Deval Mosque, Rashtrakuta Inscriptions & Persian Inscriptions of Mohd. Bin Tuglaq
Bodhan was an ancient city, the history of which goes back to the times of Mahabharatha and Puranas. It was the principal city of Asmakas. It was also called as Ekachakrapuri and Bahudhanyapuri in Hindu literature and as Pudan or Podana in Jain literature. During the Rastrakuta period Bodhan was under the control of their feudatories i.e., Vemulawada Chalukyas. It is also a sacred place for Digambara Jain sect. It is also associated with the great poet Pampa who wrote Adipurana in Kannada. The Deval Masjid, which is situated in the historic Bodhan region of Nizamabad district as its name signifies, was originally believed to be a Hindu temple, and later converted into a mosque by Muhammad bin Tughlaq (AD 1325-1351) at the time of his conquest of the Deccan region. The plan of the temple is star-shaped; which had later undergone slight alteration at the hands of Muslim rulers, except for the removal of the shrine-chamber and the setting up of a pulpit. The date of the conversion of this temple into a mosque is not recorded in the inscriptions. Originally, this was a Jain temple that was built during the period of Rastrakuta ruler Indra III in 10th Century A.D. and it was renovated during the period of Kalyani Chalukya ruler Someswara who had then named it as Indranarayana swamy temple.
Bodhan is located at a distance of nearly 23 km from the district headquarters of Nizamabad. Nizamabad is connected to Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana, located at a distance of approximately 175 km, through road and rail transport.
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