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Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur

Coordinates: 16°42′00″N 74°14′00″E / 16.70000°N 74.23333°E / 16.70000; 74.23333
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Ambabai Temple of Mahalaxmi
Religion
AffiliationHinduism
DistrictKolhapur
DeityMahalakshmi
Festivals
Governing bodyPaschim Maharashtra Devasthan Samiti
Location
LocationBhavani Mandap, Mahadwar Road, Kolhapur
StateMaharashtra
CountryIndia
Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur is located in Maharashtra
Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur
Location in Maharashtra
Coordinates16°42′00″N 74°14′00″E / 16.70000°N 74.23333°E / 16.70000; 74.23333
Architecture
StyleHemadpanti architecture
CreatorKarnadeva, Chalukya Empire
Completed7th century CE
Website
www.mahalaxmikolhapur.com

Mahalakshmi Temple (also known as Ambabai Mandir) is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Goddess Mahalakshmi, who is worshipped by locals as Ambabai. Goddess Mahalakshmi Ambabai is the consort of Lord Vishnu and it is customary among Hindus to visit Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, Kolhapur Mahalakshmi Temple and Padmavathi Temple as a yatra (pilgrimage).[1][2][3] It is believed that visiting these temples as a pilgrimage helps achieve moksha (salvation).[4]

Description

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Shri Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur.

Mounted on a stone platform, the murti of the crowned goddess is made of gemstone and weighs about 40 kilograms. The image of Mahalakshmi carved in black stone is 3 feet in height. The Shri Yantra is carved on one of the walls in the temple. A stone lion (the vahana of the goddess), stands behind the statue. The crown contains a five headed snake. Furthermore, she holds a Matulinga fruit, mace, shield and a pānapātra (drinking bowl). In Lakshmi Sahasranama of Skanda Purana, Goddess Lakshmi is praised as "Om Karaveera Nivasiniye Namaha" means "Glory to the Goddess who lives in Karaveera" and as "Om Sesha Vasuki Samsevyaa Namaha" means "Glory to Goddess who is served by Adi Sesha and Vasuki". They are the 119th and 698th names of Lakshmi in Lakshmi Sahasranama. This is also the description mentioned in the Rahasya of Devi Mahatmya.[5] Professor Prabhakar Malshe says, "The name of Karaveera is still locally used to denote the city of Kolhapur".[6] It is considered one of the three and a half Shaktipeetha’s in the Shakta tradition.[7]

History

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According to one account, the temple of the goddess Mahalakshmi was built by the Chalukya king Karnadeva in 634 CE.[8] Another account dates it to the Shilahara period.[9][10]

The central icon of the goddess

According to one theory, the temple was originally a Jain shrine.[11][12][13][14] The 12th-century Kannada-language poet Brahma-shiva, who converted from Jainism to Shaivism and then back to Jainism, states the Mahalakshmi temple was originally a Jain temple dedicated to the yakshini Padmāvatī[15][16] or the tirthankara Chandraprabha.[17] Sheshashayee Vishnu temple, whose sanctum has an idol of Vishnu reclining on the serpent Shesha, is an octagonal structure closer to the eastern gate. It has a panel of carvings of 60 Jain tirthankaras, and is believed to have been originally dedicated to the tirthankara Neminath.[18][19]

The 1182 CE inscription of the Shilahara king Bhoja II, preserved at the Hari-Hareshvara shrine within the Mahalakshmi temple premises, states that he obtained a boon from Mahalakshmi. The inscription records king's donations to a Shaivite matha established by a Brahmin named Lokana Nayaka, within the temple premises.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Jadhav, Ajit R. (12 July 2021). “Proudh Gandharva” & Sons. Ultimate Associates 19, Vikas Colony, Trimbak Road Nashik-422007. ISBN 978-81-948184-5-8.
  2. ^ Manjunath.R (24 July 2020). GOD: Beyond the Veil of the Cosmos. Manjunath.R.
  3. ^ Balasubramanian, Lalitha (30 August 2017). Temples in Maharashtra: A Travel Guide. Notion Press. ISBN 978-1-947697-88-1.
  4. ^ Stephen Knapp (1 January 2009). Spiritual India Handbook. Jaico Publishing House. p. 169. ISBN 9788184950243.
  5. ^ "Temple History – Mahalaxmi". Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  6. ^ Prabhakar T. Malshe (1974). Kolhapur: A Study in Urban Geography. University of Poona. p. 3.
  7. ^ Mittal, Sumeeti (16 April 2024). Shiv Shakti. Notion Press. ISBN 979-8-89322-723-9.
  8. ^ Amar Nath Khanna (2003). Pilgrim Shrines of India. Aryan Books International. p. 141. ISBN 9788173052385.
  9. ^ Gopal, B.R. The Silaharas of Western India. Dharwad: Karnataka University, 1973, pp. 95–97.
  10. ^ Deshpande, M.N. "Shilaharas of Kolhapur." Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bombay, Vol. 45, 1970, pp. 85–87.
  11. ^ Jain, Kailash Chand. Jainism in Western India. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 2005, pp. 112–113.
  12. ^ Ritti, S. Jain Monuments of South India. Bangalore: Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, 1990, p. 53.
  13. ^ Titze, Kurt & Bruhn, Klaus. Jainism: A Pictorial Guide to the Religion of Non-Violence. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1998, p. 62.
  14. ^ Singh, Upinder. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India. Delhi: Pearson, 2008, p. 563.
  15. ^ R. Gopal (2011). Jainism Through the Ages. Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Karnataka. p. 179.
  16. ^ "Jains - The Gazetteers Department - KOLHAPUR". Government of Maharashtra. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013.
  17. ^ Paul Dundas (2002). The Jains (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. p. 129. ISBN 0-203-39827-0. OCLC 252916273.
  18. ^ Goyal, Anuradha (10 June 2019). "Mahalakshmi Temple - Jewel Among Kolhapur Temples". Inditales. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  19. ^ Administrator. "Inside Temples". www.mahalaxmikolhapur.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  20. ^ B. Ch. Chhabra, ed. (1954). "Kolhapur Inscription of Silahara Bhoja II, Saka 1101" (PDF). Epigraphica Indica. 29: 13.
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