Mahalaxmi Idols

The ShriMahalakshmi (AmbaBai)

Temple of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, India, is one of the Shakti Peethas listed in variouspuranas . A Shakti Peetha is a place associated with Shakti, the goddess of power. TheKolhapur Shakti Peetha is of special religious significance being one of the six places where it is believed that one can either obtain salvation from desires or have them fulfilled. The temple takes its name from Mahalakshmi, the consort of Vishnu, and it is believed that the divine couple reside in the religious area of kolhapur.

The temple belongs architecturally to the Kannada Chalukyaempire and was first built in the 7th century. Mounted on a stone platform, the image of the four armed and crowned goddess is made of gemstone and weighs about 40 kilograms. The image of Mahalakshmi carved in black stone is 3 feet in height. The ShriYantra is carved on one of the walls in the temple. A stone lion, thevahana of the goddess, stands behind the statue. The crown contains an image of the Sheshnag - the serpent of Vishnu. In Her four hands, the deity of Mahalakshmi holds objects of symbolic value. The lower right hand holds a mhalunga (a citrus fruit), in the upper right, a large mace (kaumodaki) with its head touching the ground, in the upper left a shield (khetaka), and in the lower left, a bowl (panpatra). ). Unlike most Hindu sacred images, which face north or east, the image of this deity looks west (Pashchim). There is a small open window on the western wall, through which the light of the setting sun falls on the face of the image for three days around the 21st of each March and September. There are a number of other shrines in the courtyard to the Navagrahas, Surya, Mahishasuramardini, Vitthal-Rakhmai, Shiva, Vishnu, TuljaBhavani and others. Some of these images date back to the 11th century, while some are of recent origin."

Our artisan has tried to mimic the whole new original idol in a box frame which we make available at Kalapuri for our devotees.