Pataleshvara Temple (Pune)
The Pataleshwar (also Panchaleshwar Temple or its location Bamburde Temple called) of Pune in the Indian state of Maharashtra is the oldest (preserved) temple in the city. It joins the numerous cave sanctuaries carved out of the basaltic rock ( Dekkan-Trapp ) on the Dekkan plateau ( Ajanta , Ellora , Karli , Bhaja , Bedsa, etc.).
location
The temple was formerly outside the city area; today it is located near the center of Pune on Jangli Maharaj Road , one of the city's most important streets.
history
Although there are no building inscriptions or other written sources, it is now assumed that the temple dates back to the middle of the 8th century and the Rashtrakutas , who also carved the Kailasa temple of Ellora out of the rock and perhaps also the flanks of the fortress mountain of Have Daulatabad brought into its current form. Possibly because of a crack in the rock of the sanctum ( garbhagriha ), the construction work was stopped after a few years.
temple
Consecration
Pataleshvara is one of the many nicknames of the Hindu god Shiva ; it means something like "lord of the underworld".
architecture
The temple, completely hewn out of the adjacent basalt rock , has an unusual architectural design: It consists of a rectangular encased courtyard with a central round shrine for Nandi , the mount ( vahana ) of the Hindu god Shiva. The shrine rests on 12 mighty and completely decor-free supports with a square cross-section, which end with striker plates at the top . The access inside the shrine is slightly lowered compared to the floor level.
sculpture
In the middle of the square central area formed by four pillars, a stone Nandi bull rests on a profiled pedestal; his head is directed towards the lingam and his neck is crowned with bell chains. Another Nandi kneels on a pedestal in the entrance area in the east side of the courtyard directly in front of the lingam. The polished black lingam of the god, wrapped in a brass king cobra that was added later, rises in an unadorned cella ( garbhagriha ).
Nandi bull in the round shrine
Nandi bull
Second Nandi bull and Shiva lingam
double pillar gallery
Pataleshwar
Others
The temple is visited daily by believers who hold their puja ceremonies here in the presence of brahmins , during which the lingam is poured with water or milk and decorated with flower petals.
literature
- KV Soundara Rajan: Cave Temples of the Deccan. Archaeological Survey of India , New Delhi 1981, pp. 232ff
Web links
Coordinates: 18 ° 32 ' N , 73 ° 51' E