Temple Details

Kopeshwar temple   Khidrapur


About Kopeshwar temple

Kopeshwar Temple is at Khidrapur, Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. It is at the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka It is also accessible from Sangli as well. It was built by Shilahara King Gandaraditya in the 12th century by Shilahara kings Gandaraditya, Vijayaditya and Bhoj-2 between 1109 and 1178 AD and then by Seuna Yadavas. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is to the east of Kolhapur, ancient & artistic on the bank of the Krishna river.

  There is a folklore behind naming the temple as ‘Kopeshwar’. Devi Sati. Daughter of King Daksha was married to Lord Shiva. King Daksha was not fond of his son-in-law. Once, King Daksha decided to perform grand "Yajna" ceremony. He invited all the gods, goddess and sages except his daughter Sati and his son-in-law Lord Shiva. Devi Sati felt insulted, and she went to meet her father. When she asked the reason behind not inviting her husband, King Daksha abused Lord Shiva. Sati couldn’t tolerate the abuses hurled towards her husband. In the fit of rage, she jumped in the Havan Kund. When Lord Shiva came to know about the immolation of Sati, he became furious. He destroyed Daksha’s Yajna ceremony and punished King Daksha by beheading him. Later, on the request of other deities, Lord Shiva granted him a new life with Goat’s head. An angry Shiva was brought to this place to calm down his anger. Hence the temple got its name Kopeshwar where ‘Kop’ means anger and ‘Eshwar’ means Lord Shiva.

The temple stands firmly with all its glory of 95 elephants and 108 pillars. These pillars are arranged in such a way that it with holds the entire structure of the temple. The 95 elephants on the outer side of the temple have been dressed in different forms with different gestures no one is similar to each other.

The pillars are intricately carved with figures of Gods, Goddesses, Man, Women, Flowers and other creatures. The Mythological story of the Kopeshwar temple is Sati the daughter of King Daksha was married to Lord Shiva. The King did not like his son in law shiva so when Daksha was about to perform a yagna (Hindu ritual performed along with the holy fire) he did not invite Sati and Shiva. Sati felt bad and went to meet her father asking the reason for not inviting her. In return, King Daksha insulted Shiva due to which Sati got angry and jumped into yagna (holy fire). hearing this Shiva got furious and punished Daksha by cutting off his head. Later Shiva took back his curse and granted Daksha life with the head of a goat. It is believed that angry Shiva was brought to this temple to cool off his anger.

Hence, the name KOPESHWAR where KOP (anger) and ESHWAR (Lord Shiva). The temple is built of Basalt stone(black stone). Legend says that this stone was transported from south India through the water channels of the river Krishna.

 

By Air: The nearest airport is Bijapur which is around 34 km away from Khidrapur.

By Rail: Kolhapur is the nearby railway station.

By Road: Khidrapur is 20 km away from Nrushinhawadi, 75 km from Belgaum, 56 km from Kolhapur and 413 km from Mumbai. The town is well connected by roads to all the major cities of Maharashtra. Buses and private vehicles are available from Khidrapur to reach the temple.

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Narsobawadi: Datta Temple

Kolhapur: mahalaxmi Temple

Bahubali Jain Mandir

sangli:Ganapati Madir

 

Festivals and CelebrationsThousands of devotees visit Kopeshwar Temple especially on Mondays of Shravan month and during the occasion of Maha Shivratri to seek the blessings of Lord Shiva.

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