In search of Lord Vishnu in villages of present day Nalasopara

Nalasopara, part of Vasai Virar municipal corporation is today just another satellite town outside the Mumbai western suburbs in the North, the name Nalasopara is derived from two villages that still exist - Nala and Sopara. But if we dig deeper then Sopara was once the most important port in western India after Cambay right from 3rd century BCE to 9th century. An important Buddhist site where relics in stupa and rock edicts of Emperor Ashoka have been found. 

The historical chronicles of Sinhalese kingdom (Mahavamsa) mention that Prince Vijaya the first king of Sinhalese kingdom set sail from Sopara to establish what is today, Sri Lanka. 

The Hindu puranas state that Surparaka was reclaimed from sea for dwelling of Lord Parshuram and it became an important pilgrimage site or tirtha sthal. Nirmal a small locality today is said to have been visited by supreme religious Hindu leader Adi Shankaracharya in 700AD and in 8th century, 5th Adi Shankaracharya is said to have attained samadhi at Nirmal. 

With such rich history and legacy of Sopara, Nirmal and surrounding areas, there would have been many temples built around the area. The reign of Gujarat Sultanate and then invasion and occupation of Vasai by Portuguese led to religious oppression in the region is well documented. Though we don't have any known written references of any grand temples in the region, but medieval temple sculptures, idols and remnants lie covered in petals and incense soot in small temple nooks around that speaks volumes of our heritage. 

Particularly intriguing and reasons unknown are some valuable, intricately beautiful idols of Lord Vishnu that lie scattered in small temples and shrines. were they part of some temple chain or just one grandeur temple and why were so many idols of the Lord worshipped here is something that I leave for some scholars to shed light on. I am no subject expert but just a heritage enthusiast that has some interest to learn more about our rich heritage and culture.

So, my first stop on the way is small temple near Chakreshvar Lake in Sopara village. The temple is also known as Chakreshvar Mahadev temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is said that temple was first built in 14th century and adjacent to it lies a bit dilapidated Akkalkot Swami Matha with samadhi of Swami Mayuranand. In between the Matha and temple, they share prized treasures of 14th century Hindu God and Goddess sculptures and temple remnants that is by far the most impressive collection outside the CSMVS museum, no comparison to the numbers though. 

Celestial lady (Sundari) with a parrot on shoulder, The Shiva and Parvati with Ganesh, Gajalakshmi with two elephants, few hero stones depicting the death of some hero in a battle, Idol of Lord Surya - a rare one, most impressive among them is the life sized four headed Brahma with beautifully carved features and a moustache to name a few. 

But the most important sculpture for this blog is that of "Harihara"- combination of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu with crowns adorned with skulls. The finesse and intricacy are worth appreciating. The ornamentation on the stone idol is so minutely carved while half body of Shiva has skulls carved on the headgear and other half of Vishnu matches his characteristics head gear. Even the garland worn by the idol has skulls on Shiva side while Lord Vishnu has different garland. Shiva vehicle Nandi is seen on Shiva side at the feet of the lord. A woman and a male are seen on both the sides at the feet.

What makes this sculpture a masterpiece is the intricately carved ornaments worn by the lords.

Another Lord Vishnu idol stands in the Chakreshvar temple along with few other rare sculptures. "Trivikram" the form of Lord Vishnu is seen here. One can see four hands of lord each holding Lotus, Mace, Sudarshan chakra and conch in clockwise direction, each symbolises some significance and forms part of Lord Vishnu's iconography. The four "ayudhya" of Lord Vishnu which are Lotus, Mace, Chakra, and conch and in what sequence it is held in clockwise direction would indicate the 24 forms of Lord Vishnu. Apart from other characteristics and iconography. This form of Vishnu idol is said to have been originated in 6th century.

Around a km and half from Chakreshvar temple, lies Karmale village on Bolinj road. Here in an open shrine lies an idol of Lord Vishnu - in form of "Shreedhar". The idol on left bottom hand holds Lotus, Left top hand holds Chakra, right top hand holds mace while the right bottom hand is broken though it can be rightly assumed to be holding conch. On the left bottom near the feet, a lady holding a lotus while on the right are two male figures, one sevak standing with folded hands is seen while the other male is "Dvibhuj Shiva" holding a snake in one hand and Ashirvad mudra on other hand.

At 700 meters from Karmale, lies Bolinj Gaon where yet another Lord Vishnu idol is present in an open shrine under the shade of tall tree. The temple has an idol which symbolizes another form of Lord Vishnu called "Upendra".  The four ayudhya sequence in clockwise directions are conch at the bottom left, then mace, chakra on right top and then lotus at bottom right. The bottom two hands of the idol are broken yet the idol is a very good shape.

Around 4kms from Bolinj, single road with beautiful houses, personal gardens and greenery on both sides, one gets the feel of some Goan style village road and surroundings in village of Nale, here lies Shankar Nageshwar temple with typical Konkani architecture. The sanctum has Shivling on one side while on the other side lies three idols which are painted. On right hand side is idol of Lord Parshuram, in middle stands Lord Vishnu and on left hand side lies Gautam rishi. 

Here Lord Vishnu idol is bigger than idols of Lord Parshuram and Shree Gautam rishi. It holds prayer beads in left bottom hand, upper left has conch, top right hand has chakra while right bottom hand has mace. A male and female figures are seen on both side near the feet of the lord. Lord Vishnu idol is painted in blue and golden colour and has a beautiful aura, seems like real person rather than a stone sculpture.

This temple holds yet another precious treasure. There is a samadhi temple inside the main temple and on the side of the samadhi lies extremely beautiful idol of Lord Vishnu probably from the Chalukya period as per some expert. Though the idol is bit in a bad shape with two hands destroyed, one can still see that on the left bottom there is a male figure holding conch indicating it's a Shankh Purush, while on the right hand bottom there is a male holding the chakra while on the left top one can see lotus and right top Vishnu is holding a mace so the clockwise sequence is conch, lotus, mace and chakra indicating this form of Vishnu is called "Narayan". Also, on closer looks one can find that around the idol there are 10 avatars of the lord, Vaman and Varah avatar are clearly seen while other avatars need a closer inspection for identification. This idol could be tipped as one of the best Lord Vishnu idols in the city with so much intricacy and detailing, wish we could better preserve this valuable heritage.

On the east side of the town, there is a locality called "Achole gaon". A very beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Vitthal and Rukmini stands near a lake. On the outer facade of the temple, there is yet another Lord Vishnu idol, the form is "Trivikram" looking at the clockwise sequence of the four ayudhyas. Lotus, Mace, Chakra and Conch.

It's quite intriguing and interesting at the same time to find so many idols of Lord Vishnu in Nalasopara. Are there any more of them around? possible. Was there any specific reason behind it or is its mere coincidence is something I would love to hear from someone who is an expert on the matter.