NEELKANTHESHWAR TEMPLE, MADHYA PRADESH

  "Long time ago, there lived a king who was a pure devotee of lord Shiva, one night God appears in his dream and gives him the opportunity of building a temple for Him. He shows him a patch of land in the forest as a sacred place to build the temple, but the condition was that he had to complete his construction in only one night under the presence of the auspicious Pushya Nakshatra formation in the sky. The king accepts all conditions and begins the work very eagerly, he gets the patch cleared and put all his finest men to work. With a lot of handwork his men crafted the stones and successfully managed to complete building the temple right before sunrise. However, when a group of men were climbing down the temple, one of the craftsmen forgets his carving tools on the top of the temple. He climbs back again towards the top to fetch his instruments. He got hold of his tools and rushes to go down hurriedly, but as soon as the first rays of the sun fall on him he turns into a stone."

This was the story told by an odd figure of a common craftsman sitting on top of the Neelkantheshwar temple Udaipur, Madhya Pradesh. I grew up listening to this story over and over again by my parents, neighbours and friends. None of them can tell if it has any truth associated with it, there might be a numerous other like this one on other sources. But hardly can any blogger or other writer justify the mysteriousness of the frightening expression on his face, and the striking odd appearance of a commoner sitting on top of the temple whereas all the heavenly gods and goddesses are strangely situated downside. Surely, no one can argue his lonely hindering sight on the majestic and great of the temple as a whole.

suspended man on the top of the temple

  Neelkantheshwar Mahadev 

full view of the temple

(some factual boring information for you.....peace❤)

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Attention please! the man on the temple is not the only exciting case about the temple. The whole temple in itself is a hidden treasure, lost to other heritage sites in the state. We have been visiting the temple since I was a kid, it is especially when we have guests who come from far off places, and quite often I have heard them saying; "What a masterpiece! foreigners would die to see this if only they knew about it." well of course, not many people know about the temple because it is situated in a small village of Udaipur about 15 kms from a town Ganj Basoda, district Vidisha, northwest of the capital city of Bhopal ,Madhya Pradesh. It is, as the name suggests, a shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva or Neelkantheshwar. The magnificent edifice, made from red sandstone, was built by King Udayaditya of Parmara Dynasty during his reign which is believed to be around c.1059-1086. He was a successor of the great Raja Bhoj who founded the city Bhopal in the name of "Bhojpal". The temple was presumably given the name Udayeshwar because of Raja Udayaditya but acquired its another more famous name Neelkantheshwar over time.

sunlight hitting the temple in red

We localites call it Neelkantheshwar Mahadev, its enormous red stone looks like the red gold, shining in the sun light. Here is an advice for you, before coming here give your eyes a good rest because...they may hurt attempting to take all the symmetry and the beauty of the figurines all in, in one go, they might wander up and down, side to side going crazy until you land on a specific and start admiring from there.

you can't miss the detailing in the architecture.

intricate carvings on the walls

just when you think you can't squint anymore, you are amazed by the scope for it. 

inside view of the ceiling

 with SUCH FINE symmetry it has been built!  

The temple has one central large shrine surrounded by six smaller shrines. On the exterior walls of the temple, you are encountered with deities like Ardhanareeshwara, Andhakantaka, Natesha, Mahakala, Chamundi, and Ashtadikpalakas .So don't go directly in ignoring them, just like you skipped reading their names, they are the guardian deities of the eight directions. 

the deities of the eight directions

Not only the architecture mesmerizes you, but also the accuracy with which the temple is made, leaves you gaping for air. The temple is east facing and it is measured in a way that the Sun's first ray of light falls on the main deity ,Shiva inside the sanctum twice a year around the equinoxes.

sunrays falling directly on the main deity Shiva

Although folklore draws a bit flexing picture but practically it is said that this temple was built only on days of Pushya Nakshtra every month. So, the carvings and other materials were gotten ready for the 26 other days and then the actual building of the temple took place only for the time the Pushya Nakshtra was ruling in the 24-hour period on the 27th day. Hard to believe though how the king would have resisted the temptation of cheating and trying in the breaks. BUT famous saying does remain strong that the temple was actually built in one night or at least assembling all the parts took place in one night.

Surely, I can evaluate and present in front of you a flourishing portrait of its architectural magnificence but one thing that no parameters can distinguish is its religious beauty that still lures long lines of followers to seek blessings from their ancient God.

the brass covered Linga of Neelkantheshwar Mahadev 

Lastly, I would point out I am a person who is an eminent admirer of ancient monuments and buildings, but this temple enthralls me, it fascinates me to such exceeding limits that despite of a hundred and thousand visits I have only discovered more and more. This shrine appears as it came out of the earth suddenly with no platforms around it. Like my mother said, it seemed like something has been just put there, decorated and served on a platter.

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Century/Period/Age

1010-1050 AD

Managed By

Archaeological Survey of India.

Nearest Bus Station

Udaipur

Nearest Railway Station

Bhopal Junction Ganj Basoda railway station

Nearest Airport

Bhopal

Image Source: Google