Vijay Mandir destroyed by tyrant Aurangzeb to be developed as a tourist place

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) – The historically significant Vijay Mandir at Vidisha, which is 65 km away from Bhopal, was blown up using cannons by tyrant Aurangzeb in 1682. Now, the Madhya Pradesh (MP) Government is planning to develop this temple as a tourist place. The first reference of this temple is found in the papers written by Alberuni, a minister of Alauddin Khilji, where he states that the temple’s height was 315 feet and it was one of the grand temples in India. Dharmendra Singh Lodhi, MP Minister of State for Culture and Tourism, stated that presently, the Government is planning to restore the temples and famous places in the State. The State Government would work with the Archaeology Survey of India to develop the temples as tourist places.

Temple was built in the 10^thcentury

Vachaspati, Chief Minister of King Krushna of Chalukya dynasty, built this temple in the 10^thcentury, as a symbol of their victory. Chalukya dynasty, belonging to ‘Suryavansh’ clan, are worshippers of Shri Bhelliswami (Sun) from which the name Bhelsani was derived, and it later became Bhelsa. As per some rock-inscriptions, the temple was also known as ‘Beejamandal’ or ‘Charchika’ Mandir.

Repeated attacks by Muslim invaders

In 1224, Iltutmish first invaded this temple. Later in 1250, the temple was restored. Again in 1290, Alauddin Khilji’s minister Malik Kafur destroyed this temple. In 1682, Aurangzeb blew up this temple with cannons and built a mosque in its place using ruins of this temple. In 1760, the Peshavas restored it back to its original temple form.

Editorial Perspective

All the temples which were destroyed by Muslim invaders should be restored. But the Government should realise that these temples must be developed as religious places rather than tourist places. This would benefit the devotees at a spiritual level.