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Kayavarohan | |
|---|---|
village | |
  Kayavarohan Location in Gujarat, India Show map of Gujarat Kayavarohan Kayavarohan (India) Show map of India | |
| Coordinates:22°04′01″N73°15′00″E / 22.067°N 73.2500°E /22.067; 73.2500 | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Gujarat |
| District | Vadodara |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Gujarati,Hindi |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| Vehicle registration | GJ-06 |
| Website | gujaratindia |
Kayavarohan orKarvan is a village in theVadodara district of thestate ofGujarat, India. Kayavarohan is popularly known as Karvan. It is 11 km from theNational Highway 48 and 30 km from Vadodara. Kayavarohan is considered as the birthplace ofLakulisha, the second century C.E.Shaivite revivalist, reformer and propounder of thepashupata doctrine. It is an important religious place on account of its Lakulisha temple.[1]
Kayavarohan (Karvan) is an ancient town believed to have existed through each of theFour Ages. As perShaivite mythology,Lord Shiva in the Lakulish manifestation appeared at this place. According to mythology andpuranas, from hereLord Shiva transmigrated into the form of aBrahmin child. Thus the place came to be known as Kayavarohan [Kaya (Body) + Avarohan (Descent) = Where the body of the Lord has descended].
A number of copper coins and a stone quern have been found from here. A beautiful head of Tapas, the image ofKartikeya and an idol of Uma Maheshwara are some of the archaeological specimen discovered from here that are preserved locally in a museum.
Kayavarohan is one of the sixty-eight ‘teerthas' (Pilgrimage) ofLord Shiva as mentioned in theShiva Purana. However, Kayavarohan is not among the 12Jyotirlingas as mentioned in theShiva Purana.
It is of great significance to thePasupatas (Followers of thePashupati), those in the spiritual following of Lakulish, for it is considered to be the place of Shiva's appearance on earth in that incarnation. Lakulish is considered to be the 28th birth ofShiva. Shiva had come to the earth in the form of Lakulisha through Kayavarohan, literally meaning ‘Descent of the form’.
Kayavarohan harbours the Brahmeshwar Jyotirshivlang temple, claimed to have been founded by MaharshiVishwamitra. It has been held that the incarnation of Shiva in Lakulish has merged with the linga in Shambhavi Mudra.[2]
Lord Shiva is the deity who constructs and destroys the universe for ultimately good reasons. His ascetic appearance and life strongly relate to his constant meditative endeavors for the betterment of the entire universe. Above all, Shambhavi Mudra is his signature meditation style.
The Kayavarohan lingam represents the "formless" but a unique, exceptionaliconic form of Shiva bearing the image of a meditatingyogi, who holds parchments in one hand andcitron (Matulinga) in the other.
It is believed the main place of pilgrimage was Ichhapuri inSatya Yuga, Mayapuri inTreta Yuga, Meghavati inDvapara Yuga, and Kayavarohan in the presentKali Yuga. This temple has a Lingam of Lord Shiva, made up of black stone. It is believed that MaharshiVishwamitra had installed thisLinga of LordShiva during theRamayana period.
In theVedic times, Kayavarohan/Karvan was a popular centre of learning and education and used to house numerous Vedic Universities, Yajna Shalas and the temples of manyHindu Gods.
The myth has it that during the barbarian invasion of Mahmood of Ghazni, the luminous jyotirlinga withLakulish merged the light of all of the other 12jyotirlingas into its form and disappeared.
Presently, there is an underground meditation cave at the Kayavarohana temple used for seclusion and meditation.
There is a Swaminarayan Hindu temple built by Haricharandas Swami inVikram Samvat 1971 which falls under theVadtal Gadi. It is located by Kayavarohan Tower near Gam panchayat.
MahaShivratri is most famous festival in Kayavarohan. During the sacred day, hundreds of men wear Lord Mahadev's attire and appear at the temples.
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The village and its surrounding areas are of great archaeological significance. Ancient sculptures and relics belonging to the second century have been excavated from this place.
The Shiva temples at Karvan are said to have been destroyed during invasions of 11th-17th century. However, theShivaLingas of the destroyed temples survived and remained at the site.
The temple of Lakulish and temples of Karvan were rebuilt and restored during the late twentieth century by the Hindu spiritual leader Kripalvanand.[3]
Numerous Hindu icons, number of copper coins and a stonequern have been found from Kayavarohan. A grand head of Tapasvi, the image ofKartikeya and an idol ofUma Maheshwara[4] are some of the rare and unmatched archaeological specimen discovered from Kayavarohan. Kayavarohan is a place of great archaeological importance and the A.S.I.Archaeological Survey of India has listed Karvan as a heritage site and has set up a special museum for the remains found around this site. Karvan is one of the major sites of Indian Heritage.
