Kamal Guha: Gujarat Hindu temple template

2023-11-20T00:07:08Z

Gujarat Hindu temple template

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	[[Category:Shiva temples in Gujarat]]		[[Category:Shiva temples in Gujarat]]
	[[Category:Kutch district]]		[[Category:Kutch district]]

			{{Hindu temples in Gujarat}}

imported>Nizil Shah at 16:54, 15 December 2020

2020-12-15T16:54:04Z

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{{Infobox Mandir
| name = Shiva temple, Kera
| image = Ruined Shiva Temple Kera Kutch Gujarat.jpg
| alt =
| caption = The dilapidated Shiva temple in Kera, Kutch, Gujarat
| map_type = India Gujarat
| map_caption = Shiva temple, Kera in Kutch
| coordinates = {{coord|23.088139|69.5936849|type:landmark_region:IN_source:dewiki|display=inline,title}}
| other_names =
| proper_name =
| sanskrit_translit =
| country = India
| state = [[Gujarat]]
| district = [[Bhuj]]
| location = [[Kera, Kutch]]
| elevation_m =
| deity = [[Shiva]]
| primary_deity_Godess =
| utsava_deity_God =
| festivals=
| architecture =
| temple_quantity =
| monument_quantity=
| inscriptions =
| year_completed = Between 9th to 11th centuries
| creator = [[Chaulukya dynasty|Chaulukyas]]
| website =
}}
The '''Shiva temple, Kera''', also known as '''Lakheshwara temple of Kerakot''', is located in [[Kera, Kutch|Kera village]] near [[Bhuj]] of [[Kutch district]] in [[Gujarat, India]]. The temple was built during the reign of the [[Chaulukya dynasty]] (Solankis) in the later part of the 10th Century (9th to 11th century) and is dedicated to [[Shiva]]. The temple has been subjected to severe earthquake damages during the [[1819 Rann of Kutch earthquake|earthquake of 1819]] and the [[2001 Gujarat earthquake|Bhuj earthquake of 2001]].<ref name =spectra>{{cite web|url=http://earthquakespectra.org/doi/abs/10.1193/1.2803913?journalCode=eqsa|title=Heritage Structures|date=31 December 2012|access-date=8 January 2016|publisher= Earthquake Spectra Organization}}</ref> But the temple's spire, inner sanctum and the sculptures are still in an attractive condition.{{Sfn|Jadia|1999|p=12}}

== Location ==
The Shiva temple is located in [[Kera, Kutch|Kera village]] in [[Bhuj]] of [[Kutch district]] in Gujarat. Bhuj is the nearest rail head with two express trains, the Bhuj Express and the Kutch Express operating between Bhuj, [[Ahmedabad]] and [[Mumbai]]. Bhuj is also the airport which connects to [[Mumbai]]. It is well connected by road through various cities in the state and is at a distance of about {{convert|22|km}} to the south of Bhuj.<ref name=Tour>{{cite web|url=http://www.gujarattourism.com/destination/details/10/335|title= Kera|access-date=8 January 2016|publisher=Official Website of Gujarat Tourism}}</ref>

== History ==

The Shiva temple of Kera is dated to the later part of the 10th Century (9th to 11th century is also mentioned<ref name =spectra />), built during the reign of the [[Chaulukya dynasty]] (Solankis).{{Sfn|Chatterjee|Kundu|Banerjee|1989|p=300}}<ref name=Lib>{{cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/t/019pho0001000s4u00397000.html|title=Shiva Temple at Kheda [Kera], Kachch |year=1874 |access-date=8 January 2016 |publisher=Online gallery British Library}}</ref> Close to this temple, there is the Fort of Kapilkot, which is also in a dilapidated condition. The temple is ascribed to Ra Lakha Phulani who was ruling his capital at Kapilkot.<ref name="Dhaky1961" /> In the 1819 Rann of Kutch earthquake, the temple was substantially damaged, leaving only the main spire and inner sanctum in a good condition. It was again damaged to some extent during the Bhuj earthquake.<ref name=Tour />

== Features ==
[[File:Shiva Temple at Kera, Kachchh.jpg|thumb|left|Rear view of the temple as seen in 1874 photograph taken by [[James Burgess (archaeologist)|archaeologist James Burgess]].]]
[[File:Lakheshwar Mahadev.jpg|thumb|150px|Front View of Temple]]
The interior part of the temple is square in shape, each side {{convert|8|ft|6|in|m}}. The walls of the shrine are {{cvt|2|ft|7|in|m |adj=mid|thick}}. The shrine has a circumlocutory passageway or ''[[pradakshina]]'' which is of 2-foot-6-inch width. This passage gets natural lighting from two open cut-stone perforated windows. Of the original hall or [[mandapa]] of the temple, which had a width of {{cvt|18|ft|9| in|m|}}, only the northern wall has survived. There are a few well-carved sculptures on the wall. The spire of the temple is well-executed with ornamentation of eight triangle-shaped sculptures in the form of [[chaitya]] windows on each face of the spire. Hemmed between the windows are well-crafted sculptures of human figures. These sculptural formations are repeated one above the other in gradually reducing size, as the height of the spire increases. At the corners of the shrine, there are miniature spires, and the same type are built above them in an interior set-in feature which lies at the main large central spire. The external faces of the spires are well-ornamented with elegantly carved sculptures.<ref name=Lib />{{Sfn|State|1880|p=210}}<ref name="Dhaky1961">{{cite journal|first=Madhusudan A.|author-link=Madhusudan Dhaky|year=1961|editor-last=Deva|editor-first=Krishna|title=The Chronology of the Solanki Temples of Gujarat|url=http://vmis.in/Resources/digital_publication_popup?id=136#page/6|journal=Journal of the Madhya Pradesh Itihas Parishad|publisher=Madhya Pradesh Itihas Parishad|publication-place=[[Bhopal]]|volume=3|pages=17|author=Dhaky}}</ref> There are many stone sculptures of [[Yaksha]]s around the temple premises. An annual fair is held here which is attended by a large number of devotees.{{Sfn|Chatterjee|Kundu|Banerjee|1989|p=300}}
{{-}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== Bibliography ==
{{commonscat}}
*{{cite book |last1= Chatterjee |first1=Shiba Prasad|last2= Kundu |first2= Anil K|last3= Banerjee |first3=R. K.|title=Applied Geography: Prof. S.P. Chatterjee Commemorative Volume |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5-F-AAAAMAAJ|year=1989|publisher=National Atlas & Thematic Mapping Organisation, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India}}
*{{cite book|last= Jadia |first=Umesh |title=Kachchh: An Introduction to the Historical Places, Textile Embroideries, Arts & Crafts Etc. of Kachchh |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=MC9uAAAAMAAJ|year=1999|publisher=Radhey Screen Printing}}
*{{cite book|last=State|first=Bombay|title=Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: Cutch, Palanpur, and Mahi Kantha |url= https://archive.org/details/gazetteer03pregoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/gazetteer03pregoog/page/n225 210]|year=1880|publisher=Printed at the Government Central Press}}

[[Category:Hindu temples in Gujarat]]
[[Category:Shiva temples in Gujarat]]
[[Category:Kutch district]]

Shiva temple, Kera - Revision history

Kamal Guha: Gujarat Hindu temple template

imported>Nizil Shah at 16:54, 15 December 2020