Loni Bhapkar Bhairavnath Temple – Maharashtra

Address

Loni Bhapkar,

Maharashtra 413110

Moolavar

Bhairavnath

Amman

Bhairav Yogeshwari

Introduction

Bhairavnath Temple is situated on the eastern edge of Loni Bhapkar, 80km south-east of Pune, the Bhairavnath Temple was last stop in the village. At first glance the Bhairavnath Temple appears to have all the hallmarks of being a typical late Maratha style temple. The sabhamandapa in front has a central dome with four finials (small turrets) in each of the corners, and the temple courtyard has two very large Deepstambhas, a feature associated with temples of the Deccan for over 400 years.

Puranic Significance

The sabhamandapa in front, many of the architectural elements consistent with the bhumija style of temple architecture, and in particular a temple form that was adopted by the Yadava dynasty in the late 13th century.

The nearby Mallikarjun Temple, the front elevation of this temple is tripartite, divided into three parts separated by columns with big buttress walls on the sides. This three bay configuration facilitated the placement of diagonal beams, forming octagons that underpin the building of the corbelled central dome above the sabhamandapa. These are all signature features of Yadava temple architecture, including the form of the columns in this front elevation.

Clearly, this temple was given a complete makeover under the Marathas. Everything you can see above the cornice line of the front elevation (in pale yellow) is a “new” construction; everything below the cornice (in blue-grey) is Yadava and predates this makeover by over 400 years.

Moving to the sides of the temple, it becomes clear that in reality almost the entire Yadav temple has been encased by the Marathas, with no offsets and the temple plan simplified to just two simple cubes and a connecting passage.

The upper portion of the temple is extremely colorful, and shows many architectural details that the Marathas took from Sultanate architecture. The most notable influences here are the four minaret-like spires around the base of shikhara, and the bulbous dome at the top replacing the amalaka. Once inside the temple, almost all the Maratha influences dissolve and here is a typical late Yadav temple interior, which of course has now been painted. There are some nice carvings in the interior, including serpents with intertwined tails, a hunting scene involving two men and what appear to be a boar, and the more usual depictions of musicians.

The idols in the sanctum are Bhairav Bhairavi and Bhairav Yogeshwari, incarnations of Lord Shiva and Godess Parvati. These idols were donated by Sardar Sonaji Bhapkar who came from this village. His father, Gorkhoji Bhapkar, was the sardar of Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj (Shivaji Maharaj’s grandson). His daughter Bhagirathibai was married to Dattaji Scindia, a martyr of the battle of Buradi ghat in 1760 which culminated in the Panipat war in 1761.

Within the temple complex there is a bell suspended between two pillars of the compound wall. A number of temples in the north-west Deccan have bells which were brought pack as trophies from Portuguese churches in the mid 18th century by the forces of the Peshwa.