Daityasudan Temple, Lonar - Lonar

Daitya Sudan temple is located near the Lonar crater lake in the Buldhana district of Maharashtra state of India. It is a Vishnu temple dated to the Chalukya Dynasty which ruled Central and Southern India between the 6th and 12th centuries. It belongs to the Hemadpanthi class and is built in the form of an irregular star. The main entrance of the temple is east facing. The exterior walls are covered with carved figures. The detailed carvings that covered the entire surface of the temple depicted everything from deities, stories from the puranas and erotic sculptures. The niche of West has an idol of Sun God, South has an image of Chamunda Devi and north has Narashima. The plinth of the temple is about 1.5 m in height, and the unfinished roof suggests an intended pyramidal form for the tower. Area out-side the sanctum is dark and the ceiling reveals beautiful carvings under a torch light. The deity idol– the Vishnu Avatar (Daitya Sudan) standing atop a demon Lavanasur. The present idol was made by Bholse rulers of Nagpur after the original went missing. “Antaral” ceiling carries beautiful carvings of slaying of Lavanasur by Lord Vishnu, story of Kansa- Krishna, Narasimha killing Hiranyakashyapa along with krishna Rasleela. In the southeast corner of Daitya Sudan Temple courtyard is a Tripurush Math where images of Vishnu, Brahma & Garuda were placed and Swami Chakradhar, the founder of Mahanubhav Sect and creator of Lilacharita is said to have stayed there. Mythology: There’s an interesting story here too. Lord Vishnu is said to have come down to this place in the form Daityasudan to slay demon Lavanasura, who lived under the Earth in this area along with his sisters. Daitya Sudan killed the demon in a battle which ended up in creating the Lonar Lake. The Lord Vishnu deity in this temple is made of an ore with a high metal content that resembles stone. The outermost chamber of Daitya Sudan Temple is called Sabhamandap which is meant for group offerings and performance. This portion as well as the entrance gate does not match the style and construction elements of the temple overall. The brickwork might have been added later to the damaged or unfinished temple, which may be attributed to various invasions post the 10th century

Amazing architecture, it is in fairly good condition ,not very popular surprisingly. Reminds you of the great Humpi temple in Karnataka Beautiful carvings on outer facade ,The main temple where the statue of Shri Vishu is amazing ,the body feels like it's alive with shiny skin looks real .The roof is also carved with different scenes .It definitely is a must visit in Lonar The courtyard is huge and they are digging presently to discover new things ,it is filled with interesting artifacts like a stone pillar which sounds like it's made of Metal etc .Also there is a small temple which has Lord Bramahs Idol along with Garuda ..

This is a God Vishnu temple in Hindu religion it's called daityasudan mandir (दैत्यासुदान मंदीर) The Daitya Sudan Temple at Lonar is styled in a similar manner to the Khajuraho Temple. built between 885 AD and 1050 AD.? but exactly don't know

From the standing image of Surya in the principal niche on the back of the temple it is conjectured that the temple was originally dedicated to the Sun god. However, in the present form its vaishnav temple of god vishnu in its daityasudan avatar.

Very beautiful temple. Vishnu's idol over there is very mesmerising. The carvings in temple through eroded now holds meaning behind the structure.

Divine temple. Wonderful surrounding. Feels very good to be here at evenining times. Females were singing local bhajan when we arrived at the temple. 4 wheeler can find trouble finding the route as google keeps u circling. Best way is to stop vehicle at some parking place and walk it down the narrow streets of the village. Do visit if u r visiting lonar crater.

Situated in Lonar Town next to the Jain Temples .Built during the rule of Chalukya dynasty between 6th and 12 th century A.D.The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

Its a very old meteorite collision impact around 52000 yrs ago or may be older than that also.Nice to visit is Jan -Feb as there àre lot of birds coming from different countries. The salt water is high ph value and good for skin allergies. There is a beautiful and age old temple around the village. Nice place to visit...if you don't have time you can watch the crater from the top and it will hardly take 5 min walk.