Hatkeshwar Mahadev Temple – Vadnagar, Gujarat

This profusely carved 17th century temple just outside town enshrines Hatkeshwar Mahadev, the family deity of Nagar Brahmins, who were once a prominent community in Vadnagar, a city and a municipality in Mehsana district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the birthplace of Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat. The temple's inner sanctum houses a Shiva linga said to have self-emerged (swayambhu). From the roof of the sanctum a massive shikhar soars high into the sky. Facing east, the temple is enclosed by a high wall topped by three circular domes interspersed with flat stretches in the…