Kera Sri Lakheshwara Temple, Gujarat

Address

Sri Lakheshwara temple Kera, Kutch, Bhuj district, Gujarat 370430

Diety

Lakheshwara

Introduction

The Shiva temple is located in Kera village in Bhuj of Kutch district in Gujarat. The Shiva temple, Kera, also known as Lakheshwara temple of Kerakot, is located in Kera village near Bhuj of Kutch district in Gujarat, India. The temple was built during the reign of the Chaulukya dynasty in the later part of the 10th Century and is dedicated to Shiva. The temple has been subjected to severe earthquake damages during the earthquake of 1819 and the Bhuj earthquake of 2001. But the temple’s spire, inner sanctum and the sculptures are still in an attractive condition.

Puranic Significance

The Shiva temple of Kera is dated to the later part of the 10th Century built during the reign of the Chaulukya dynasty (Solankis). 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. 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.

Special Features

The interior part of the temple is square in shape, each side 8 feet 6 inches. The walls of the shrine are 2 ft 7 in 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. 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.