Harihareshwar Temple and Beach, Maharashtra

Town - Harihareshwar

District - Raigad

State - Maharashtra

Harihareshwar town is well known for quite a few tourist attractions, the main being the Lord Shiva temple due to which the town is called Dev Ghar , meaning House of God.

Visiting the temple and the beach is a must in a visit to this place, nestled in the Sahyadri ranges of the Konkan region of the state of Maharashtra.

The temple complex has a main Lord Shiv temple along with a Lord Kaal Bhairav temple that is to be visited first before taking darshan of the Shiv Linga in the main temple.

It is believed that Lord Shiva created Kal bhairav and blessed him with all the mantras.

The Shiv temple has idols of Goddess Parvati,Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma.

The linga is quite ancient and has historical importance. The temple architecture is in the Hoysala style. It was built by Veer Narasimha II.

There is a pradakshina path around the temple which the devotees can partake in, though it is not advisable during the high tide. One also has to beware of crabs on this path. 

Behind the temple there is a huge rock boulder that appears to be broken into two parts. 

It is believed that it was broken by the mighty Bhim, one of the five Pandava princes as it stood in the way of reaching the temple.

Quite a few stalls by the locals in the temple complex provide Maharashtra's iconic fast food, Vada pav along with cold drinks etc. 

Local guides are also available for any interested tourists wanting to know the rich and ancient history of the temple.

Adjoining the temple is the Harihareshwar beach.

The beach is about 2.4 km long  and one of the most underrated beaches of Maharashtra. The beach has black silt and rocky formations.

The beach is a haven for adventure enthusiasts for it offers a plethora of water activities and sports, ranging from motor boat rides, jet skiing, water scooters, banana boats, ETV ride etc.

Horse cart riding along the beach is also available.

The beauty of the Sahyadri ranges and the Arabian sea is a picturesque combination that enthralls the tourists. 

Visiting Harihareshwar as a weekend getaway is very popular, especially for people of the metros, Mumbai and Pune. The Harihareshwar temple and its beach is a must-see in such a tourists itinerary. 

Pictures - Trawell.in

Agastya Rishi Ashram, Bhandardara

Location- Akole, 40 km from Bhandardara

District - Ahmednagar

State - Maharashtra

What to visit in the Ashram -

• Ram kund

• Lord Ram temple

• Agastya Rishi Ashram hall

• Agastya Rishi temple 

Events to attend - 

• Ram Navmi

• MahaShivratri

• Akhand Harinaam Saptah held every three months

Agastya Rishi Ashram is a religious place located in Akole taluka, on the banks of the holy river Pravara in Bhandardara.

The Ashram has been mentioned in the Hindu epic, Ramayana and the Puranas.

The Ashram has much religious significance for the Hindus who visit here to pay their respects to the great Hindu Sage, Agastya who resided here. 

He was very earnest in his penance, and pleased with his meditation and devotion, God blessed him with a stream of the holy river Ganga, called as Amrit Vahini which is now known by the name Pravara.

As per the mention in the Ramayana, Lord Ram and his brother visited the revered Sage for his blessings in their battle with the King of Lanka, Ravana who had abducted Lord Ram's wife Sita.

The Sage gave him an arrow blessed by him that would kill Ravana.

The underground cave through which they had come is still there and it's exit is visible from the temple.

The Ashram is full of peace, natural beauty, tranquility and calm. It rejuvenates the heart and mind of the visitor, both the devotee and the history-lover.

The events worth attending are Mahashivratri, Ramnavmi and Akhand Harinam Saptah that is arranged by the Ashram Committee every three months. Devotees throng here on such events with their offerings and prayers. 

The Ashram also arranges three Dindi ( Marathi word for Annual pilgrimage ) to the holy places, Alandi, Pandharpur and Trimbakeshwar.

Nowadays, the hall is used to hold functions, public gatherings, marriage ceremonies and receptions etc.

Pictures sources -

• Agastya Rishi - wikipedia

• Agastya Rishi Ashram - Akole.in

Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Mandir, Pune

 Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Mandir is located in Pune district of Maharashtra

City - Pune

State - Maharashtra

Religious auspicious days - 

• Sankashti Chaturthi

• Angarki Chaturthi

• Ganeshotsav

Address - 

250, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Road,    

Mehunpara, 

Budhwar peth,

Pune - 411 002

Phone number - 020 - 24479222

Mahesh MV unsplash.com 

One of the most iconic and representative landmarks of Pune city is the Dagduseth Halwai Ganpati Mandir . It is a 128 yearsold Lord Ganpati temple and one of the most visited Hindu pilgrimage sites. A rough estimate gives the number of visitors to around 20 lakhs in a year. It is located in the busy Budhwarpeth and is surrounded by the local market. Already bustling market street becomes super congested due to the heavy number of devotees to the temple and it leads to problems like lack of parking space etc.

Built by a well known Pune citizen, Shrimant Dagduseth Shinde who had become popular as a Halwai, the temple was dedicated to his son who had died in the Pune plague epidemic. It was in this increasingly popular temple that the renowned freedom fighter, Lokmanya Tilak thought of a way of uniting the Hindus against the British rule by starting and popularising Sarvajanik Ganpati Pandals. 

 The temple is managed by Shreemanth Dagdusheth Halwai Sarvajanik Ganpati Trust.

The temple is constructed in such a way that the interior as well as the Lord's idol is visible even from the street. In this way the devotees waiting in the queue for their turn feel a part of the ongoings. 

The present  idol of Lord Ganpati is 7.25 feet in height and 3.28 feet in width ( 2 m by 1 m ) and is made of Silver. The idol is adorned with gold ornaments and jewellery weighing up to 40 kilograms encrusted with precious jewels, diamonds and rubies leading to the idol being insured for the amount of 1 crore rupees.. Additionally, scores of devotees regularly offer gold, precious gems, cash donations which amount to huge numbers making the temple trust one of the richest in the state of Maharashtra.

Hence ,right from the initial days of popularity of the temple, the then members had started a number of social service activities like opening an Old age Home, providing financial aid and education opportunities to poor and needy children. In fact the Old Age Home itself houses 400 such students at any given time. The other services provided are Ambulances for the poor, Health clinics for the tribal people in the district of Pune. 

The occasion of Ganeshotsav is the most busy time as the temple gets thousands of devotees with even the State CM, high profile people, actors and celebrities dropping in as well. 

The idol of the Lord is installed at Kotwal Chawri near Dutt Mandir and the decorations are unique, beautiful and spectacular to say the least.

Past decors have reconstructed some of India's major cultural monuments, palaces and Hindu pilgrimage temples such as Surya Temple of Orissa, Shree Mahalakshmi Temple , Kolhapur, Madhura - Meenakshi temple, Madurai, the Angola palace of Rajasthan and the Mysore Palace to name a few.

Socially relevant themes and topics are also depicted to raise awareness among the visitors.

Thousands of volunteers work day and night to run the show smoothly. The Visarjan procession is glorious with traditional Dhol - Tasha and the Idol of the Lord placed in a gleaming silver chariot. The energy of the devotees and performers is amazing, giving it a surreal feel. 

Nowadays, the temples schedule for prayers, Abhishek and timing for darshan etc are available on their website with live telecast across all the platforms like Facebook, Youtube etc. 

Slots for performing pooja in the temple can also be booked. 

In conclusion, a visit to Pune city without a darshan at the Dagduseth Halwai Ganpati Mandir is unimaginable. 

Second and third picture is by Mohnish Langde, unsplash.com

Goddess Chattushringi Temple, Pune

 The temple of Goddess Chatturshringi Temple is located in the district of Pune, Maharashtra

City - Pune

State - Maharashtra

Distance from - 

• Shivajinagar railway station - 4km

• Pune Junction - 7 km

• Pune International Airport - 14 km

How to reach -

• Rental cars, private vehicles, Auto rickshaws, Buses

• Online booking of Yatra buses from many cities to the temple, especially during major festivals is arranged by the temple trust

Time - 

• 6 a.m to 9 p.m.

• 6 a.m to 12 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays as the devotees crowd is much more.

Other names of the Goddess - Ambareshwari, MahaLaksmee, Mahakalee, Mahasaraswatee

Goddess Chattushringi temple is located in the north west of Pune city on a  slope of a group of 4 hills hence the name since Chattu means 4.

The temple is quite big with a height of 90 feet and a width of 125 feet. It represents the strength, power of the Goddess and the faith of her devotees.

The temple premises have temples of Goddess Durga and Lord Ganpati. Lord Ganpati's temple has 8 miniature idols of Ashtavinayaka.

There is a smaller version of the temple right at the main entrance which is also visited by the devotees.

Goddess Chattushringi and Lord Ganpati are the presiding dieties of the city of Pune and hence have innumerable followers and devotees.

Apparently the story regarding the construction of the temple goes like this. A rich Peshwa merchant, Durlabhsheth Pitambardas Mahajan, in the times of Maratha rule was an ardent devotee of the Goddess and would regularly visit the Vani devi temple. As he grew older he was unable to travel and this troubled him a lot. Pleased with his faith and devotion, the Goddess appeared in his dream and gave him a location in Pune itself for finding her idol and where he should construct her temple so that he may visit her again regularly. Accordingly on digging up the said place an idol of the Goddess was revealed ( Swayambhu devi ). The merchant got a grand temple built for her as per her instructions. This tale is about 250 - 300 years old. Down the ages the temple has been repaired and restored many times.

The temple is managed by a trust by the name of 

Chattushringi Devasthan Trust. ( श्री चत्तुशृंगी देवस्थान ). The trust has done a good job of maintaining the premises, surroundings, stairs etc. The 100 plus steps are well made and after every 6 steps a sitting and resting point is constructed. The trust has also made provisions for a dharamshala, drinking water, waterfalls, fountains and water banks for the convenience of the thousands of devotees who visit every year. 

The festival of Navratri is celebrated lavishly with the whole temple complex being lit with tradtional oil lamps. Every year the trust also does something unique to add to the festivities, like dropping hundreds of flower petals from a helicopter on the temple premises. 

On Dussehra day, a silver idol is placed in a silver chariot and taken around in a procession for the devotees to pay their respects. 

The trust is also planning to bring about more amenities lik free Wi-Fi, CCTVs, LED TVs at the entrance that will show the inner sanctum for the waiting devotees along with loudspeakers for important announcents and playing devotional songs. A firebrigade , ambulances with trained Doctors is also to be provided during auspicious days and major festival periods. 

Videography and Pictures are not allowed inside the temple.

Picture source - 

• Temple, wikipedia

• Goddess Chaturshringi 

( @TempleConnect_ from Twitter ) 

Bhuleshwar Temple - Pune

 

City - Pune

State - Maharashtra

Distance from Pune - 45 km

Timing - 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

How to reach - 

• Buses from Pune Swargate to Malshiras

• Private vehicle via Pune - Solapur Highway. 10 km on the road take the diversion towards Yawat

Bhuleshwar Temple is a very popular Hindu temple of Lord Shiv. It has many theories as to its construction none of which have yet been verified completely.

Believed to have been built by the Pandava princes, it appears to have been restored by the Marathas after it was defiled by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. However the style of architecture is resonant with the Yadava style also known as the Deccan style due to it being seen in many temples in this region. 

It is situated atop a hill where a fort named Daulatmangal / Mangalgad used to be.

It is a protected site by the Archaeological Survey of India ( ASI )

From the outer view it appears like a mosque due to its circular minarets and domes.

However ,once inside the temple numerous classical carvings of Hindu gods are visible all around the walls, pillars etc. 

It has 5 Shivlings along with idols of Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Vishnu and Mahadev.

One of its most unique features is the idol of Lord Ganesh in a female attire. This form of the Lord is called Ganeshyeni, Ganeshwari and / or Lambodari.

The temple has four sections - Nandi Mandap, Sabha Mandap, Antarala and Garbhagriha.

The light composition at a particular point is very interesting and a photographer's delight. 

It is created by an aisle with the ornamental scriptures on the walls of the Antarala and Garbhagriha on one side and Devkulikas built for the other deities on the other side.

The temple is constructed with black basalt rock instead of the commonly available brown one in this region. This makes the interior of the temple remain pleasantly cool even in the hot summer months. 

There is a belief among the devotees that this is the place where Goddess Parvati had danced to please Lord Shiva before their marriage and subsequent settling down on Mount Kailash.

Another miraculous belief / observation has been that out of the 5 pedhas offered to the Shivling, one disappears.

The event celebrated here with great pomp and ceremony is Mahashivaratri. The temple is beautifully decorated and devotees throng for a darshan of the Shivling on this auspicious day.

Also, it is quite busy during the month of Shravan.

The temple is a delight to visit not only for its history, architecture but also for the wonderful and peaceful ambience that calms the mind. The surrounding natural beauty is lovely to gaze at.

History and nature lovers, religious tourists and photography enthusiasts are sure to enjoy a visit here.

Simultaneously, at a distance of about 15 km from the temple, there is a place called Narayanpet that is home to many migratory birds in the months of May and September. It is much visited by bird watchers, environmentalists and nature photographers. 

This place can be included in the trip to the Bhuleshwar temple due to proximity to each other. 

Pictures - wikipedia