Publish Date: | Tue, 01 Mar 2022 12:21 PM (IST)
Goodlal Verma. Raisen. There is a queue of devotees to worship, worship, the world’s largest ancient stone Shiva Linga. Due to Mahashivratri being on Tuesday, a large number of devotees are thronging to see the world famous Shiva Linga since morning. A beautiful set of flowers of Bholenath has been decorated here. Devotees are happy after seeing Lord Shiva in the form of a groom. Established 30 km away from Bhopal, the capital of MP, Bhojpur Shiv Mandir is a unique monument in the world. The proposal is under consideration with UNESCO to include it in the World Protected Heritage. Devotees come here throughout the year to worship Shivling. A special fair is held on Mahashivratri and Makar Sankranti. In which lakhs of devotees throng to have darshan of Lord Shiva. According to archaeological evidence, the Parmar dynasty king Bhoj, the ruler of Malwa, built the temple in the 11th century. Due to the wonderful art of temple construction, it is considered a wonder monument of the world.
Largest ancient stone Shivling
Established in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple is a 2.03 meter high Shivling made of shiny sandstone which is nowhere in the world in antiquity of 11th century. The Department of Archeology has sent a proposal to UNESCO to include it in the World Heritage. According to the inscription of the Archaeological Department outside the temple, the Shivling of this temple is the tallest and largest Shivling among the temples of India. The entrance of this temple is also the largest among the doors of any Hindu building.
Sketches of temple construction are available
Sketches are made on the rocks regarding the construction of the temple, which are not in any ancient temples of the world. Archaeologists believe that the builder of the construction, Raja Bhoj, was a skilled architect. The cutting and joints of the stones used in the temple have been made through drawings. About 1200 artisans were engaged in its construction. The temple was built between 1010 and 1055 AD. The name of Anant Dhwaj, the main artisan who built the temple, is engraved in stone. There were plans to build five huge temples here. Out of which three Bhojpur Shiva temple, behind the Jain temple, Mendua temple were built and the plans for the construction of the other two temples are found in the sketches.
Made the huge stones to reach the summit
The construction of the temple is built on a stone platform 106 feet long, 77 feet wide, 17 feet high. The incomplete shikhara of the temple is built on 40 feet high complete pillars and 12 unfinished semi-pillars. In the rear part of the temple there are still remains of Rapata. The stones weighing about 70 tons up to 35 times, five times, five feet were carried to the summit by this sliding. The archeology department considers this type of temple construction to be unique in the world.
Water conservation in 365 sq km by connecting three rivers
According to the remains of reservoirs and dams, huge water conservation was done by mixing three rivers Betwa, Kolar and Kolans in an area of about 365 sq km. Its remains are still present in Bhojpur, Mendua, Bhopal. It took almost 30 years for Raja Bhoj to do such a huge water conservation work. Raja Bhoj built three dams of stone and sand. The first of these dams was built on the Betwa river which held water and the remaining three sides had hills in that valley. The second dam used to block the flow of water by connecting the space between the two hills near the present-day Mendua village. The third dam was built at the site of present-day Bhopal city, which diverted the waters of Kaliyasot, a small seasonal river, to this Betwa lake. These artificial reservoirs remained till the 15th century. From Sehore to Bhopal, Bhimbaithka, Bhojpur there was a reservoir filled area. Due to being an island of Mandideep, there was a settlement there. At present, the big pond of Bhopal is a part of this. The aggressive Hoshang Shah had damaged the temple as well as broke the dams and reservoirs here. It took Shah thirty years to destroy the reservoirs and dams and in the same number of years it took the water of the reservoirs to empty.
Legend about the establishment of Shivling
There is a legend about the establishment of Shivling that five and a half thousand years ago in the Mahabharata period, the Pandavas had established the original Shivling here at the behest of Mother Kunti. Mother Kunti’s father’s name was also Bhoj. For this reason it was called Bhojpur. It is said that Raja Bhoj has not built a Shivling, but a temple. In order to worship Lord Shiva by Mother Kunti, the Pandavas resolved to complete the construction of this temple in one night, which could not be completed. Thus this temple is incomplete till date.
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The art of building Bhojpur temple and Shivling is amazing. This temple is the only one in the world from the archaeological point of view. The upper part of the Shivling is round, the middle octagon and the lower quadrant. It is a religious belief that the four corners are symbols of Brahma, the octagon is the symbol of Vishnu and the circular is the symbol of Shiva.
Dr. Narayan Vyas, Senior Archaeologist Bhopal.
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A proposal has been sent to UNESCO to include Bhojpur temple and Shivling in the World Protected Heritage. The UNESCO team could not come to inspect the temple due to Corona infection.
Dr. Piyush Bhatt, Superintendent MP Archaeological Department, Bhopal.
Posted By: Ravindra Soni