in absolute ruin and have become the abode of bats and mice, their beauty and majesty a thing of the past.  

As you enter the crater you are saddened by the sight of a lone Buddha statue in a meditation pose, the head is missing and must have been carted away by an antique thief.   The casual attitude towards these historical treasures is noted amongst the locals as well, wherein during my first visit my guide had asked if any of these idols was of interest to me and he could have it delivered to my hotel at a small token fee.

Further down as you descend you are greeted by a Rama temple and a small pond which might have been used for ablutions. The water is derived from a natural spring and is unlike the brackish water inside the crater, though the color of the water is not inviting.  It is believed that Lord Rama had performed the last rites of his father Dashratha over here.  

A lone Nandi Bull with its face damaged is seen facing a battered open temple; the Shiv Ling now stands unattended and devoid of any religious offerings. You could see a similar sight of a majestic Nandi outside another temple, but this time the Shiv Ling is nowhere close-by. A couple of broken down idols are keeping it company outside the temple precincts. Some beautiful images you could dwell upon is that of the Churning of the Ocean by the Gods and Demons and a Damsel enticing a Tiger while her consort is trying to slay it with a spear. The Kamalaja temple is by far the largest and well maintained. Though it is located close by to the pond, the water from the lake never deluges it despite heavy rainfall and the pond water level rising to high levels. It may be the only temple where a Pooja is conducted regularly.



The derelict temple facing a damaged Nandi



It has seen better days



The lone Nandi with no Shiv Ling to pacify him



Considering these temples were built by multiple rulers during different epochs, their asymmetry is notable from their techniques of constructions and the direction in which some of them are facing (some are South faced, some East and one in Westerly direction)

The ASI is doing almost nothing to maintain these treasures and most of the better looking idols have been pilfered away or damaged by the ravages of nature. The temples have become the targets of graffiti mongers who have made their sadistic signatures and remarks on the walls and sculptures. Having visited the crater twice, I could vividly recollect having missed seeing some idols during my second trip (a Shiva Parvati statue was amongst them). As we trudged back to our hotel, it was evident that it was only a matter of time before these treasures faced a losing battle on their way to certain ruin 



An exquisitely carved pillar at the entarnce of the Vishnu temple



A Damsel, a Tiger and the Hunter



Probably the Dome of some Temple




An intricately carved pillar once would have supported a temple



A sad part of the story though is hardly any piece of literature is available regarding this period of architecture and its origins of construction as well as its relation to the more popular Ellora.  



A Puranic scene depicting the churning of the Ocean




This idol was missing during my 2nd trip