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उत्तर भारत में गुप्त साम्राज्य के दौरान हिमालय की पहाडियों के कुमाऊं क्षेत्र में कत्यूरीराजा थे। जागेश्वर मंदिरों का निर्माण भी उसी काल में हुआ। इसी कारण मंदिरों में गुप्त साम्राज्य की झलक भी दिखलाई पडती है। भारतीय पुरातत्व सर्वेक्षण विभाग के अनुसार इन मंदिरों के निर्माण की अवधि को तीन कालों में बांटा गया है। कत्यरीकाल, उत्तर कत्यूरीकाल एवं चंद्र काल। बर्फानी आंचल पर बसे हुए कुमाऊं के इन साहसी राजाओं ने अपनी अनूठी कृतियों से देवदार के घने जंगल के मध्य बसे जागेश्वर में ही नहीं वरन् पूरे अल्मोडा जिले में चार सौ से अधिक मंदिरों का निर्माण किया जिसमें से जागेश्वर में ही लगभग २५० छोटे-बडे मंदिर हैं। मंदिरों का निर्माण लकडी तथा सीमेंट की जगह पत्थर की बडी-बडी शीलों से किया गया है। दरवाजों की चौखटें देवी देवताओं की प्रतिमाओं से अलंकृत हैं। मंदिरों के निर्माण में तांबे की चादरों और देवदार की लकडी का भी प्रयोग किया गया है।
जागेश्वर को पुराणों में हाटकेश्वर और भू-राजस्व लेखा में पट्टी पारूणके नाम से जाना जाता है। पतित पावन जटागंगा के तट पर समुद्रतल से लगभग 6200 फुट की ऊंचाई पर स्थित पवित्र जागेश्वर की नैसर्गिक सुंदरता अतुलनीय है। कुदरत ने इस स्थल पर अपने अनमोल खजाने से खूबसूरती जी भर कर लुटाई है। लोक विश्वास और लिंग पुराण के अनुसार जागेश्वर संसार के पालनहारभगवान विष्णु द्वारा स्थापित बारह ज्योतिर्लिगोंमें से एक है।
#Jageshwar #almora #uttarakhand
Jageshwar Temples, also referred to as Jageswar Temples or Jageshwar Valley Temples, are a group of 124 ancient Hindu temples dated between 7th and 14th century near Almora, in the Himalayan Indian state of Uttarakhand.[1] The valley has a number of temple clusters such as the Dandeshwar and Jageshwar sites. Some locations have attracted construction of new temples through the 20th-century. Together these clusters over the valley consist of over 200 structural temples built from cut stone. Many are small, while a few are substantial. They predominantly illustrate North Indian Nagara style of architecture with a few exceptions that show South and Central Indian style designs, many are dedicated to god Shiva, while others in immediate vicinity are dedicated to god Vishnu, Shakti goddesses and Surya traditions of Hinduism.
Jageshwar is a Hindu pilgrimage town and one of the Dhams (pilgrimage region) in the Shaivism tradition. The site is protected under Indian laws, and managed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). It includes Dandeshwar Temple, Chandi-ka-Temple, Jageshwar Temple, Kuber Temple, Mritunjaya Temple, Nanda Devi or Nau Durga, Nava-grah temple, a Pyramidal shrine, and Surya Temple. The site celebrates the Jageshwar Monsoon Festival during the Hindu calendar month of Shravan (overlaps with July–August) and the annual Maha Shivratri Mela (Shivratri festival), which takes place in early spring.
Jageshwar is located 36 kilometres (22 mi) northeast of Almora, in the Kumaun region. The temples site is on the south of the road, across which is an eponymous village at an altitude of 1,870 m, in the Jataganga river valley near a Deodar forest (Cedrus deodara). The temple clusters begin starting from satellite road branching off east from the Artola village on the Almora–Pithoragarh highway, at the confluence (sangam) of two streams Nandini and Surabhi after they flow down the hills in the narrow valley. The site is about 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) long along the Jataganga rivulet, is a narrow forested valley of oaks, deodara, rhododendrons and pines.Around the valley is human habitation which provide services to the pilgrims and travelers visiting these temples or passing through to other sacred sites in the Uttarkhand region. The resident villages are Mokshadham, Dandeshwar, Jageshwar and Koteshwar.
Jageshwar is about 100 kilometres (62 mi) southeast of the historic Baijnath Temple and about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast from the resort town of Nainital. It is mentioned in Hindu texts dated prior to the 10th-century as a tirtha (pilgrimage) site.
The nearest rail head is Kathgodam 125 km. Jageshwar has direct road links with Almora (35 km), Haldwani (131 km.), Pithoragarh (88 km) and Kathgodam. State transport, and private jeeps and taxis ply from these place for Jageshwar regularly.
The Jageshwar temple site attracts a few hundred pilgrims and visitors everyday. It remains a part of the Hindu sacred geography, particularly for the central Himalayan region. Many complete a part of the post-cremation last rites after the death of a loved one at the Jageshwar temple site. The temples are particularly popular in the late monsoon season. In other months, pilgrims typically combine their pilgrimage to Jageshwar Temples with those at Lake Mansarovar or Badrinath and Kedarnath, or other places in the Himalayas such as Gangotri. The site remains popular with Hindu monks and they continue to protect the site’s sacrality.
