Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
temple complex in
Udaipur District
Udaipur district is one of the 33 districts of Rajasthan state in western India. The historic city of Udaipur is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district is part of the Mewar region of Rajasthan.
History
Before Udaipur ...
of
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 s ...
in western
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 situated in Kailashpuri village (at
Girwa
Girwa is a tehsil of Udaipur district, Rajasthan, India. The administrative headquarter of the tehsil is located in the City of Udaipur.
History
Before the formation of the Republic of India, the territory of present-day Girw tehsil was part ...
Tehsil, Udaipur), near the former capital of Mewar, i.e.,
Nagda
Nagda is an industrial town in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It lies in the administrative headquarters of the city of Ujjain, in the Malwa region of western Madhya Pradesh. It is situated on the bank of the Chambal Riv ...
. Eklingji is believed to be the ruling god of Mewar Princely State and the ''Maharana'' rules as his ''Dewan''.
History
According to the 15th century text ''Ekalinga Mahatmya'', the original temple at Eklingji was constructed by the 8th century ruler
Bappa Rawal
Bappa Rawal (c. 8th century) was a king of the Mewar kingdom in Rajasthan, India. The bardic chronicles describe him as a member of the Guhila Rajput Clan, and some of them consider him to be the founder of the Guhila dynasty. He is credited ...
. The original temple and
Vigraha
In the Hinduism, Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' ( sa, मूर्ति, mūrti, ) is a devotional image such as a statue, or "idol" (a common and non-pejorative term in Indian English), of a Hindu deities, deity or Hindu saints, saint. In Hin ...
(idol) were destroyed during invasions by the Delhi Sultanate rulers. The earliest extant idol was installed by Hamir Singh (14th century), who also carried out extensive renovations to the main temple.
Rana Kumbha
Kumbhakarna Singh (r. 1433–1468 CE), popularly known as Maharana Kumbha, was the Maharana of Mewar kingdom in India. He belonged to the Sisodia clan of Rajputs. Rana Kumbha is known for his illustrious military career against various sultana ...
(15th century) rebuilt the temple, in addition to constructing a Vishnu temple. His 1460 inscription describes him as "the personal servant of Ekling".
In the late 15th century, Ghiyath Shah of
Malwa Sultanate
The Malwa Sultanate ( fa, ) (Pashto: ; ''lit: Mālwā Salṭanat'') was a late medieval Islamic sultanate in the Malwa region, covering the present day Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and south-eastern Rajasthan from 1392 to 1562. It was fo ...
attacked Mewar, and devastated Eklingji. Kumbha's son Rana Raimal (r. 1473–1509) defeated and captured him, and obtained a ransom for his release. With this ransom, Raimal patronized the last major rebuilding of the temple complex, and installed the present murti at the main temple.
Originally, the temple likely belonged to the
Pashupata
Pashupata Shaivism (, sa, पाशुपत) is the oldest of the major Shaivite Hindu schools. The mainstream which follows Vedic Pasupata penance are 'Maha Pasupatas' and the schism of 'Lakula Pasupata' of Lakulisa.
There is a debate about ...
sect, and was subsequently in the custody of the
Nath
Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.Ramanandis.