Eklingji

Eklingji, Harihara temple popularly called the Meera temple

Name
Proper name	Eklingji
Geography
Country	India
State	Rajasthan
District	Udaipur district
Location	Kailash Puri
Culture
Primary deity	Shri Ekling Ji
Important festivals	Eklingji Patotsav, Maha Shivaratri
Architecture
Number of temples	108
History and governance
Date built	8th Century
Creator	Bapa Rawal

Eklingji is a Hindu temple complex in Udaipur District of Rajasthan in western India. Eklingji is believed to be the ruling deity of Mewar Princely State and the Ruler Maharana rules as his Dewan.

Begun in 971, the temple complex was built by the Guhila (later called Sesodia) dynasty of Mewar, in honor of their presiding deity Eklingji, a form of Lord Shiva. The beautifully sculpted temple complex includes 108 temples within its high walls. The main temple, which dates to the 15th century, was rebuilt from the ruins of an earlier destroyed temple. The walled complex is made of marble and granite and has an enormous double-storied, elaborately pillared hall or "mandap" under a vast pyramidal roof, with a four-faced image of Lord Shiva in black marble. Another temple in the complex is the Lakulish Temple; built in 971, it is the only temple of the Lakulish sect in the whole of India.

Located 22 km north of Udaipur, Eklingji is conveniently reached by bus and car. Tourists can access to the complex from RSTC buses that runs from Udaipur to Eklingji and other major destinations of Rajasthan. It takes approximately an hour (60 Minutes) to reach Eklingji from Udaipur. The Eklingji temple is surrounded by long walls of hard rock. This fascinating temple was built in 734 A.D. It consists of 108 temples chiseled out of sandstone and marble. The Maharana of Udaipur pays a private visit to the temple on Monday evening.

Eklingji is a revered place of devotion for Hindu tourists in India. Lord is referred as the kuldevta (or Ishtadevata) of many Brahmins communities including Trivedi Mewada and Bhatt Mewada of Mewar & Gujarat region. Most of the faithful pilgrims visit the temple on Monday to seek the special blessings of Lord Shiva. On other days of the week the temple is relatively crowd free.

There are other ancient temples near Eklingji, such another Shiva Temple that was built in the time of Maharana Raimal between 1473 and 1509.

About 1 km from Eklingji, Nagda town is famous for its Sahasra Bahu Temples and Adbudji temples. The Sas-Bahu Temple is widely known for its exquisite stone carvings, which are related to incidents in the great Indian epic the Ramayana.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eklingji.

Hindu Temples in Rajasthan

Ajmer	Brahma Temple, Pushkar

Banswara	Nandni Mata Paraheda shiv Mandir

Barmer	Mata Rani Bhatiyani Nakoda

Bikaner	Karni Mata Temple

Bhilwara	Sheetla Mata Temple Sawai Bhoj Temple

Chittorgarh	Kalika Mata Temple Khudala Temple Sanwaliaji Temple

Churu	Salasar Balaji Temple

Hanumangarh	Gogamedi

Jaipur	Birla Mandir, Jaipur Galtaji Govind Dev Ji Temple Panchayati Hall Shila Devi

Jaisalmer	Tanot Mata Ramdev Pir

Jalor	Sundha Mata Temple

Jodhpur	Latiyal Mata Temple

Karauli	Kaila devi Temple Mehandipur Balaji Temple Madan Mohan Temple Nakkash Ki Devi - Gomti Dham, Hindaun City

Nagaur	Dadhimati Mata Temple Kunjal Mata Temple

Pali	Nimbo Ka Nath Mahadev Temple Parshuram Mahadev Temple Sai Dham Rani Rajasthan Sonana Khetlaji

Rajsamand	Charbhuja Shrinathji

Sikar	Khatushyamji Jeen Mata Harshnath

Tonk	Shri Devnarayan temple

Udaipur	Ambika Mata Temple Ambamata Temple Eklingji Jagdish Temple Neemach Mata Temple Bohra Ganesh Temple

Udaipur topics

History of Udaipur

Lakes

Buildings and
landmarks

Palaces	City Palace Monsoon Palace Bagore ki Haveli Durbar Hall Shiv Niwas Palace

Temples	Jagdish Temple Neemach Mata Temple Karni Mata Ambika Mata Temple Eklingji Shrinathji Ambamata Temple Bohra Ganesh Temple

Others	Lake Palace Jag Mandir Saheliyon ki Bari Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal Moti Magri Ahar Cenotaphs Udaipur Solar Observatory Gulab Bagh and Zoo DeviGarh Palace Haldighati Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary Sajjangarh Biological Park Sukhadia Circle Shilpgram

Transport

Air	Dabok airport

Rail	Udaipur City railway station Rana Pratap Nagar railway station The Palace on Wheels Royal Rajasthan on Wheels Maharaja Express The Indian Maharaja Indore–Udaipur City Express Mewar Express Ananya Express Bandra-Udaipur Superfast Udaipur City Jaipur Express Ahmedabad–Udaipur Line Chetak Express

Road	Udaipur City Bus Depot East West Corridor Golden Quadrilateral National Highway 76

Culture

Festivals	Makar Sankranti Gangaur Teej

Food	Rajasthani Cuisine Daal Baati

Languages	Mewari Marwari Rajasthani Hindi

Sports	Maharana Bhupal Stadium Gandhi Ground Maharana Pratap Khel Gaon Luv Kush Indoor Stadium Udaipur International Cricket Stadium

Other	West Zone Cultural Centre

Education

Schools	Central Academy Senior Secondary School Maharana Mewar Public School St. Anthony's Senior Secondary School

Colleges	IIM Udaipur RNT Medical College J.R.N.Rajasthan Vidyapeeth Geetanjali Medical College Geetanjali Institute of Pharmacy Pacific Medical College and Hospital Pacific Institute of Medical Sciences College of Technology & Engineering FMS Udaipur Bhupal Noble's College

Universities	Mohanlal Sukhadia University Sir Padampat Singhania University Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology Pacific University Geetanjali University

Economy

Udaipur Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Eklingji

See also

References