Kolhapur is noted as a place of Kollamma worship. Kolhapur is mentioned in the Devi Gita, the final chapter of the Devi-Bhagavata Purana, a text of Shaktism. Often, Kolhapur is also referred as Dakshin Kashi (Dakshin in Marathi/Hindi/Sanskrit means South, Kashi is a holy city in Northern India) due to its rich religious history. Kolhapur is sometimes found spelled as Colapore. After India's independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Kolhapur acceded to the Dominion of India on 14 August 1947 and merged with Bombay State on 1 March 1949. The state was annexed by the British in the 19th century.
#Kolhapurchi mahalaxmi free
In his reign, he promoted cost free education to people of all castes and fought against untouchability. One of the prominent Kings was Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj ( Shahu of Kolhapur). The Maratha throne was then governed by descendants of Tarabai. The state of Kolhapur was established by Tarabai in 1707 because of the succession dispute over the Maratha kingship. īetween 11 CE, the Kopeshwar temple to Lord Shiva was built by the Shilahara kings, Gandaraditya I, Vijayaditya and Bhoja II in Khidrapur, Kolhapur. In 1052 CE, following the Battle of Koppam, the victor, Rajendra Chola II, marched on to Kolhapur and there he erected a jayastambha (victory pillar). Kolhapur was the site of intense confrontation between rulers of the Western Chalukya Empire and the rulers of the Chola empire, Rajadhiraja Chola and his younger brother Rajendra Chola II. Kings and nobles of the Shilahara dynasty such as Gandaraditya I who succeeded Bhoja I, were disciples of Maghanandi. Maghanandi is also known as Siddhanta-Chakravarti, that is, the great master of the scriptures. Jain temples in and around Kolhapur from this era are called Gonka-Jinalaya, after the king.Īround 1055 CE, during the reign of Bhoja I (Shilahara dynasty), a dynamic Acharya (spiritual guide) named Maghanandi (Kolapuriya), founded a religious institute at the Rupanarayana Jain temple ( basadi). Gonka then built a temple to Lord Neminath, the twenty-second Jain tirthankara (enlightened being). An inscription at Terdal states that the king Gonka (1020 - 1050 CE) was bitten by a snake then healed by a Jain monk. This branch continued to hold southern Maharashtra from circa 940 to 1220.įrom 940 to 1212 CE, Kolhapur was the centre of power of the Shilahara dynasty. They had used Kannada as an official language as can seen from their inscriptions. They acknowledged the suzerainty of the later Chalukya dynasty for some time. This branch rose to power the in latter part of the Rashtrakuta rule and so, unlike the kings of the other two branches, those of this branch do not mention the genealogy of the Rashtrakutas even in their early grants. Even though the capital was shifted to Kolhapur, Karhad retained its significance during the Shilahara period. Later, although the capital was shifted to Kolhapur, some of their grants mention Valavada and the hill fort of Pranalaka or Padmanala,(Panhala) as the places of royal residence. Hence sometimes they are referred to as 'Shilaharas of Karad'. The first capital of the Shilaharas was probably at Karad during the reign of Jatiga II as known from their copper plate grant of Miraj and 'Vikramankadevacharita' of Bilhana. One of the many titles used by the Shilaharas was Tagarapuravaradhisvara, supreme sovereign ruler of Tagara. They carried the banner of golden Garuda. Like their relatives of the northern branch of Konkan, the Shilaharas of Kolhapur claimed to be of the lineage of Vidyadhara Jimutavahana, a Jain scholar. Their family deity was the goddess Ambabai, whose blessing they claimed to have secured in their copperplate grants (Mahalakshmi-labdha-vara-prasada). The Shilahara family at Kolhapur founded a dynasty, about the time of the downfall of the Rashtrakuta Empire, that ruled over southern Maharashtra the modern districts of Satara, Kolhapur and Belagavi (Karnataka). Kolha stands for Kolhasur and pur, a Sanskrit word, means “city”. The dying wish of Kolhasur was to name the place after him, which was granted and the place was named Kolhapur. After a hundred years the goddess returned and killed him for his sins. During the period he committed endless crimes. According to the myth, a demon Kolhasur, after his sons were killed by God for harassing people, left asceticism, returned to the place and worshipped Mahalakshmi that she would leave the place and leave him alone for a hundred years. Kolhapur is named after Kolhasur, a demon in Hindu mythology.