गोन्देश्वर मंदिर -सिन्नर

या वीकंताला कुठेतरी नाशिकजवळ जाण्यासाठी गूगल करीत होतो.कुणितरी सांगितले होते की सिन्नरला खूप उंच अश्या गणपतीचे मंदिर आहे.पण त्याचे वर्णन सीमेंटची मूर्ती असे वाचल्या वर हिरमुसले.मला काही तरी पुरातन व इतिहास असली वास्तु पहायची ओढ लागली होती.मग "टेंपल्स इन सिन्नर" टाकल्यावर एक खजिनाच हाती लागला.
नाशिक -सिन्नर हे अंतर केवळ ३० कि मि असल्याने जेवून २-३० वा.सप्त्निक निघालो.
तत्पूर्वी गूगल वर मिळालेली माहिती अशी

मूळ लेखक
श्री अमोल बनकर यांनी खूप व्यासंगानंतर लिहिलेली माहिती

History of Region:

Govindeshvar or Gondeshvar temple is situated about 26 Kilometres from Nasik .The earliest historical mention of Sinnar appears to be Sindiner in a copper-plate grant of 1069 A. D. Sinnar was known as Sindinagar or Seunpura and was ruled by Bhillama III of the Yadava family . In 1025 AD the Mahasamanta Bhillama III was ruling his hereditary province of Seundesa as feudatory of the Western Chalukya King Jayasimha II .Tradition ascribes the founding of the town to a Gavali ( Yadava) chief by name Rav Shinguni, perhaps Seunendu of the copper-plate about 800 years ago. His son Rav Govinda is supposed to have built the great temple of Govindeshvar or Gondeshvar at a cost of 2 lakh of the currency of that period . It may have been named after Govindaraja a Yadava Prince of the 12 th century .Yet another tradition assigns the building to Govindaraja, a Yadava king who ruled about the beginning of the twelfth century A. D. Be it as it may, it is still the largest, most complete and the best preserved example of mediaeval temples of the Deccan built on a variation of the Indo-Aryan style, which had penetrated into a part of the Deccan during the middle ages.

Gondeshvar Temple:

Gondeshvar or Govindeshvar temple of the numerous shrines in Sinnar, the ones sacred to Gondeshvar and Aieshvar are the most significant as also antique. To the north-east outside the town stands the splendid black-stone temple of Gondeshvar weathered by the wind and sun of centuries. It is still the largest, most complete and the best preserved example of mediaeval temples of the Deccan built on a variation of the Indo-Aryan style, which had penetrated into a part of the Deccan during the middle ages. It is a Shaiva Panchayatan, or a group of five temples, within a large enclosure, the central shrine being dedicated to Shiva, and the remaining four around it to Parvati, Ganapati, Surya and Vishnu.
The central shrine con�sists of the sabhamandap or the assembly hall and the gabhara or the towered cell enshrining the Shiva linga. It is beautifully proportioned and entered by three imposing and pillared porticos. The design of the shikhars or the towers and the pillars are original and unlike those of any other region. The temples of the Deccan are different from other northern or Indo-Aryan temples, in that the shikhar does not have turrets or urushringas grouped around the lower part of the structure. Instead the shikhara has a distinct vertical band rising upwards along each of its angles and taking the form of a spine or quoin. The space between the quoins is filled with smaller reproduc�tions of the shikhara. The pillared hall itself, though small, is elegant and is one of the finest in this part of the country. Facing the main or the eastern entrance is a Nandi pavilion housing a stone-bull, Shiva�s vehicle. An unusual feature of the Gondeshvar temple, and one peculiar to this part of the Deccan, is the deep projections and the recesses on the wall surfaces. Rising upwards these catch the light or fall in deep shade and to counterpart this upward trend a series of horizontal mouldings have been laid across the entire composition.

Many of these mouldings have a knife-edge section called koni. Koni�-mouldings are found not only on the walls but are particularly notice�able on the pillars. On its walls are sculptured scenes from the Ramayana, gods and goddesses, apsaras and myriad other figures, male and female, from the Hindu mythology. Many of the missing panels, how�ever, appear to have been deliberately removed by curio-hunters. The sculptures, though well executed, do not stand comparison with the best of Indian carving and authoritative references tell us that it shows a decline in style at this date. The real beauty of Gondeshvar temple lies in its symmetrical disposition on a moulded and stepped platform only 125' X 95'. Lying around are the crumbling remains of the temple walls and the entrance gate. It is still frequented by worshippers.

आम्ही साधारण ३-३० वा.पोहोचलो.गावातील बहुतेकाना काहीच माहिती नव्हती अथवा खूपच त्रोटक उत्तरे व दिशा मिळाल्या.
एका झोपडपट्टीस ओलांडून तिथे पोहोचलो अन जे पाहिले ते वर्णायला शब्द कमी पडतात.
मी फक्त फोटो टाकतोय .त्यावरून या भव्यतेची कल्पना येईल.