By Shobha Rao Smilemaker

Mar 24: I reached Kolhapur by bus at 4.20 am and will never forget how I waited along with rickshaw drivers for my company cab for almost half an hour. Yet I felt fully protected with Shakti power of Goddess Ambabai whose temple I visited early in the morning.

There are four entrances on four sides of this famous Mahalaxmi temple of Kohlapur built initially by the Chalukya kings in the 7th century . We entered the Mahadwar or the main entrance and we directly faced the beautifully carved main temple . Adjoining it was a wooden structure with musical instruments that are played during festive events and are supposed to have been given by Adi Shankaracharya when he visited this blessed temple!

This is one of the Maha Shakti Peethas listed in our holy scriptures and Mahalaxmi is also considered as the wife of our family Lord Balaji of Tirupati. I saw a board saying Mukh darshan, from where during the supercrowded times, the devotees get a view of only the face of the idol from a distance.

However I was very lucky to walk straight in front of the main sanctum sanctorum and come almost within touching distance of the small blackstone idol mounted on a platform, with a crown made of gemstones. The sudden sight of the Goddess without her decorative paraphernalia., seemed to be reflecting her true spiritual energy towards me. Her crown contains an image of the nag ling and yoni, the symbols of time, creation and the origin of universe. In her four hands, the deity of Ambabai carries a citrus fruit, a large mace, a shield and a bowl.

A stone lion, the vahana of the goddess, stood behind the statue. I circubulated the altar and touched the solid stone walls behind the idol prostrated with a blank mind in front of her. She is supposed to either fulfill all desires or make a person desireless, I think the latter miracle happened momentarily to me when I stood in front of her...it was just me and her and the feeling of feminine power...words cannot do justice to thus early morning experience between me and Goddess Mahalaxmi.

I gave my coconut and blouse piece offering and got a lotus flower as Prasad (actually I hoped get half a coconut back) I visited a smaller adjacent shrine in the same complex dedicated to Maha Saraswati whose blessings I always take for my creative writing adventures. I was so thrilled when the priest gave me a coconut that I had mentally asked for just a few minutes ago.

I did not know that a Shri Yantra was carved on one of the corner opposite to Mahakali in the temple premises, and yes these add to the high spiritual energy quotient of this great temple. As I was leaving the main shrine, the Kakad aarati started with mouthwash and foot worship of the Goddess, offering butter and sugar.

It is only when I finished the Goddess darshan, that I actually observed the rich architecture and the decorative stone pillars inside the main temple. The first viewing hall or Darshan mantap, adjacent to the idols shrine had a beautiful ceiling made up of octagonal layers. There was a decorative stone archway in front of the main Doorway considered to be a manifestation of Shiva Shakti on which the weight of the entire temple is said to be rested. The centre point of this frame work depicted Lord Ganesha.

The second viewing hall had a Kurma (tortoise) installed in the centre and waa called the Kurma mantap. It is also called the Shankha Tirtha Mandap because the holy water called Tirtha is sprinkled on the devotees. Early morning singing of the Kakad aarthi by the devotees added to the magical charm of this place! I did manage to get a photo of several pillars with sculpted patterns made of the local black Kaddapah stone.

A stone archway lead to another hall which had decorative grilled screen walls on the sides with two idols of the doorkeepers called Jay and Vijay on either side of the entrance door. Kurma Mandap and Ganapti Chowk were built by King Singhan of the Yadava Dynasty with decorative stone sculptures .

I did not visit the third hall in front of the main shrine which was constructed in wood during the Maratha reign and had many idols of Gods Goddessess and sages. The outermost hall is called Garud Mandap and was added around the mid 19th century during the administration of Daji Pandit.

We came out of the main shrine complex and I spent a moment to admiring the beautiful wall carvings with its geometrical and floral patterns. Each niche had beautiful sculptures of musician ladies, dancing Apsaras or more. The 5 cream colored step like spires with orange domes were built much later over the main temple complex - each above sanctum sanctorum , the Goddess Mahakali and Mahasaraswati’s sanctum, the Kurma mantap and the Ganapathi hall. (later I came to know of an “upper temple” too with icons there which could be accessible by a staircase).

There were a number of other smaller shrines in the periphery. We first visited the datta mandir and the Sidhi Vinayak mandir. We walked adjacent to the pentagonal shaped stone wall which servesd as the boundary of the complex and I saw the three other grand entrance doorways to the temple complex.

My driver specifically pointed out the octagonal shaped Sheshashahi Vishnu temple with their intricate art sculptures. Even the two tiers of the dome of this temple depicted 6 Petals and 16 petals of flowers sculpted on it.

Since it was very early in the morning, the doors of most of the smaller temples in the complex with idols of Surya, Mahishasuramardini, Vitthal-Rakhmai, krishna, panchanganga swami smarth dashavartar , Ram mandir, Mahavishnu, Hanuman ,Laxmi-narayan ,Khandoba ,Atibaleshwar ,krishna , kalbhairav , ,Sinhwahini ,Tulja Bhavani ,Indrashabha ,Ek mukhi datta were closed. I felt as if I was truly blessed by the holy power of so many sacred idols in this holy place!

I missed seeing the canon, the bell and the two holy water ponds in the temple complex yet I did touch a huge banyan tree on a mounted platform. We came out and I sat in silence during the drive around Kohlapur.

I saw the statue of Gandhi and Sambhaji Maharaj and Gandhi facing each other. I also drove to the New Palace which is the current residence of Shrimant Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur with a museum on the ground floor. I wanted to admire the exterior facade of this Shahu palace and walked through the open gates in the dark for a picture. Later the watchman warned me that the guard dogs were luckily not around. Yes, lots of memories of this pre Dawn tryst with Kohlapur to always bring a smile to my face!

Shobha Rao Smilemaker has a vision of living in a world where people use their ability to find and make smiles in any situation. She is a lawyer by qualification, a soft skills trainer by passion, a motivational speaker, a freelance journalist, a bestselling author, an avid traveler and founder of 'Smilemakers Trainings'. She can be contacted at www.shobhasmilemaker.com.