The Ekalavya temple ( hi, एकलव्य मंदिर) is the only
Hindu temple in the world dedicated to
Ekalavya of the
Mahabharata. It is located in the
Khandsa
Khandsa is a village in Gurgaon mandal in Gurgaon District, Haryana State, India. It is populated by brahmans and rajputs, Khandsa is several kilometres from main Gurgaon, main town of the mandal and from the state capital Chandigarh. It has a ...
village of
Gurugram,
Haryana,
India. It is built atop the spot where
Ekalavya cut his thumb and offered it to
Guru Drona as
Guru Dakshina. His thumb was buried in this location and a temple was built on top of it to honor this great hero.
History and Significance
According to the
Mahabharata, the
Pandavas and
Kauravas used to train under
Guru Dronacharya. Drona had promised
Arjuna
Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...
that he would make him the greatest archer of his time. However, one day,
Arjuna
Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...
discovered a boy named
Ekalavya who was even better than him. He told
Drona
Droṇa ( sa, द्रोण, Droṇa), also referred to as Dronacharya ( sa, द्रोणाचार्य, Droṇācārya), is a major character of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
In the epic, he serves as the royal preceptor of the Kaurav ...
about
Ekalavya. Remembering his promise,
Drona
Droṇa ( sa, द्रोण, Droṇa), also referred to as Dronacharya ( sa, द्रोणाचार्य, Droṇācārya), is a major character of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
In the epic, he serves as the royal preceptor of the Kaurav ...
reluctantly asked
Ekalavya to cut off his right thumb (an essential body part for archery) as Gurudakshina (gift to the Guru).
Ekalavya obeyed and cut off his right thumb. It is said that
Ekalavya's thumb was buried in that location.
To honor
Ekalavya's sacrifice, in 1721, an affluent villager built a small Ekalavya temple on that spot. It is now maintained by the Gurugram Sanskritik Gourav Samiti. Today, only the local villagers visit the temple. It is not very popular among tourists and foreigners. The temple is also highly revered by the Bhil people, who visit it in large numbers from
Rajasthan,
Madhya Pradesh, and other parts of India.
The temple is located near other important sites related to the
Mahabharata in Gurugram, such as the
Gurugram Bhima Kund (where
Drona
Droṇa ( sa, द्रोण, Droṇa), also referred to as Dronacharya ( sa, द्रोणाचार्य, Droṇācārya), is a major character of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
In the epic, he serves as the royal preceptor of the Kaurav ...
bathed), a temple dedicated to
Drona
Droṇa ( sa, द्रोण, Droṇa), also referred to as Dronacharya ( sa, द्रोणाचार्य, Droṇācārya), is a major character of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
In the epic, he serves as the royal preceptor of the Kaurav ...
charya, and a temple of
Lord Shiva that was built by the
Pandavas.
Structure
The temple has only one room which can fit a couple people at a time. Along with that, there is also a two-room
Ekalavya Dharamshala ( hi, एकलव्य धर्मशाला) built by the village
Panchayat to accommodate any pilgrims that visit the temple.
Recent Attempts for Tourism
The villagers and members of the Gurugram Sanskritik Gourav Samiti were very happy when Gurgaon was renamed to
Gurugram. They expected that more tourists would come to the location. They have initiated a special puja on January 14 every year. The puja will be performed by the
Nishada caste, to which
Ekalavya belonged. Along with that, they want to expand the temple and the temple premises.
The villagers have also demanded that a local tourism circuit be developed with encompasses the Ekalavya temple,
the Dronacharya temple, and other sites.
External links
*
Map of only temple of Eklavya in the world'
References
{{Gurgaon district topics
Hindu temples in Haryana
Tourist attractions in Haryana