Neelkanth Mahadev Temple inside KumbalGarh Fort, Rajasthan - One of the few active temples inside Second Longest Wall of the World
One of the most beautiful temples inside Kumbalgarh Fort and very close to the entry gate is Neelkanth Mahadev Temple. There are plenty of other beautiful structures inside Kumbalgarh Fort and out of all these temples, pooja is still performed in the Neelkanth Mahadev temple. And when you visit Kumbalgarh Fort, it's highly recommended to visit the temple to appreciate it's architecture, carvings on it's pillars, walls & ceilings, along with some great views of the top of the fort from the frontyard of Neelkanth Mahadev temple. This temple is also a place which offers some great panoramic views of hills around & you can notice India's longest wall of Kumbalgarh fort at a distance along with some clusters of jain temples. Through this blogpost we will share more about Neelkanth Mahadev temple, why it's so special, any reasons to miss it why you are in Kumbalgarh & why this is a preferred place to witness evening lighting at Kumbalgarh Fort.
Rajasthan is popular for it's heritage, forts, palaces and some of ancient temples of India. Neelkanth Mahadev temple is also a significant monument when we start talking about ancient temples of Rajasthan and specially the ones, which are still active.
Kumbhalgarh Fort is the 2nd largest fort in Rajasthan state of India. It has many unique features including having the 2nd largest wall in the world (after the Great Wall of China). That also means that Kumbalgarh Fort has India's largest wall.
Related Blogpost - Ranakpur Jain Temple in Pali District of Rajasthan || Gorgeous Architecture Inspired by a Divine Vision
Where is Neelkanth Mahadev temple located in Kumbalgarh Fort?
As you enter first gate of Kumbalgarh Fort, you have ticket counter on the left and just after that, you have to enter second gate of Kumbalgarh Fort. As you enter from Arait Pol, you see a small Ganesh Temple on left and open ground on right. Just next to this open ground you see Veda Temple and Neelkanth Mahadev Temple is at about 150-200 meters from Arait Pol of Kumbalgarh Fort. Usually people go to Neelkanth Mahadev temple first and then Vedi temple, from where there are stairs to the fort wall which leads to top of the fort where Badal mahal is.
Above photograph shows Shivling inside Neelkanth Mahadev Temple inside Kumbalgarh Fort of Rajasthan. Priest of the temple is decorating the shivling. It was morning time when we went to the temple and that's probably how day of the priest starts after cleaning temple premise.
Neelkanth Mahadev Temple is a famous Shiva temple located inside India's longest wall of Kumbhalgarh Fort. Supposedly Neelkanth Mahadev temple of Kumbalgarh was built in 1458 AD. This temple has a six feet high monolithic Shivling which are made of stone and dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Related Blogpost - Kumbhalgarh Fort of Royal Rajasthan - A grand example of Indian defence Architecture within the second Longest Wall in the world
Why Neelkanth Mahadev Temple inside Kumbalgarh Fort is best place to see evening lighting?
Just after sunset (at around 6pm), lights are switched on for 15 mins at Kumbalgarh Fort and Neelkanth Mahadev temple is best place to have a panoramic view of whole fort and surrounding temples. Above photograph shows panorama of Vedi temple on left, then Badal Palace and main fort on the top and pillars of Mahadev temple on right. So if you go to the fort to see evening lighting, just go to the Neelkanth Mahadev temple and enjoy views of the fort. Since you only get 15 mins, enjoy views from here and if you feel if you have more time, go to Vedi temple and take stairs to go to the wall from where you get beautiful view of Neelkanth Mahadev temple with evening lights on it. Pillars of Neelkanth Mahadev temple stand out beautifully in evening light at Kumbalgarh Fort.
Above photograph shows top of the Kumbalgarh Fort through pillars of Neelkanth Mahadev Temple. On top part of the fort you can see Badal Mahal, various important chambers of Rana Kumbha.
Legends say that King Rana Kumbha used to worship this deity. King was also beheaded by his own son when he was offering prayers at the shrine.
It is said that Rana Kumbha was so tall that when he sat for the offerings of prayer on the floor, his eyes were on the same level of the Shivling. Neelkanth Mahadev temple has entrances from all four directions with beautiful pillars all around.
The Neelkanth Mahadev temple has beautifully carved pillars in all four sides. On one side of the temple, there are some benches installed. I assume these benches are for evening light and sound show. I visited the fort during COVID times when light & sound show was not happening, but we was the fort in evening light.
On entering the temple from one of the sides, one would find a large idol of Nandi. Nandi (the bull) is the vehicle of Lord Shiva, he is also the guardian of gates (gate keeper) of Lord Shiva’s abode in Kailasa. You will find Nandi just in front of the main gate of any Shiva temple. At least, something similar can be witnessed in UNESCO World Heritage city Hampi in Karnataka state of India.
Above photograph shows a cluster of Jain temples, which can be seen on left side of the Neelkath Mahadev temple when you are facing the shivling placed inside it. This cluster of temples look beautiful from a distance. We didn't go close to these temples but will plan sometime in future.
Neelkanth Mahadev Temple inside Kumbalgarh Fort is a special place to visit and we highly recommend it. Please do share your inputs, suggestion or feedbakc with us through the comment section below.
If you liked this post and found it helpful, I would request you to follow these things when traveling -
1. Manage your waste well and don’t litter Use dustbins.
2. Tell us if you went to a place and found it hard to locate a dustbin.
3. Avoid bottle waters in hills. Usually you get clean water in hills and water bottles create lot of mess in our ecosystem.
4. Say big no to plastic and avoid those unhealthy snacks packed in plastic bags. Rather buy fruits.
5. Don't play loud blaring music in forests of jungle camps. You are a guest in that ecosystem and disturbing the locals (humans and animals) is not polite.
.jpg)