The Khatu Shyam Temple (

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

: खाटू श्याम मंदिर) is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

in Khatoo village of Sikar district in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

, India. It is a pilgrimage site for worshipping the deity

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

and

Barbarika Barbarika (''Barbarīka)'' or Khatu Shyam, is a Hindu deity, particularly worshipped in western India. According to the ''Skanda Purana'', Barbarika was the son of Ghatotkacha (Son of Bhima) and Princess Maurvi, daughter of Daitya Moora, tho ...

who is often venerated as a

Kuladevata A kuladevatā (), also known as a kuladaivaṃ, is an ancestral tutelary deity in Hinduism and Jainism. Such a deity is often the object of one's devotion (''bhakti''), and is coaxed to watch over one's clan (''kula''), gotra, family, and chil ...

. Devotees believe the temple houses the head of Barbarika or Khatushyam, a legendary warrior who sacrifices his head upon the request of Krishna during the antebellum of the

Kurukshetra War The Kurukshetra War ( sa, कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the ''Mahabharata ( sa, महाभारत )''. The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle be ...

Story

Before the beginning of the Mahābhārata battle, Barbarika's last wish was to see the war "Mahabharat" so Lord krishna himself placed his head on the top of a mountain for Barbarika to see the war. Many years after ''

Kali Yuga ''Kali Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the fourth and worst of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. It is believed to be the present age, which is ...

'' started, the head was found buried in the village of Khatoo ( Sikar district) in present-day

. The location was obscured until well after the ''Kali Yuga'' period began. Then, on one occasion, milk started flowing spontaneously out of a cow's udder when she neared the burial spot. Amazed at this incident, the local villagers dug the place up and the buried head was revealed. The head was handed over to a

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

who worshipped it for many days, awaiting divine revelations as to what was to be done next. Roopsingh Chauhan, king of Khatu, then had a dream where he was inspired to build a temple and install the head therein. Subsequently, a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

was built and the idol was installed on the 11th day of the ''Shukla Paksha'' (bright half) of the month of

Phalgun Falgun or Phalgun (; ne, फाल्गुण) or Phagun ( as, ফাগুন) is the eleventh month of the year in the Bengali calendar, the Assamese calendar, and the Nepali calendar. In the revision of the Bengali calendar used in Bangladesh ...

. There is another, only slightly different version of this legend. Roopsingh Chauhan was the ruler of Khatu. His wife, Narmada Kanwar, once had a dream in which the deity instructed her to take his image out of the earth. The indicated place (now known as ''Shyam Kund'') was then dug up. Sure enough, it yielded the idol, which was duly enshrined in the temple. The original temple was built in 1027 AD by Roopsingh Chauhan, after his wife Narmada Kanwar, saw dream about the buried idol. The place where the idol was dug out from is called Shyam Kund. In 1720 AD, a nobleman known as Diwan Abhaisingh renovated the old temple, at the behest of the then ruler of

Marwar Marwar (also called Jodhpur region) is a region of western Rajasthan state in North Western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. The word 'maru' is Sanskrit for desert. In Rajasthani languages, "wad" means a particular area. English tran ...

. The temple took its present shape at this time and the idol was enshrined in the

sanctum sanctorum The Latin phrase ''sanctum sanctorum'' is a translation of the Hebrew term ''קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים'' (Qṓḏeš HaQŏḏāšîm), literally meaning Holy of Holies, which generally refers in Latin texts to the holiest place of th ...

. The idol is made of rare stone. Khatushyam is the family deity of many families. Another temple is located at

Lambha Lambha is a census town in Ahmadabad district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Parts of Vejalpur, Daskroi, Danilimda, Vatva, and Maninagar assembly constituencies jut into Lambha. Many parts of Kheda, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad West, and Ahmedabad E ...

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

, Gujarat. People bring their newly born children to have blessings of Khatushyam. Here he is known as Baliya Dev.

Architectural features

The temple is architecturally rich. Lime mortar, marble and tiles have been used in constructing the structure. The shutters of the sanctum sanctorum are covered with gold sheet. Outside is the prayer hall, named ''Jagmohan''. The hall is large in size (measuring 12.3 m x 4.7 m) and its walls are elaborately painted, depicting mythological scenes. The entrance gate and exit gate are made of marble; their brackets are also of marble and feature ornamental floral designs.

Precincts

There is an open space in front of the entrance gate of the temple. The ''Shyam Bagicha'' is a garden near the temple from where picked flowers are to be offered to the deity. The

Samadhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...

of Aloo Singh, a great devotee, is located within the garden. The "Shyam Kund" is a holy pond near the temple from where the 'Sheesh' of baba shyam came out. In this kund devotees take bath and do worship of khatu naresh. The Gopinath temple lies to the south-east of the main temple. The Gaurishankar temple also lies nearby. There is an interesting tale associated with the Gaurishankar temple. It is said that some soldiers of the

Mughal emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

wanted to destroy this temple. They attacked the Shiva

lingam A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...

enshrined within this temple with their spears. Immediately, fountains of blood appeared from the Shiva Lingam. The soldiers ran away, terrified. One can still see the mark of the spear on the Lingam. Khatushyam main temple is located at Khatu Town about 80 km from Jaipur. Devotees are requested to take route via Reengus.

Administration and amenities

The Public Trust that has charge of the temple is registered under registration No. 3/86. A 7-member committee oversees the management of the temple. Shyam Mandir Committee manages and organizes the festivals and other important events every year in the village. The major festival for which the trust is the most responsible body to organize the event is Fagotsava Mela. Involvement in the Prasad preparation, barricading, cleanliness, temporary arrangements, water facilities, electricity supply, arrangements of generators, decorations, sound system, preparation of barriers, video coverage, closed circuit T.V., etc. is being done by the trust. A number of ''Dharmashalas'' (charity lodges) are available for their comfortable stay. The temple timings are as follows: *In winter (

Ashvin Ashvin or Ashwin or Ashwan (; bn, আশ্বিন; hi, आश्विन; or, ଆଶ୍ୱିନ; Malay/ Indonesian: ''Aswin''; Thai: ''Asawin''), also known as Aswayuja, is the seventh month of the lunisolar Hindu calendar, the solar ...

bahula 1st to

Chaitra Chaitra (Hindi: चैत्र) is a month of the Hindu calendar. In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Cho ...

shuddha 15th): 5.30 am - 1.00 pm and 4.00 pm - 9.00 pm. *In summer (

Vaishakha Vaisakha; hi, बैसाख, Baisākh; pa, ਵਿਸਾਖ/وساکھ , te, వైశాఖ, kn, ವೈಶಾಖ, Vaiśākha; ml, വൈശാഖം, Vaiśākham; mr, वैशाख, Vaiśākh; ta, வைகாசி, Vaikāci; ne, � ...

bahula 1st to Bhadrapada shuddha 15th): 4.30 am - 12.30 pm and 4.00 pm - 10.00 pm. The temple is closed at 11ras and Sunday. The temple is also open throughout the 4-day Phalgun Mela.

References

External links