Kalayat Ancient Bricks Temple, Kapil Muni Tirth

Haryana, Kaithal, Chandigarh

48 kos parikrama means a 48 kos(an ancient unit of distance) circle around the holy city of Kurukshetra. There are several temples dotted around the city and visit all these pilgrims would complete a parikrama which is considered very sacred. Kalayat Ancient Bricks Temple, located in Kalayat, formerly known as Kapilayatan, is one of the sacred shires of the parikarma path. The brick temples were built and sculptured during the reign of Satavahana dynasty (230 BCE-220 CE). He built five brick temples in the area. Some of them were destroyed over time. The Kapil Muni shrine and the Lord Shiva shrine are still in use.

Legend

The place is believed to have been the abode of Kapila muni. Legend has it that after the sage's death, a king of Satavahana dynasty came to hunt in the forest around the area. He had a curse that made him paralytic at night. During the hunt his arrow got struck on the ground at this place. As he pulled the arrow out , his hands touched the earth below after which he got cured of his curse and disease. Then he ordered a Tirth pond be dug so that people could be cured with the holy mud, and built the five brick temples in the place.

Architecture

The temples were built in Nagara style of architecture. The layout of the temples indicates there were originally five temples in the Panchayatan group (the main shrine surrounded by four subsidiary shrines) on the banks of holy Kapilayatna Tirtha. Built of red bricks the temples were constructed without using any plaster or mortar. There is a Shiva temple in with a Linga and snake statue. The stairs at the back lead to the Kapil Muni Tirtha. There are also deities of Katyayini devi and Hanuman.
pic courtesy : http://www.haryanatourism.gov.in/

Darsan Dresscode

Devotees are advised to wear clean and conservative attire.

Famous Festival

March - Shivrathri
November - Diwali
December - Karthik Purnima

Culture

Kaithal district is situated in the North-West of the Haryana state. It is close to Kurukshetra, Karnal and Jind. it is said to have been founded by Yudhishthira in Mahabharata and is traditionally believed to be the birth place of Lord Hanuman.