Sheva Shiva Ekling : the battle cry of the historical Bāppā & his men. The first grand temple of Eklingji near Udaipur was built by Bāppā Rāwal in 734 AD, 1 km from Nāgdā where he was born, & dedicated to Lord Shiva, the kūla-Devatā of his clan. Over the centuries, Mohammedan jihadis kept ravaging the temple & the descendants of Bāppā kept decontaminating, rebuilding & rededicating it. It is still officially worshiped every Monday (known as Sōmawāra after the god Sōma), by Bāppā’s successors, the rulers of Mewār who regard themselves as the Dewan of Eklingji. The 50 ft. high Mūrti of black marble has four faces: facing east is Lord Surya, the clan being Sūrya-Vamshi, facing west is Lord Brahma, facing north is Lord Vishnu, & facing south is Lord Rudra. Kailāshpūri, the town that grew up around the temple, is 22 km north of Udaipur.
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