Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them v2.c19.s2.7

v2.c19.s2.7

The spiritual fame of Sidhpur, however, proved to be its misfortune when Gujarat passed under a long spell of Muslim rule towards the close of the thirteenth century. Thereafter it attracted the attention of every Islamic iconoclast. Its temples were reduced to ruins and its holy men were either killed or scared away. Its spiritual importance had become greatly reduced when MuNhata NaiNasi, the famous historian of Rajasthan, visited it in Samvat 1717 (AD 1660). NaiNasi was at that time the Diwan of Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur who had been appointed the Governor of Gujarat by Aurangzeb in AD 1658. He has left for us a brief description, historical and topographical, of Sidhpur as he saw it. Sidhpur, writes NaiNasi is a pleasant city. It was founded by Sidharao after his own name. He invited from the East one thousand Udichya BrahmaNas who were well-versed in the Vedas and gave them seven hundred villages around Sidhpur. He had built a big temple named Rudramala. That was razed to the ground by Sultan Alauddin. Even so, several temples survive today. Beyond the city, towards the east, there is the river Sarasvari. A temple dedicated to Madhava had been built on its bank. A *ghaTa* [flight of steps leading to the river] has also been constructed. The temple was destroyed by the Mughals but the *ghaTa* can still be seen. A Turk has built his bungalow on the *ghaTa*.⁴