Kapil Muni Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Nal Airport is about 28 km away and is the nearest airport.

• By train

  Kolayat Railway Station is about 6 km away and is the nearest station.

• By road

  The temple is about 415 km from Jaipur. Kolayat town lies 51 km from Bikaner on National Highway 15, the road to Jaisalmer.

Why devotees come here

Kapil Muni Temple stands in Kolayat, a town in Bikaner district of Rajasthan. Maharaja Raisingh built it in the 16th century on the site where sage Kapil Muni did penance. Devotees bathe in the lake beside it on full moon days.

Legend says sage Kapil Muni, an incarnation of Vishnu, founded the Samkhya Yoga philosophy. On his journey north-west he stopped here and did penance, so the place became sacred. Some believe he shed his body under a peepal tree in Kolayat, a historic pilgrimage centre.

Maharaja Raisingh built the temple in the 16th century. He felt the site had been used by the sage for asceticism, and he built the temple as a lasting memory of it. The temple belongs to the Vaishnava sect.

The temple is built of white marble, red stone brick and lime mortar. Inside, the sanctum holds two idols, one in black marble and one in white, and one of them is Kapil Muni. Garudji stands on the left and Vashishthaji on the right, and the sage's mother Devahuti is also shown in the temple.

Festivals

• Full moon of Kartika, October to NovemberKartika Purnima fair

  A big fair is held on this full moon, and thousands of devotees bathe in Kapil Sarovar.

Tips for your visit

• Look for Kapil Muni among the two idols in the sanctum, one in black marble and one in white.
• A cattle fair is also held in Kolayat, the town where the temple stands.
• Kolayat is a town of temples.

Questions people ask