Vadapuri is a village situated at a distance of 5 km from Indapur in Pune district. This village is known for the activities of the Nātha sect. A story related to Gorakṣanātha is prevalent in this village. Once Gorakṣanātha went to the house of a Brahmin for alms. Vaḍā and Purī (eatables) were given as alms to him in that house. He gave these alms to his gurū (mentor) Matsyendranātha. The guru liked Vaḍā and Purī so much that he ordered Gorakṣanātha to bring some more Vaḍā-purī. Then Gorakṣanātha once again went to the Brahmin woman and asked her for Vaḍā-purī. The woman got angry and refused. The discussion escalated and the woman asked Gorakṣanātha for one of his eyes in exchange for Vaḍā and Purī. Without any complaint, Gorakṣa cut off one. He brought Vaḍā-purī as ordered by gurū. But Matsyendra became stunned by seeing his condition. Seeing the Gurūbhaktī of his disciple, he was moved. With the help of his siddhi, he restored Gorakṣanātha’s eye. Since this incident, this village came to be known as Vadapuri. Such a story is told in this village. From all these accounts, one thing is certain, there is an immense impact of the Nātha sect in this village.

Kāḷabhairava temple

Kāḷabhairava temple: On one side of the village Vadapuri, there is a centuries old south-facing temple of Kāḷabhairava. The temple is simple, (some parts have been brightly painted) and nothing to speak about from the architectural point of view. Its general structure consists of sabhāmaṇḍapa and garbhagṛha. The entire temple is painted. The first noticeable thing is the three ardhastambhas on the facade of the sabhāmaṇḍapa. Probably, the ardhastambha in the left wall was removed during restoration.

The Sabhāmaṇḍapa of the temple.

Sabhāmaṇḍapa of the temple.

Sabhāmaṇḍapa: The size of the sabhāmaṇḍapa is 566 x 566 cm and it has four pillars. The height of the pillars is 235 cm and some carvings/designs are carved on their central parts. But these are not seen due to the application of heavy paint. The subject matters of these carvings include Mahiṣāsuramardinī, Vidāraṇa Narasimha, Rāma-Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā, wounded Lakṣmaṇa, Hanumāna, combat between Sugrīva-Vālī, yogī, elephant, śarabha etc.

Carvings of Mahiṣāsuramardinī

Garbhagṛha: The entrance of the garbhagṛha is beautiful. It consists of three śākhās namely stambha, latā and puṣpa. There are images of Nidhī, dwārapālas and Gaṅgā-Yamunā under these śākhās. There are kīrtīmukhas on uduṁbara. Some images of battles between elephants and śarbhas are also seen in this portion. A sculpture of Gaṇeśa is on the lalāṭapaṭṭa.

The images of Bhairava and Mahiṣāsuramardinī are visible respectively on the ardhastambhas on both sides of the entrance. The garbhagṛha of the temple is 380 X 380 cm in size and there are stone images of Kāḷabhairava and Jogeśvarī on a raised platform in the centre. A beautiful but mutilated image of Bhairava is seen nearby. The vitānas of the sabhāmaṇḍapa and garbhagṛha are simple.

The entrance of the garbhagṛha.

The Garbhagṛha.

Fragmentary sculptures of an elephant and a horse rider.

Additional Information: From the architectural viewpoint, the temple must have been built in the 14th-15th century. Recently, an inscription belonging to the 16th century has also been recovered within the village’s boundary. Four vīragaḷas are lying in front of the temple. There is also a fragmentary image of a person mounting a horse and the torso of a deity was seen here. At present, there is only an image of an elephant and a śivaliṅga with nine liṅgas.Nowadays, the villagers have beautified the temple premises. But the layers of lead and paint on the carvings, images, and vīragaḷas in the sabhāmaṇḍapa should be removed, so that the images can be seen properly.