Category:Mandhata

Omkareshwar Mandhata 

An island in the Narmada river with historic temples and pilgrim monuments
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Instance of	pilgrimage site
Location	Khandwa district, Indore division, Madhya Pradesh, India
22° 14′ 45.6″ N, 76° 08′ 56.5″ E
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Mandhata, also referred to as Omkar-Mandhata or Omkareshwar-Mandhata or just Omkareshwar, is an island in the Narmada river, about 80 kilometers southeast of Indore. It is one of the most important heritage sites in Shaivism tradition of the Hindus, home to two Jyotirlingas and many historic temples of all major traditions within Hinduism and Jainism.

Mandhata island is shy of a square mile, with bluff precipices towards its southern and eastern faces. A North-South cleft divides the island with a deep ravine, that with the Narmada river gives the island the shape of a pranava (an ॐ) in the aerial view – and thus the name "Omkar-Mandhata". To the south, across the river, is Godarpura, which is also precipitous. This unusual terrain attracted both forts and numerous temples since ancient times. The site finds mentions in many Hindu Puranas, as well as Jain texts. Temples on the Mandhata island and nearby suffered significant damage during the Islamic conquest of central India, abandoned thereafter, was overgrown with forest, and rebuilt by the Peshwa-Maratha using whatever ruins they could find in late 18th-century. The somewhat difficult terrain and the need to cross the river helped reduce complete destruction of its historic temples, artwork and inscriptions – including masterpieces such as the Halayudhastotra inscription. Mandhata has high quality historic artwork, and some of the sculpture/panels were extracted then moved to Indian and European museums during the colonial era. Many of its temples have been restored and Mandhata Omkareshwar remains an active pilgrimage site for Hindus and Jains.

Textual evidence suggests that Mandhata-Omkareshwar was already a Hindu pilgrimage site by about the 6th-century, while inscriptions and iconographic details suggest that the oldest surviving temples here are from 1000–1050 CE. The important monuments and temples of Mandhata-Omkareshwar area are found on the island, in Godarpura to the south, and Panthia to the north. These include the Omkareshwar temple, Mamaleshwar (Amareshwar) temple, Siddheswar (Siddhanath) temple, Gauri-Somnath temple, Kedareswar Temple, Chaubis Avatara temple, Shantinatha temple (Sidhwarkut Jain), Marthanda Rishi Matha (monastery), Kapila sangam and ghats, the palace with fort walls and a few others.