Rudra Mahalaya Temple

Rudra Mahalaya Temple
Ruins of main portal, Toran, of Rudra Mahalaya, 1874
Rudra Mahalaya Location in Gujarat
Alternative names	Rudra Mala
General information
Status	ruined
Location	Siddhpur, Patan district, Gujarat
Country	India
Coordinates	23°55′09″N 72°22′45″E / 23.91917°N 72.37917°E / 23.91917; 72.37917Coordinates: 23°55′09″N 72°22′45″E / 23.91917°N 72.37917°E / 23.91917; 72.37917
Construction started	943 AD
Opened	1140 AD
Destroyed	1296 AD and 1414 AD
Technical details
Material	sand stone
Floor count	2
Designations	ASI Monument of National Importance (N-GJ-164 for temple/163 for mosque)
Rudra Mahalaya Temple Plan of Rudra Mahalaya temple with one fourth of the surrounding structures restored. Surviving structures are marked with red. Culture Primary deity Rudra History and governance Creator Mularaja, Jayasimha Siddharaja and other Chaulukya kings

Rudra Mahalaya Temple
Plan of Rudra Mahalaya temple with one fourth of the surrounding structures restored. Surviving structures are marked with red.
Culture
Primary deity	Rudra
History and governance
Creator	Mularaja, Jayasimha Siddharaja and other Chaulukya kings

The Rudra Mahalaya Temple, also known as Rudramal, is a ruined temple complex at Siddhpur in the Patan district of Gujarat, India. Its construction was started in 943 AD by Mularaja and completed in 1140 AD by Jayasimha Siddharaja, the rulers of the Chaulukya dynasty. The temple was destroyed by Allauddin Khilji, and later Ahmed Shah I (1410–44) desecrated and substantially demolished this temple, and also converted part of it into the congregational mosque (Jami Masjid) of the city. Two torans (porches) and four pillars of the former central structure still stand along with western part of the complex used as a congregational mosque.

Siddhpur, historically known as Sristhal. Sidhpur, under the rulers of Chaulukya dynasty, was a prominent town in the 10th century. In the tenth century (943 AD) Mularaja, the founder of the Chaulukya dynasty of Gujarat, started the erection of the Rudra Mahalay temple. In his youth, Muladev had slain his maternal uncle, usurped his throne, and murdered the whole of his mother's kindred; and in old age his crimes hung heavily on his mind. He made pilgrimages and courted the favour of Brahmins from far and near. To a band of them he gave Sristhal, and committing the kingdom to his son Chamundaraja, he retired there to end his days in their company (996 AD). But the Rudra Mahalay was still incomplete, nor was it finished till 1140 AD.

An inscription and ballad regarding its construction says,

In Samvat ten (?) hundred, begun by Maharaj Mahadev,

In Samvat twelve hundred and two, Siddharaj completed the work ;
In Samvat twelve hundred two, Magh month, Krishna paksh,
On Monday the fourteenth, in the Nakshatra Shravan and Varyan Yoga,
Siddharaj, in the Rudra Mala, Shivashankar established.

It was during the 12th century, in 1140 AD, that Jayasimha Siddharaja (1094–1144) consecrated the temple complex and it became the principal temple complex of Siddhpur.