THE ONLY SWAYAMBHU STATUE IN THE WORLD-BET DWARKA

HANUMAN & MAKARDWAJA

(HANUMAN DANDI TEMPLE-BET DWARKA)

(THE ONLY SWAYAMBHU STATUE OF LORD HASNUMAN ; MASKARDWAJA IN THE WORLD)

 Description

The image of Makardhwaj is on the left side taller than his father Lord Hanuman  on a closer look one finds Makardhwaj image is full butHanuman Ji is shown above the thighs between the two there is one Dand (club)  instead of Gada ( mace ) . Makardhwaj left leg is little raised and crushing a demons skull and tail is resting on ground . Right hand is raised above the shoulder in blessing form and left hand is on chest / heart . Lord Hanuman Ji right hand is raised above the shoulder and resting on the back of head , left hand is resting on chest/heart , tail is raised above the right shoulder and face is shown in a relaxed mood.

Legend-One

The legend is that  at the time of Ram and Ravan battle , the twin step brothers Ahi Ravan and Mahi Ravan of Ravan disguised them self asVibhishan and Jamvant , kidnapped Lord Ram and Laxman and took them to Patal Lok to sacrifice them to their deity , Lord Hanuman went in search and reached the Patal entrance where he was challenged by a Vanara ( monkey) , upon asking who he is he identified himself as son of Lord Hanuman Ji . Hnuman Ji was Bharamchari ( bachlor ) upon asking him if he ever met his father and how he is father because he is a bachelor , Makardhwaj replied that when Hanuman Ji burnt Lanka with his tail and went to the sea to dip his tail in the water to extinguish the fire at that time the sweat from his body dropped and a  it was swallowed by a Magar (Crocodle ) and he was born in the kitchen of his foster mother Chandersena  who is in service of  the demon twin brothers and he is also employed by them to not to allow any one to enter the Patal Lok , at this point Lord Hanuman Ji gave his introduction and wanted to enter , hearing the noise Chandersena came out and upon knowing the story agreed to help Lord Hanuman Ji  and after killing the twin brothers Lord Hanuman Ji bring Lord Ram and Laxman back to the safe place , before leaving, upon the request of Chandersena they made Makardhwaj the King of Patal Lok .

Legend Two

When Hanuman took a dip in the waters of sea, after burning whole of Lanka with the fire burning on his tail, a drop of his perspiration fell in to mouth of a mighty fish. Out of this the Makardhwaja was born.

According to another, slightly different version, when Hanuman took a dip in sea, for cooling himself after burning Lanka; a drop of his seed got discharged, due to extreme heat generated in his body and labor by him, which fell in to mouth of a giant fish-cum-reptile like creature, whose name was Makardhwaja, thus making it pregnant.

The fish was caught by people of Ahiravana, who ruled Patala, the nether-world. The Markardhwaja, was discovered, when stomach of fish was cut open and named after it. Ahiravana, seeing his strength & virility gave him job of guarding, the gates Makardhwaja name is derived from Hindu mythological creature Makara and depicted as part Makarā and part Vanarā (monkey).

Makardhwaja is sometimes also spelled as Magar-dhwaja - depicted as part Magarā (crocodile) and part Vanarā.of his Kingdom.According to Ramayana told by Valmiki, when Ahiravana took Rama and Lakshmana to Patala, Hanuman followed them to their rescue. He was challenged at the gate of Patala by a creature, who was part Vanaraand part reptile - a Makara. He introduced himself Makaradhwaja and son of Hanuman, the mighty warrior.

Hanuman was amused and said that, I am myself the Hanumana but he could not be his son, as he was celibate since birth. However, Hanumana then closed his eyes in dhyan to see the events described above of Makardhwaja's birth.

Makardhwaja asked him for his blessings, however, he said to Hanuman, that he will have to fight him to enter Patala, as he cannot betray Ahiravana, his mentor. Hanuman defeats Makaradhwaja in a duel and binds him to proceed further to ultimately kill Ahiravana and rescue Rama & Lakshamana.

Later on, upon Rama's advice he installed Makardhwaja, as King of Patala before returning to Lanka, to continue war with Ravana.The Jethwa clan of Kshatriyas claim their descent from Makardhwaja. As per folk tales of their clan, Makardhwaja had a son named Mod-dhwaja and he had a son named Jethi-dhwaja. Jethwas claim descant from Jethi-dhwaja and worship Hanuman as their Iṣṭa-devatā.The Jethwa dynasty of Gujarat, who once ruled major part of Kathiawar and later the princely state of Porbandar, therefore, had the image of Hanuman on their Royal flag.Temples dedicated to Makardhwaja can be found in India, especially in Gujarat, where Jethwas once ruled. Some noted temples in Gujarat are at :-

(MAKARDWAJA)

• Odadar village near Porbandar.
• Hanuman-Dandi at Bet Dwarka, where idols of Makardhwaja and Hanuman are worshiped together. 

In Rajasthan, also there is a temple known as

• Balaji Makardhwaja Temple at Beawar, which is dedicated to both father-son duo in form of Balaji Hanuman and Makardhwaja.

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