Spirituality

Deserted Temples of Kiradu

Can places be cursed? More importantly, can the temples be cursed? Our grandmothers told us about sages, kings, queens, and curses in our childhood days. But have you ever heard a story where an entire kingdom has been cursed?

There is a place, a haunted temple amidst the desert of Rajasthan, where it is strictly forbidden to stay there at night. It said that if someone stays there after sunset, they shall turn to stone. Today, in the blog series of mysterious temples of India, we will visit the cursed temple of Kiradu, located in the state of Rajasthan.  

Curse of a sage

The legend goes back to the sixth century, when Kiradu, known as Kiradkot, was ruled by the Rajput clans of Kira. Under their reign, the kingdom flourished, despite being surrounded by the desert. Six hundred years later, a king named Someshwar took the reins into his hands. But it was testing times for the Kiradkot kingdom.

Invaders coming from the northwest started attacking this prosperous kingdom. The underconfident King decided to seek refuge at the holy feet of a sage. Pleased with the King’s devotion, the sage chose to stay in the Kiradkot and blessed the King with a victory. With the blessings of sage, that confident King successfully managed to defeat the invaders. Commoners celebrated the day of victory. The entire kingdom was grateful to the sage.

A few years passed. Many commoners and royalties used to come to the sage for guidance. One day, the sage decided to take a leave, giving all of his responsibilities to one of his disciples. People’s devotion, common sense, and sense of duty disappeared with the sage, and they completely forgot about the disciple.

Only one potter woman used to help him as much as she could. Due to lack of food, that disciple starved and reached closer to the gates of death. As the disciple was about to die, his Guru, the sage, appeared in the kingdom and got angry after hearing about the ungrateful attitude of the King and his subjects.

In a rage, the righteous sage cursed the King and the entire kingdom, “As the king and his subjects lack the shred of basic humanity, they all shall be turned into stones.” However, he spared the poor lady who helped the disciple during his tough times. Sage ordered the potter woman to leave town as soon as possible and not look back when she did it.

Hearing the curse of the sage, the potter lady immediately started walking away from the kingdom. There is a saying which goes like, ‘Curiosity kills the cat.’ Being curious and doubting the power of the sage, a lady came back to the town to check out. 

The entire population of the kingdom was turned into stones, but the curse’s effect was not warded off yet, and as a result, that lady was also turned into the stone. Even today, no one stops here at night. There are incidents where the people who stayed here at night might not have turned into rocks, but they have been damaged mentally. 

     

Kiradu Temples

Barmer is a district centre in Rajasthan, about 90 km away from the Pakistan border. Kiradu temple complex is about 35 km from the town of Barmer. Built in the 11th century, initially, the complex has 108 temples, out of which only five survive today.

The entire temple complex is built in sandstone. Several inscriptions point out that this temple complex was built by King Dushalraja of the Parmar dynasty and his descendants. All the temples are built in Nagara architecture style, with high rising towers of sanctum sanctorum pointing towards the skies. All the temple walls are adorned with depictions from epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Shiva-Mahapurana, and Vishnu-Puranas.   

One of the main temples is Someshwara temple, dedicated to Lord Mahadev, the largest structure in the temple complex. On the outer walls of Someshwara temple, you will find the layers of elephants, horses, and worriers, carrying the temple on their backs. Shiva Lingam emits positive vibes in the dark Sanctorum despite being surrounded by the cursed land.

Curses and blessings

It’s easy to ask questions like if Sages and seekers only have unconditional love in their hearts, how can they curse someone in anger? In reality, these sages are the instruments of divinity, an essential cog in the grand design that helps to make things better.

Looking from a far distance, curses and spirituality do not go hand in hand. But if you take a closer look at Sanatana Dharma, curses are responsible for the incredible transformations that have happened in the course of this ancient civilization.

A Gandharva in heaven got cursed and thus, was forced to take birth as Bhishma on earth, resulting in the great war of Mahabharata. Lord Krishna described Bhagwat Geeta, explaining the true meaning of Dharma (duty) and devotion to humankind. Lord Vishnu got cursed by a pious woman Vrinda, and as a result, he had to take birth on earth as Rama, destroying evil forces on earth.  

The entire Kiradu temple complex is engulfed in some strange negativity, and when you step out of your car and start walking toward it, you can feel it. But as you enter the Someshwara temple, which is one of the few intact temples in that cursed premice, you feel a warm assurance. When you bow down to the Shiva Lingam in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, it fills you with long-lasting positivity, hope, and inspiration. And to experience this, one must visit these strange temples at least once in their lifetime.

We hope you enjoyed reading about the mystical temple of Kiradu. Please subscribe to our mailing list to stay connected and receive information about spirituality. In case of any queries, please write to us at info@chamundaswamiji.com. You can check out our YouTube channel Chamunda Swamiji where you can learn Tantra, Mantra, Yantra, and Meditation from His Holiness Shri Chamunda Swamiji.

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