Bijamandal Temple, Vidisha – destroyed, encroached, waiting to be rebuilt!

The 1600 year old Vijaya temple (Bijamandal temple) complex in Vidisha (MP) was destroyed by the religious fanatic Aurangzeb circa 17th century. As was his wont, Aurangzeb had the temple pillars reused to build a mosque on the very platform that the grand temple once stood. Moreover, the idols of various Gods and Goddesses that were once worshipped in the temple were buried in the central hall, for them to be trampled upon by those who came to offer namaz. This is the story of how Vijaya temple became Bijamandal Mosque and thanks to the apathy of the Archaeological Survey of India, and the extreme indifference of the Indian government to the sentiments of Hindus, continues to be popular with the same name today!

History of the Bijamandal temple

The Vijaya Mandir (Bijamandal temple) was built in the 11th century by the Chalukya dynasty’s prime minister, Raja Krishna, the ruler of the Parmar period. The temple has been built in the Parmar style with the stories of the kings of the Parmar period inscribed on huge grand stones. There are inscriptions of other Hindu epics on the temple walls too.

Al-biruni’s account of the greatness of the temple

According to Al-beruni’s accounts, Al-biruni had accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni during his expedition to destroy the Bijamandal Temple. He says that the Vijay Mandir was 100 yards high and it was visible from 300 miles away. This temple is also called the temple of Charchika Devi. These temples were established in the 10th to 11th centuries and were built by the Parmar kings.

The Chalukya dynasty Bijamandal (Vijay Mandir), was attacked by many Islamic invaders like Shams ud-Din Iltutmish, Alauddin Khilji, and Qutb-ud-Din Bahadur Shah. However it was the most barbaric of them all, Aurangzeb who razed it to the ground and had a mosque built over it using the temple remains. He proudly named it Alamgir mosque. It is a crying shame that decades after independence, the anti-Hindu ASI still refers to the structure as the Bijamandal Mosque!

The truth comes forth!

It was 1991. A heavy storm resulted in a wall of the mosque collapsing, revealing ornate pillars that would have belonged to the grand Bijamandal temple. The ASI immediately took over the structure and locked it up! According to the ASI website, the mosque was built on the demolished Hindu temple. According to the inscription found here, it was the temple of Goddess Charchika, which was built in the 12th and 13th centuries. But the same ASI and the government have denied Hindus the right to worship there. While Hindus were eventually allowed to offer Nag Panchami puja, they were not allowed to enter the premises and forced to offer prayers outside the locked structure. This is reminiscent of what happened in Ayodhya for years!

This year, the Hindus of Vidisha are adamant to perform Nagpanchami Puja on 9th August in the temple premises. Hindus have demanded that the Collector and ASI unlock the ‘disputed’ area and allow puja there. They have also demanded that a grand temple be rebuilt there.

It is time that this ‘protected monument’ is returned to its rightful protectors, the Hindus, and regain its lost splendour as the Bijamandal Temple.

विदिशा में 1600 वर्ष प्राचीन चालुक्य वंश के समय का सूर्य मंदिर हैं ।

स्वतंत्रता के बाद भी हिंदू विरोधी एएसआई ने बिजामंडल मस्जिद के रूप में दर्ज कर रखा है ।

विदिशा का (विजय मंदिर) इस्लामी अतिक्रमण से मुक्त करें ।#UnlockBeejamandal
Unlock Vijay Mandir Vidisha
@imVinod_Rathor pic.twitter.com/gB4clRvcAD

— HJS MadhyaPradesh (@mp_hjs) August 6, 2024

#UnlockBijaMandal pic.twitter.com/K7FzwR4Ohv

— दिनेश राव आर्य (KRT) (@dinesh69831231) August 6, 2024