The Kalika Mata Temple is located at New Dhrewad in

Devbhoomi Dwarka district Devbhumi Dwarka District is a district of India located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Kutch in the state of Gujarat. Its headquarters are located in the city of Jamkhambhaliya. The district was created on 15 August 2013 from Jamnagar distr ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, India.

Location and history

The temple belongs to

Maitraka The Maitraka dynasty ruled western India (now Gujarat) from approximately 475 to approximately 776 CE from their capital at Vallabhi. With the sole exception of Dharapaṭṭa (the fifth king in the dynasty), who followed the Mithraic mysteries, ...

period (7th century). The temple is one of the two ancient temples located near the village, other being Rajal Vejal Mata temple. The temple is inscribed as the

Monument of National Importance This article contains lists of Monuments of National Importance in India. An Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 defines an "Ancient Monument" as follows: A "Monument of National Importance" is designated by the Archaeological Survey o ...

(N-GJ-122) by the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...

(ASI).

Architecture

M. A. Dhaky and Nanavati has classified this temple of Vimanakara type due to its ''

shikhara ''Shikhara'' (IAST: '), a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India, and also often used in Jain temples. A ''shikhara'' over the ''garbhagriha'' chamber ...

'' (spire) with neo-Dravidic subtype. The east-facing temple is a ''sandhara'' (sanctuary with an interior ambulatory) type temple with its adhisthana (base) visible at the few places. The sequence of carvings is as follow: large ''padma'' (inverted cyma recta), ''kusuma'', ''vajana'' ("plank-edge" moulding), ''kandhara'' (necking), ''uttara'' (beam), ''urdhvapadma'' (upper cyma moulding), ''kapota'' (roll cornice) and ''pattika'' (plain band). ''Padma'' is not yet evolved into ''Kumbha'' (pot) visible in future ''Nagara'' class temples and ''kumuda'' are very large and not yet evolved in ''

kalasha A kalasha, also spelled kalash or kalasa, also called ghat or ghot ( sa, कलश , Telugu: కలశము Kannada: ಕಳಶ literally "pitcher, pot"), is a metal (brass, copper, silver or gold) pot with a large base and small mouth, large eno ...

'' (urn). The square cella has plain walls crowned with an ''urdhvapadma'' with dog tongue carvings and a ''kapota''. The ''shikhara'' superstructure has five tiers, each having ''

chandrashala In Indian architecture, gavaksha or chandrashala (''kudu'' in Tamil, also nāsī) are the terms most often used to describe the motif centred on an ogee, circular or horseshoe arch that decorates many examples of Indian rock-cut architecture and ...

'' carvings in decreasing numbers from five to one. The last tier is flanked by half dormers. It is crowned by an ''amlasaraka'' ("corrugated wheel" just below the finial) and a ''kalasha'' which may be added later. There is no deity inside the cella. There are some idols placed inside now. The ''

mandapa A mandapa or mantapa () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture. Mandapas are described as "open" or "closed" depending on whether they have walls. In temples, ...

'' hall is closed from sides with plain walls. There is a window at the centre with a ''dandachadya'' (corrugated hood) and ''surasenaka'' (trefoil ''chaitya'' dormer) above it. A band of "rafter’s ends" and a ''kapota'' runs on the top area of the walls. There are four ''bhadraka'' (square pillar with recesses) type pillars in the centre. The ''mukhamandapa'' (entry porch) seems later addition.

References

{{Hindu temples in Gujarat Hindu temples in Gujarat History of Gujarat 7th-century Hindu temples Cultural history of Gujarat Devbhoomi Dwarka district Monuments of National Importance in Gujarat