Kolhapur Mahalakshmi Pratima

The Shri Mahalakshmi Temple of Kolhapur is one of the Shakti peetha located in Maharashtra. The various puranas of ancient India, have listed 108 shaktipeethas where Shakti (the goddess of power) is manifested.

Mahalakshmi Temple, an ancient temple in Kolhapur, is dedicated to the Goddess of prosperity Mahalaxmi, locally known as Goddess Amba Bai. This temple had been under the patronage of all the major dynasties who ruled the region and temple is revered by all the royal family members as well as populace of the region. The temple was constructed during the reign of King Karandev of Chalukya dynasty in 7th century AD i.e. around 600 to 700 A.D.

Invoke the blessings of unique Kolhapur Mahalakshmi pratima (Image) in copper by installing this pratima in your puja altar, prayer room, office cabin or living area.

Design: Made embossed image made in copper plate.
Dimansions: 2 Inches (W) x 2.5 Inches (H)

Copper is well known for its grasping capacity. It grasps the divine spirit (sattvikta) upto 30%, when compared to other metals. Copper can destroy bad spirits like Raj & Tam (i.e. darkness & bad behavior). The spiritual vibrations are attracted towards copper items easily. Just as copper has the ability to absorb the sattvik frequencies of deities, it has also capacity of transmitting them. Thus it becomes rich in divinity in a short period.

Importance of Idol worship: Idols are not the idle fancies of sculptors, but shining channels through which the heart of the devotee is attracted to and flows towards God. Though the image is worshipped, the devotee feels the presence of the Lord in it and pours out his devotion unto it. Regular worship, Puja and other modes of demonstrating our inner feeling of recognition of Divinity in the idol unveils the Divinity latent in it. This is truly a wonder and a miracle. The picture comes to life. The idol speaks. It will answer your questions and solve your problems. The God in you has the power to awaken the latent Divinity in the idol. The lives of Mirabai, Sant Tukaram, Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Shri Yogananda are a few instances to prove the point. They proved beyond doubt that idol worship has its own brighter side and through simple faith and intense devotion one can realize God through it.

Idols are the "finite representation of the Infinite".  As per Vishnu Samhita (ch 29, v 55-7), persuasively endorses the use of imagery (idols) and puts it: "Without a form how can God be mediated upon? If (He is) without any form, where will the mind fix itself? When there is nothing for the mind to attach itself to, it will slip away from meditation or will glide into a state of slumber. Therefore the wise will meditate on some form, remembering, however, that the form is a superimposition and not a reality."