Jagdish Temple
The Jagdish Temple in the middle of the old town of Udaipur is one of the largest and most visited Hindu temples (mandir) in Rajasthan and all of northern India .
location
The Jagdish Temple is located on a man-made platform ( jagati ) at the highest point (approx. 600 m ) in the old town of Udaipur. Behind the temple, numerous alleys and lanes lead down to the shore stairs ( ghats ) at Lake Pichhola .
history
In 1568 the Rajputs of Mewar residing in Chittorgarh were defeated by the troops of the Mughal ruler Akbar I. The escaped Maharana Udai Singh II then moved the capital of his empire to Udaipur, but under the Mughals the building of new temples was forbidden. It was not until the middle of the 17th century that Maharana Jagat Singh I began to build an imposing temple in the heart of the city, which was dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu under his nickname Jagannath ("Lord of the World"); over time the name was changed to Jagdish .
Architecture and decor
The building complex of the Jagdish Temple follows the panchayatana -type of the temples of Northern India; that is, there are four other small temples in the corners of the temple platform, which are dedicated to the gods Ganesha , Surya , Shakti and Shiva . Immediately in front of the main temple there is a fifth, but laterally open shrine for the "sun eagle" Garuda , Vishnu's companion animal ( vahana ) .
The structure of the temple follows the two-storey classical temples in western North India (see below). Via a small vestibule (mukha mandapa ) raised by several steps and a large vestibule (mahamandapa) , the path of the believers leads to the lightless cella ( garbhagriha ) which is surmounted by a conical tower ( shikhara ) and can only be entered by Brahmin priests four-armed cult image of the god carved out of a black marble block is preserved and venerated.
The base zone of the outer building is designed with slightly recessed rows of figurative friezes with mythical “lion faces ” ( kirtimukha ) s , elephants, riders, musicians, flowers or stars and finally dancers, musicians or “beautiful girls” ( surasundaris ) ; Above it are the stone backrests of the sitting balconies, interrupted by pillars in relief and tilted slightly outwards. The upper floor of the vestibule is designed similarly; however, it was possible to dispense with a base zone. The lavishly decorated roof structure rises above it.
The almost 25 m high Shikhara tower is - as usual - without windows or balconies; only in the inner surrounding area ( pradakshinapatha ) there are lattice windows ( jalis ) . It is decorated with two rows of figures of gods, “beautiful girls” etc. in a lavishly decorated environment; on the relief figures, the tapered roof with its ornate vertical rises urushringa headings from and a amalaka -Ringstein with Kalasha vase as a top degree.
meaning
Jagdish Temple is one of the few temple buildings in northern India from the time of the Mughal rule. Compared to the classic temple buildings in North India, the two-storey structure of the mandapa is daring, but when viewed from close up, the figural decorations appear generally dough-like, static and lifeless.
See also
Other temples with multi-storey vestibules are:
- Navlakha Temple in Ghumli , Gujarat
- Dwarkadhish Temple in Dwarka , Gujarat
- Adinath Temple in Ranakpur
Web links
- Jagdish Temple - Photo + Info (English)
- Jagdish Temple - Photo + Info (English)
Coordinates: 24 ° 34 ′ 46.6 ″ N , 73 ° 41 ′ 1 ″ E