Lodrawa (aka Lodurva, Lodarva or Laudrava) is a village in

Jaisalmer district Jaisalmer is the largest district in the Indian state of Rajasthan, and the third largest district in India. Located in Marwar (Jodhpur Division), the city of Jaisalmer is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is around from the ...

, Rajasthan,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is located 15 kilometers to the north-west of

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contains a ...

. Lodrawa was the ancient capital of the

Bhati Bhati is a clan of Rajputs History The Bhatis reportedly originated in Mathura through a common ancestor named Bhati, who was a descendant of Pradyumn. According to the seventeenth-century Nainsi ri Khyat, the Bhatis after losing Mathura ...

dynasty until

Rawal Jaisal Rawal Jaisal (–1168), was a Bhati Rajput ruler of Jaisalmer who lived during the 12th century and founded the city of Jaisalmer and Jaisalmer state. Sixth in descent from Rawal Deoraj Bhati, he was the eldest son of Rawal Dusaj of Deoraj (D ...

founded the Jaisalmer state and moved the capital to Jaisalmer in 1156 CE. The village and the surrounding area are famous for their historic temples, mostly

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

, originally constructed in the pre-12th-century Maru-Gurjara style of the

Chalukya Empire The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...

and reconstructed in a similar but more ornate revivalist style in the 17th century.

History

Rawal Deoraj of the Bhati clan established Lodhruva as the capital in the 8th century CE. The city stood on an ancient trade route through the

Thar Desert The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent, Subcontinent that covers an area of and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's Li ...

, which also made it vulnerable to frequent attacks.

Mahmud of Ghazni Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...

laid siege on the city in 1025 CE. It was again ransacked by

Muhammad Ghori Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad ibn Sam ( fa, معز الدین محمد بن سام), also Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori, also Ghūri ( fa, معز الدین محمد غوری) (1144 – March 15, 1206), commonly known as Muhammad of Ghor, also Gh ...

in 1178 CE, leading to its abandonment and the establishment of the new fortified capital of

in 1156 CE. Jaisalmer was situated 16 km away on the Trikuta Hill, where the present fortress stands today. Lodrawa was also the setting for the doomed love story of Princess Mumal and Mahendra, a prince of

Amarkot Umerkot (formerly known as Amarkot) is a city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The local language is Dhatki, which is one of the Rajasthani languages of the Indo-Aryan language family. It is most closely related to Marwari. Sindhi, Urdu and ...

, recounted in local folklore and songs.

Visitor's attractions

Lodrawa is a popular tourist destination, known for its architectural ruins and surrounding sand dunes. Lodrawa is also famous for the

Jain temple A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings ge ...

dedicated to the 23rd

Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a 'ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable passag ...

Parshvanatha ''Parshvanatha'' (), also known as ''Parshva'' () and ''Parasnath'', was the 23rd of 24 ''Tirthankaras'' (supreme preacher of dharma) of Jainism. He is the only Tirthankara who gained the title of ''Kalīkālkalpataru (Kalpavriksha in this "Kal ...

. The original temple was destroyed in 1178 AD when

attacked the city, but it was reconstructed by Seth Tharu Shah in 1615, with further additions in 1675 and 1687. Restored using state-of-the-art methods in the late 1970s, the temples are reminders of the city's former glory. Other old temples in the area are dedicated to the deities Rishabhanatha, Sambhavanatha,

Hinglaj Mata Hinglaj Mata (Hindi: हिंगलाज माता, bal, هنگلاج ماتا, ), also known as Hinglaj Devi, Hingula Devi and Nani Mandir, is a Hindu temple in Hinglaj, a town on the Makran coast in the Lasbela district of Balochistan, a ...

Chamunda Chamunda (Sanskrit: चामुण्डा, ISO-15919: Cāmuṇḍā), also known as Chamundeshwari, Chamundi or Charchika, is a fearsome form of Chandi, the Hindu Divine Mother Shakti and is one of the seven Matrikas (mother goddesses).W ...

, and

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

References

External links

Lodurva
at

wikimapia Wikimapia is a geographic online encyclopedia project. The project implements an interactive "clickable" web map that utilizes Google Maps with a geographically-referenced wiki system, with the aim to mark and describe all geographical objects ...

Legend of Mumal and Mahender in Rajastahni folksong
{{coord missing, Rajasthan Villages in Jaisalmer district History of Rajasthan Tourist attractions in Jaisalmer district Former capital cities in India

History

Visitor's attractions

Further reading

See also

References

External links