Feb 15, 2012

Temple for Duryodhana

Front view of Duryodhana Temple in Jakhol village
Duryodhana is the eldest son of the blind king Dhritarashtra by Queen Gandhari, the eldest of the one hundred Kaurava brothers. Duryodhana's body is said to be made out of lightning, and he is extremely strong, second only to Bhima. He is revered by his younger brothers, especially Dushasana. Learning martial skills from his gurus, Kripa and Drona, he proved to be extremely skilled with the mace. He then went to specialize in mace fighting under Balarama and went on to become his favourite pupil. With the mace he was equal to the much stronger Bhima.
The Duryodhana Temple is located in Jakhol Village in the Tons Valley in Uttarkashi District. The temple is dedicated to the Kauravas and is believed to have been constructed by the local people of Saur Village.

Mori’s local inhabitants claims or believed themselves as the ascendants of the Pandavas and Kauravas. They worship the Kauravas as the God. The Duryodhana temple, the temple for the eldest Kaurava, in Jakhol near Mori was constructed by the local folks. The main deity is Duryodhana. This is the biggest temple in the state dedicated to Duryodhana.

It is believed that the local people wept so much at the defeat of the Kauravas and the death of Duryodhana at the battle of Kurukshetra  - Mahabharatha, that their tears became a river named Tamas (literally meaning sorrow). Tamas is also known as Tons. This river water is not being used for drinking, since according to the local belief, still the tear flows. Duryodhan Temple is 13 km from Sankri. Duryodhana is worshipped in the upper valleys of the rivers Tons, Yamuna, Bhagirathi, Balganga and Bhilganga. This is the biggest temple dedicated to Duryodhana in Uttaranchal and other Duryodhana temples can be seen at Osla, Gangar and Datmir.
There is a temple for Duryodhana in south India also at Malanada Temple in Kerala's Kollam district, Duryodhana is worshipped as the main deity. It is the only temple in South India, where a Kaurava is considered a demi-god.

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