Brahma Kund

Last updated October 13, 2019

Brahma Kund^{[upper-alpha 1]} is a stepped temple tank in Sihor town of Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, India. It is located near the southern wall of the old town. It believed that it was constructed by Jayasimha Siddharaja.^[1]

Temple tanks are wells or reservoirs built as part of the temple complex near Indian temples. They are called pushkarini, kalyani, kunda, sarovara, tirtha, talab, pukhuri, etc. in different languages and regions of India. Some tanks are said to cure various diseases and maladies when bathed in. It is possible that these are cultural remnants of structures such as the Great Bath of Mohenjo-daro or Dholavira, which was part of the Indus Valley Civilization. Some are stepwells with many steps at the sides.

Sihor is a town, a municipality in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Placed along the river Gautami, this erstwhile capital of the Gohil Rajputs, surrounded by hills is situated about 20 km from Bhavnagar. It becomes Sihor by corrupting its name from Saraswatpur, Sinhalpur, Sinhpur, Sinhor, and, Shihor.

Bhavnagar District is a district of southeastern Gujarat, India, on the Saurashtra peninsula. It is also known as Gohilwar as major portion of Bhavnagar district, in very old times, was ruled by Gohil Rajputs, after whom the entire Gohelwad prant was still named during the British Raj. The administrative headquarters is in the town of Bhavnagar.

History

The exact dates of Brahma Kund is unknown. It mentioned in Skanda Purana .^[1]

The Skanda Purana is the largest Mahāpurāṇa, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is part of Shaivite literature, titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parvati, who is also known as Kartikeya and Murugan. While the text is named after Skanda, he does not feature either more or less prominently in this text than in other Shiva-related Puranas. The text has been an important historical record and influence on the Hindu traditions related to the war-god Skanda.

According to legend, Chaulukya king Jayasimha Siddharaja was suffering from skin disease following the curse from Ranakadevi, the queen whom he captured from Junagadh. He was cured after bathing in this tank so he refurbished the tank. The water of the tank is still considered miraculous.^[1] It is mentioned in Prabandha-Chintamani written by Merutunga. The tank kept finding its reference and mentions citing Siddharaja since 12th century.

The Chaulukya dynasty, also known as the Chalukyas of Gujarat, ruled parts of what are now Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India, between c. 940 CE and c. 1244 CE. Their capital was located at Anahilavada. At times, their rule extended to the Malwa region in present-day Madhya Pradesh. The medieval legends describe them as Agnivanshi Rajputs, and they are also known as the Solanki dynasty in the vernacular literature.

Jayasiṃha, who assumed the title Siddharāja, was an Indian king who ruled western parts of India. He was a member of the Chaulukya dynasty.

Ranakadevi was a legendary 12th century queen of Khengara, the Chudasama ruler of Saurashtra region of western India. She is mentioned in the bardic tragic romance representing the battle between Chudasama king Khengara and Chaulukya king Jayasimha Siddharaja. However, this legend is not credible.

It is also mentioned in Ain-e-Akbari . Poet Nanalal Dalpatram Kavi expresses and explains in his Hari Samhita that Krishna had visited the place.

Nanalal Dalpatram Kavi was a noted author and poet of Gujarati literature. His name is sometimes spelt Nhanalal.

Krishna is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of the god Vishnu and also as the supreme God in his own right. He is the god of compassion, tenderness, and love in Hinduism, and is one of the most popular and widely revered among Indian divinities. Krishna's birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on Krishna Janmashtami according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar, which falls in late August or early September of the Gregorian calendar. Krishna is usually depicted with a flute in his hand.

Architecture

Brahma Kund, built in the style of medieval architecture, has a design of steps, small temples, metaphors, motifs and beliefs, idols of Hindu deities, stone work, some scientific entities, everything carved within and across the complex.^[2]

There is Neelkanth Mahadev temple near the tank. There is a lake known as Gautam Lake and Gautameshwar temple is located nearby.^[1]

The tank is the State Protected Monument (S-GJ-35). It is now poorly maintained.^[3]

Culture

On the last day of Shraavana month, called as Bhadarvi Amas or Bhadrapad Amavasya, the fair is organised at the place which is attended by tens of thousands people.^[4]

Notes and references

Notes

↑ There are several places in India where the tank known as Brahma Kund are located such as at Haridwar, at Pushkar, at Vrindavan and in Assam.

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References

1 2 3 4 Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency. Printed at the Government Central Press. 1884. pp. 541, 655.
↑ Shukla, Rakesh (9 March 2014). "ક્યારેક ચાંદીના આભૂષણોના વેપાર માટે જાણીતું હતું ગુજરાતનું આ શહેર-વિસ્તૃત કોતરણી". gujarati.oneindia.com (in Gujarati). Retrieved 3 October 2016.
↑ "બેદરકારીને લીધે પુરાતન સ્થાપત્યોનું સૌંદર્ય નષ્ટ". Divyabhaskar (in Gujarati). 21 October 2011. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
↑ India. Office of the Registrar General (1969). Census of India, 1961: Gujarat. Manager of Publications. pp. 31–32.

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[1] There are several places in India where the tank known as Brahma Kund are located such as at Haridwar, at Pushkar, at Vrindavan and in Assam.

[BG-2] 1 2 3 4 Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency. Printed at the Government Central Press. 1884. pp. 541, 655.

[Shukla_2014-3] Shukla, Rakesh (9 March 2014). "ક્યારેક ચાંદીના આભૂષણોના વેપાર માટે જાણીતું હતું ગુજરાતનું આ શહેર-વિસ્તૃત કોતરણી". gujarati.oneindia.com (in Gujarati). Retrieved 3 October 2016.

[divyabhaskar_2011-4] "બેદરકારીને લીધે પુરાતન સ્થાપત્યોનું સૌંદર્ય નષ્ટ". Divyabhaskar (in Gujarati). 21 October 2011. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.

[General1969-5] India. Office of the Registrar General (1969). Census of India, 1961: Gujarat. Manager of Publications. pp. 31–32.