SOLAPUR, Maharashtra

Main Attraction: Siddheshwar Temple

Temple is situated in the heart of the city The village god of Solapur is the yogi named Shree Siddheshwar. The temple of Siddheshwar is named after him and is situated in the midst of Bhuikot Fort. In the south side of the temple of Shree Siddheshwar is his Yogsamadhi. The Peshwas did the wooden work of the hall of the temple. In the west side of the temple is the lake in which the AmrutLinga is built. The 68 lingas brought by Shree Siddheshwar from Shaila are established in Solapur district.

The main temple comprises a Sabhagriha, the PharashiMandap, the anti chamber and the shrine. In the anti chamber in the centre of the back wall there is a Niche. The entire Niche is plated with Silver, as is the seat of Sinhasan of the deity. In the centre of the portion of the courtyard and near the path there is a Samadhi of Shree Siddheshwar. The temple is surrounded by the lake water. Temple constructed in stone and lime is said to have been built during 1836 to 1917 by many devotees.

And thus an important object of interest in the city is the temple of Siddheshwar, in whose honour the Gadda fair is held with great pomp and festivity. It is held to commemorate the marriage of the saints Yogdand (mace) with a female devotee of the saint. Important days of the fair are only five days via., 12th January to 16th January, the principal among them being 14th January (MakarSankrant). Many devotees throng the temple on Mahashivaratra and all Mondays in the month of Shravana. The priest of the deity belongs to the VeershaivLingayat caste. Pilgrims perform the worship with Rudra, LaghuRudra, MahaRudra etc.

Brief History

The history of Solapur can be traced back to the early centuries of the Christianera (BC-90 AD 300 or 80). Solapur probably formed part of the territories of the Shatakarni or Andhrabhritya dynasty whose capital was Paithan on the river Godavari. A Sanskrit inscription dated Shaka 1238 after the downfall of the Yadavas town was known as Sonalipur, later called as Sonalapur and Sandalapur. Hence it is probable that during the course of time, the name Solapur was evolved by dropping ‘na’ from throrigional name Sonalapur. As per the mythological literacy sources (Gazetteer). Agastya was the first Aryan sage who crossed the Vindhya mountains and settled on th banks of Godavari, followed by other sages,who established their hermitages in the South.

During the 900 years ending with the Musalmans overthrow of the DevgiriYadavas in the beginning of the fourteenth century, Solapur like the neighbouring district of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Pune was held by the early and Western Chalukyas from 550 to 760, by the Rashtrakutas to 973, by the revived or western chalukyas to 1184, and by the DevgiriYadavs till the Musalman conquest of the Deccan about 1300.

The Musalmans ruled during the period 1294-1720 before the advent of Britishers in 1818. After the victory of general Smith over the peshwas during the battle of 19th February 1818, the British ruled Solapur and appointed Maratha Raja’s as administrators.

At Solapur there is an ancient temple in honour of Siddheswar, a 12th Century devotee of Lord Shiva and it has become a sacred centre of Lingayat faith and also of Hindus. There is a annual piligrimage known as “Gadda” on MakarSankrant day and procession is held known as ‘procession of Kathis (Sticks). In fact this whole area is a meeting ground for Bhagwats from all over Maharashtra and Lingayats from Karnataka.