History of Mahalakshmi of Kolhapur....
#Mahalakshmi_of_Kolhapur, one of the most worshipped deities in Maharashtra, many of us visit this temple every year. But, do we know about the history of Mahalaxmi, The city of Kolhapur and this temple? Let's find out till the end of this story.
Kolhapur or Karvir, was called as Dakshin- Kashi. Tuljapur Bhavani and Kolhapur Mahalakshmi were the major 'Shakti-Pithas' of Maharashtra. There's a seperate section devoted to Karvir Kshetra named as ' Karvir Mahatmya in the Padma Purana. On the banks of river Panchganga a city named after goddess 'Kolla' grew which was named as ' Kollapura '. ' Kolla ' was the 'Kuldaivat' of the aboriginal tribes like Kolis and kols. This place was also known to be the abode of mother goddess i.e. Matrikasthana.
The place gained prominence when another goddess was installed in this city which was named as ' Mahalakshmi ' . The temple for this goddess was built during the Rashtrakuta period. Many writers apart from those of Maharashtra have written extensively about Kolhapur Mahalaxmi in their poems and writeups. Acharya Harisena from Saurashtra, composed ' Brhat-Kathakosa' in 931 CE where few paras have been referred to ' Kolladigiri Pattana ' ( Pattana - Town ).In Dvyansrayavakya, composed by Hemchandra, a jain writer from Gujrat, has specifically mentioned, gifts sent by lord of Kolhapur, blessed by Mahalaxmi for Chamunda, son of Mularaja. This clearly tells us the importance of the Shakti Pitha.
Amoghvarsha, a rashtrakuta ruler, who happened to be follower of Jainism as well ardent devotee of Mahalaksmi, has mentioned in his copper plate grant about Mahalaxmi of Kolhapur.The copper plate mentions that, There was certain disaster heading towards the kingdom of Rashtrakuta and hence Amoghvarsha wanted to liberate his subjects from this disaster, in order to do so he offered his finger to the diety.Many rulers from south Including Shashtharaj of kadamba dynasty, worshipped the Mahalaxmi. Other rulers include, Rajavarma and Marasingha were mentioned as ardent devotees of Mahalakshmi.
Maharashtra has been land of dyanisties and among them three leading dynasties during the medival times were Rashtrakutas, Kadambas and Silaharas, regarded Karvirnivasini Mahalaxmi as their Family goddess. It is said that Kolhapur might have been the capital of ' Silhara Dynasty Chalukya Vikramvarsa in his Kannada inscription mentions that people of Dharwar regard Mahalakshmi as the guardian deity of the village. Sobhaneya, the then administrator of Kolhapur is said to have donated land for the Mahalaxmi temple.
An inscription mentions that image of Mahalaxmi had a linga over its head and the surronding porch looked like Himalayan Mountain erected in front of temple. The temple recieved donations from many devotees espeically from the successor of Silharas and the Yadavs of Devgiri.
In the next story, we will see what happened to the temple of Mahalakshmi, during the Islamic rule in Bharat. The major story is yet to unfold..Stay Tuned...
References :
Rebirth Of temples by Meenakshi Jain.
MAHALAKSHMI OF KOLHAPUR THROUGH THE AGES
G. H. Khare