Omkareshwar,
the sacred island, shaped like the holiest of all Hindu symbols,
'Om', has drawn to it hundreds of generations of pilgrims.
Here, at the confluence of the rivers Narmada and Kaveri,
the devout gather to kneel before the Jyotirlinga (one of
the twelve throughout India) at the temple of Shri Omkar Mandhata.
And here, as in so many of Madhya Pradesh's sacred shrines,
the works of Nature complement those of man to provide a setting
awe-inspiring in its magnificence.The temple is a huge imposing
stone structure with the inner sanctum deep inside. The construction
itself is without any cement with beautiful carvings on the
support structure.
It is said that once, sage Naradar during his visit to the
Vindyas, sang the praise of mount Meru to Mount Vindhya. On
hearing this, Mount Vindhya prayed to Lord Siva to gain in
importance. Lord Siva blessed him & appeared here as Omkareshwarar
& Amaleshwarar and gave the boon of grwoing, but without
hindering Siva devotees. But the Vindhyas did not stop growing,
and even obstructed the sun and the moon. Sage Agasthyar subdued
its growth by saying it should not grow till he gets back
there. He never went back & hence the growth was arrested.The
Omkareshwar temple built in the Nagara style is characterized
by a lofty shikhara.
Places to see
Shri Omkar Mandhata: The temple stands on a one mile long,
half mile wide island formed by the fork of the Narmada. The
soft stone of which it was constructed has lent its pliable
surface to a rare degree of detailed work, of which the frieze
figures on the upper portion is the most striking. Also intricately
carved is the stone roof of the temple. Encircling the shrine
are verandahs with columns which are carved in circles, polygons
and squares.
24 Avtars
A cluster of Hindu and Jain temples. Though damaged by Mohammed
of Ghazni (11th century), these temples have remained intact
to a large extent.
Siddhanath temple
A good example of early Brhmanic architecture, it has a frieze
of elephants carved upon a stone slab in the outer perimeter.
