The Mahalakshmi temple is reckoned one of the three and a half Shakti pithas of the Deccan; the Mahalakshmi article (read) says the Chalukya king Karnadeva built it in 634 and that the Kannada poet Brahmashiva of the twelfth century (cited by Paul Dundas) describes it as first a Jain temple of the eighth Tirthankara, Chandraprabha, later turned into a Hindu shrine in the religious quarrels of the middle ages.
The Silaharas of Kolhapur take their style from the goddess (from memory) and she is the dynasty's patron; the temple is the town's economic centre and the Silahara treasury's neighbour. Its later spires and the Padhye priest families are not dated to 1200.
Who holds it
- Title
- Priests and trustees of Mahalakshmi; the Silahara king is her devotee
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Confidence
- low
The Silahara kings' inscriptions style them as favoured by Mahalakshmi's grace (from memory); no priest is named.
What it holds
- The temple and its endowments in the Panchganga country
How things stand that morning
The dynasty's goddess; secure under Bhoja II.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The Mahalakshmi article (read) gives the 634 date and the Jain claim; the Silahara style is from memory.
Primary sources for Silaharas
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Inscriptions of the Silaharas, Various (Silahara chanceries), edited by V. V. Mirashi (inscriptions of the 9th to 13th centuries; edited 1977). Collects the records of the three Silahara houses: North Konkan (Thana), South Konkan, and Kolhapur.
- Sanskrit and Old Canarese Inscriptions relating to the Yadava Kings of Devagiri, Various (Yadava chancery), edited by J. F. Fleet (inscriptions of the 12th and 13th centuries; edited 1876). The first collected edition of the Yadava (Seuna) records, with texts and translations, from the Indian Antiquary. Read online
- The Book of Roger (the Pleasure of Him who Longs to Cross the Horizons), Muhammad al-Idrisi (completed 1154 at Palermo). The nearest Arabic geography in time to 1200 for the Indian Ocean. Read online
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia: Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur (read this session)
- Wikipedia: Silhara dynasty, Kolhapur branch (read this session)
- General knowledge of the medieval Deccan (Bhandarkar, Altekar, Sastri, B. R. Gopal, Suryanath Kamath): from memory, not re-read
- OMNIA board notes for this place (a lead only, checked against the sources above)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.