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Just
65 kms of north west of Jodhpur , a pilgrims
place name ‘ Ossian Temple ' is located at
the edge of the Thar Desert . This once prosperous
city, boasts of more than 100 Hindu and Jain
temples dating back to the Medieval age. Legend
has it that the town was founded by Utpaladeva,
a Rajput prince of the Pratihara Dynasty.
It was then known as Ukesha or Upkeshapur.
The temples here are among the earliest of
all medieval temples of Rajasthan. Ruins of
several temples dot the present day Ossian.
The earlier temples are almost like miniature
shrines, some only eight feet in height. Among
these intricately carved red sandstone edifices,
three are dedicated to Harihara- or the union
of Vishnu and Shiva. Profusely carved from
their raising plinths, pillars and right upto
the very pinnacle of the spires, these temples
are considered architectural masterpieces
even by foreign scholars such as Percy Brown,
James Burgess and Herman Goetz.
Among the oldest group of temples stands the
Sun Temple , which was built in 10th century.
They are often compared to the carvings of
the Sun Temple of Konark. According to records,
right in the middle of the town stood another
magnificent Sun temple. This, and a score
other beautiful shrines were subsequently
destroyed during the Turkish and Afghan invasions
of India . Out of the more than 100 temples
this town once had, barely 16 stand today.
Even these have been ravaged by time.
Although
majority of the temples at Ossian have decayed
with time and have even lost images of their
deities- the one temple that remains vibrant
is the shrine of Sachiyamata on a nearby hillock.
Built in 1234 AD, this temple was dedicated
to Durga or Mahisasura Mardini. Today it has
become a very important shrine for Jains.
