Beautiful ancient temples of Lonar in Maharashtra

  http://travelindiathroughmyeyes.com/beautiful-ancient-temples-of-lonar-in-maharashtra/

rameshkabra

14/07/2020

20

Hi friends, India has many architectural treasures hidden in every nook & corner of our vast country lying neglected & forlorn – not known & visited by many.
I am proud of our rich heritage. I love to visit & explore these lesser known places. This blog is an attempt to bring it to the notice of all of you.

One such temple I visited recently is the Daityasudan temple at Lonar in Buldhana district of Maharashtra. It is believed to have been built around 10th century during the reign of the great Chalukyas. It is said that this is a Vishnu temple built to commemorate the victory of Lord Vishnu ( in his Daityasudan avatar) over daitya Lavnasur who used to reside at Lonar. Another belief is that it was originally or was meant to be a Sun temple but was later converted into a Vishnu temple. The temple resembles the Hoyasala style of temples in Karnataka.

There are beautiful carvings & sculptures all around the temple and they have not been damaged or defaced – only over centuries they have eroded due to natural factors. The original deity went missing and the present 9 feet tall idol of Vishnu was donated by Bhosale dynasty of Nagpur. Another interesting thing is that the interior of the temple is very simple with no carvings on the pillars or walls or other sculptures. The front portion was damaged due to some natural calamity and it has been repaired shoddily.
The pics would give a feel of the grandeur and amazing architecture of this temple

Pictorial tour of Daityasudan temple at Lonar:

Village lady at Daityasudan temple at Lonar

Village ladies at Daityasudan temple at Lonar

Daityasudan temple complex, Lonar

At Daityasudan temple, Lonar

With my guide Amol at Daityasudan temple, Lonat

Sculptures at Daityasudan temple

Devi sculpture at the temple

Beautiful sculpture at the temple

Sculptures around the temple

Side entrance of the temple

Sculptures at the temple

Erotic couple at the temple

Rear view of the temple

Erotic couple

Another view of the temple

Beautiful sculpture

Temples around the lake:
What came as a big surprise was that around the periphery of the Lonar Crater Lake that has a circumference of more than 6 kms there are 12 to 13 ancient temples built around 10th/11th century during the reign of the Yadava Kings of Devagiri (Daulatabad) near Aurangabad.
A majority of these temples are Shiva temples but there is one temple each of Ram, Kamalja devi, Kumarswamy (Kartikeya) also. Another interesting temple is believed to be vaidshala of Shukracharya (Guru of the daityas).
I explored most of them. Many of them are in ruins and lying neglected. I understand ASI has only now woken up to their archaeological importance and some steps are being taken for their restoration & preservation. It’s a pity that we only talk of our great heritage & culture and go on building new temples and tall statues but allow our heritage to go to ruins !!!!

Gomukh at Lonar is a cluster of beautiful temples around a water spring in which fresh water flows perennially. A bath under the water shower is believed to therapeutic as it has many mineral properties. One gets a beautiful view of the crater & lake from the temple premises.

I had visited Lonar in March 2020 a couple of weeks before the lockdown was imposed. For guide services you should definitely contact Amol (9975447088). He or his brother are the best in Lonar.

Gaumukh at Lonar

Temple in ruined condition near the lake

Rama temple near the lake

Shiva temple near the lake

Temple near Gaumukh, Lonar

Water tank near Gaumukh temple, Lonar

Sculpture depicting Samudra manthan

Kumar Swamy temple near the lake

Gaumukh temple complex, Lonar

Shukracharya Vaidshala / temple at Lonar