Lakulish Temple

Getting there

• By road

  Kayavarohan is 11 km from National Highway 48 and 30 km from Vadodara.

Why devotees come here

Kayavarohan is a village in Vadodara district, Gujarat, and the Lakulish Temple is its important religious place. It is one of the sixty-eight pilgrimage sites of Shiva described in the Shiva Purana. Its lingam shows Shiva as a meditating yogi.

Pasupatas, the followers of Pashupati who follow Lakulish, regard Kayavarohan as the place where Shiva appeared on earth in the Lakulish form. Shaivite mythology tells the same story: Shiva in the Lakulish form appeared at this settlement. Legend says that when Mahmood of Ghazni invaded, the glowing jyotirlinga with Lakulish absorbed the light of the other twelve jyotirlingas and vanished.

The lingam here is made of black stone. It holds parchments in one hand and a citron in the other. Beneath the temple is an underground meditation cave, still used for seclusion and meditation.

Shiva temples at Karvan, the village's other name, are said to have been destroyed during invasions between the 11th and 17th centuries. The Lakulish temple and the other Karvan temples were rebuilt and restored in the late twentieth century by the spiritual leader Kripalvanand. The Archaeological Survey of India has listed Karvan as a heritage site. Several copper coins and a stone quern have been found at the site.

Festivals

• Maha Shivratri dayMaha Shivratri

  The most famous festival here. Hundreds of men wear Mahadev's attire and visit the temples.

Tips for your visit

• The village is also called Karvan, so search for either name when you plan the trip.
• A special museum set up by the Archaeological Survey of India holds the remains found around the site.

Questions people ask