maharashtra has many spiritual places. many saints have blessed the maharashtra. prominent saints from maharashtra are dnyaneshwar, saint tukraram,ย samarth ramdas, swami samarth mahฤraj, namdev, eknath, gajanan maharaj, shiri sai baba and janabai.
list ofย spiritual places in maharashtra:
1. ashtavinayakaย temples:ย ashta means eight and vinakaya is another name for lord ganesha. there are 8 ganesha temples around pune. devotees visit these 8 ganesha temple in a sequence and the journey is considered after visiting the first temple in the end. many tours and packages are there to visit this popular religious destination. normally it takes two days to visit all 8 temples (plus the first temple) to complete the spiritual journey.
lord ganesha is one of the most popular god in maharashtra and ganesh chaturthi is celebrated with lot of devotion. so around ganesh chaturthi many people visit these 8 shrines.
theย ashtavinayaka temples are:
1. moreshwar temple – morgaon, pune district
2. siddhivinayak temple – siddhatek, ahmednagar district
3. ballaleshwar temple – pali, raigad district
4. varadavinayak temple – mahad, near Khopoli, Raigad district
5. chintamani temple – theur, pune district
6. girijatmaj temple – lenyadri, pune district
7. vighnahar temple – ozar, pune district
8. mahaganapati temple – ranjangaon, pune district.
according to shastra, first you have to visit moreshwar temple of moregaon and then proceed toย siddhivinayak temple,ย ballaleshwar temple,ย varadavinayak temple,ย chintamani temple,ย girijatmaj temple,ย vighnahar temple,ย mahaganapati temple and then end the journey by visiting theย moreshwar temple again.
the ganesha murtis/statues in these temples are called swayambhu, or the self-existent in Sanskrit. this is to indicate that no human created these statues and they were found completely formed by nature.ย many indian temples haveย swayambhu statues like maa shera wali temple in jammu andย mahakaleshwar jyotirlinga in ujjain.
2. jyotirlingasย – there are 12ย jyotirlingas in india. these are power spots for shiva devotees to take blessings of lord shiva. out of 12, few jyotirlingas are in maharashtra. there are many tour and packages for doing visiting these jyotirlingas. normally 5-6 days package is there which also include visit to popular nearby reliigious places like shirdi sai baba andย shani shinganapur.
theย jyotirlinga in maharashtra are:
a)ย ย –ย trimbakeshwar has many other religious places to visit. i have been to this temple and it is very charged energy spot.ย trimbakeshwar is believed to be the birth place of lord ganesha and lord dattreyya. also the godavari river originates from there.
b)ย grishneshwar temple inย aurangabad
about three other jyotirlinga there is a debate. some people believe that below mentioned three temples are part of 12ย jyotirlingas and some say they are not. it does not matter. they are still charged shiva temples visited by many devotees.
c) nagnath temple in aundha
d) bhimashankar near pune
e) parli vaijnath in pali. this temple was rebuilt by maharani ahilya bai in 1776.
3. fourย shakti peeth – there areย 51 shakti peeths.
story of shakti peeths –ย sati (first incarnation of parvati ma) wanted to visit the grand yagna organized by his father daksha. but to humiliate lord shiva, he didn’t invited him. sati wanted to visit the yagna considering the fact that she does not need invitation to visit his father place. so she went to the yagna and there she saw that his husband shiva is not given due respect and in fact insulted. so she jumped into the yagna and became sati.
then one of the form of shiva destroyed the whole yagna. shiva took the dead body sati on his shoulder and started roaming whole earth… trying a way to revive the sati. in the end, lord vishnu cut the body of sati into 64 parts using his weapon sudarshana chakra. the place where sati ma body parts fell are known as shakti peeths.
so four shakti peeth in maharashtra are:
a)ย amba bai or maha laksmi in kolhapur –ย sati ma, three eyes fell here.ย one of the six places where it is believed that one can either obtain salvation from desires or have them fulfilled.
b) jagadamba in saptshringi – sati ma right arm fell here, 60 km from holy city of nasik
c) tuljaย bhavani ma in tuljapur
d) mahamaya and renuka or jagdamba devi in mahur.
4. shirdi sai baba temple – popular saint from maharashtra. while visiting this place, you can also book your stay in guest house made by shirdi sai baba temple trust. for booking check this link. i have stayed in both bhakti nivas and dwarawati accomodation.ย dwarawati accomodation is better but i found baba energy more in bhakti nivas. in both the places you get discounted 1 rupee tea and 1 rupee milk, 24 hours. best thing i like is that you can hear devotional aarti being played in the background. inย dwarawati there is TV showing live baba samadhi video.
main places you should visit in the shirdi sai temple are:
1. shirdi sai baba samadhi. once you come out from samadhi then you can look at the baba statue from left hand side also.
2. dwarkamai – baba stayed in this place till the very end of his life. baba used to meet people and solve their problem at this place.
3.ย baba’s chavadi – baba used to sleep here every alternate day
4.ย sacred neem tree)
5. maruti mandir (dakshina murti hanuman mandir) –ย this templeย was visited by baba for the sat-sang with devidas, a balyogi, who lived at the temple,ย ten to twelve years before baba arrived.
check this link for more detail.
5. sant dnyaneshwarย samadhi in alandi, pune – one of the most popular poet saint from maharashtra. he is credit for starting the bhakti movement in maharashtra. he left the body at a young age of 21, because he felt his mission in life is complete. dnyaneshwar has translatedย bhagavad gita into marathi language so that common men can recite it.ย dnyaneshwar samadhi in alandi is visited by many people specially fromย varkari sect in month of june- july.
6. sant tuka ram samadhi – bhakti movement started by santย dnyaneshwar was taken to new heights by saint tuka ram. sant tukaram was a devotee of vitthala, a form of lord vishnu. his samadhi is in dehu village very close toย alandi. so you can visit the ย dnyaneshwar and tuka ram samadhi in one day.
7. shani shinganapur – famous temple dedicated to lord shani devย or saturn. shani dev is son of lord surya (sun) and gives justice in the world. he is one of the most fearsome god. but if you do good karmas then you don’t need to be sacred of him.ย devotees visit this place to take blessings from sani dev and also to ask forgiveness for their mistakes. you can buy pooja thali from outside the temple. sani dev is pleased with the offering of mustard oil. there is more crowd on saturdays.
8. pandharpur temple – this is one of the most important spiritual place in maharashtra. thereย is a ancient vitthal temple. vitthal is a form of krishna or vishnu and is very popular in maharashtra. just as in tirupati bala ji we have another form of krishna that is lord venkateswara.ย
9.ย jyotiba temple, in kolhapur โ jyotiba is avatar of brahma, vishnu and shiva. he also guards the south direction of mahalaxmi temple (shakti peeth temple in kolhapur). jyotiba is family deity of many maharashtrian families.
10.ย jejuri khandoba, pune โ khandoba is kul-devata of many maharashtrian families. khandoba is a ferocious form of lord shiva and is the most popular avatar of shiva in maharashtra.
11. yamai devi temple in satara – yamai devi is kul-devi of many maharashtrian families.
spiritual places in mumbai:
1. siddhi vinayak temple – one of the most popular temple in mumbai dedicated to lord ganesha. it is often visited by many bollywood celebrities before their movie is launched.ย you can do online darshan via live feed at this link.
2. mahalaxmi temple – dedicated to goddess mahalaxmi who rules over prosperity and wealth. the temple contains images of the goddesses mahalakshmi, mahakali (destroyer of demons, one of the most feroicious form of ma) and mahasaraswati (goddess of learning). during navratri the
3. iskon temple in juhu – hare rama hare krishna movement has founded many beautiful krishna temples all over india. two of the best are in mathura (must visit) and bangalore. if you are a devotee of krishna then consider visiting udipi krishna temple also.
4. mumba devi temple – the name of mumbai city is derived from maa mumbadevi.
spiritual places in pune:
1. chaturshringiย temple –ย the presiding deity of the temple is goddess chaturshringi, also known as goddess ambareshwari. she is also considered as the presiding deity of pune, city. the temple is situated on senapati bapat road, on a hill. the temple also has statues of goddess durga, shitalaย ma andย miniature idols of ashtavinayaka.
2. dagadusheth halwai ganapati temple – dedicated to lord ganesha,
3. parvati temple – the temple is situated at the top of a small hill. you have to climb 103 steps to reach the temple. the steps are not small. each step length will be approximate 5-6 feet and sometimes little steep.ย the temple hasย idols of goddess parvati, lord ganesha, lord vishnu, devateshwar and lord karthikeya. you can see whole pune from top of temple.
4. babazan samadhi – one of the guru of meher baba. her samadhi is in camp area.
spiritual places in nasik:
nasik is a holy city and has many religious places. it is situated on the banks of river godavari. lord rama also stayed here duringย his 14 years in exile. it is one of those places where kumbh mela held. important places you should visit there are:
1. sita gupha inย panchvati – it literally means 5 banyan(vat). when lakshama cut the nose of ravana sister surpanakha then many demons came to fight rama and lakshmana. so lord rama made a cave and hid the sita ma there while he could finish the demons. to identify the place they also planted 5 banyan trees. so devotees visit this cave where sita ma spend more than one night. this is the story which guide has told me.ย this sita ma cave or gufa is very charged. i suggest must visit.
2. gora ram temple – situated in same laneย asย panchvati
3. kalaram temple – situated in same lane asย panchvati
4. mukti dham – temple having the statues of rama, lakshman, nath gurus and miniature 12ย jyotirlingas.
you can also visit godavari river where shahi snan (bath) happens during kumb mela. there you can see the place where lakshman cut theย surpanakha nose and thats how nasik gots it name. there is a ancient godavari temple (not maintained at all), ram kund and lord dattatreyaย temple as well. its a city full of temples. you can also visitย trimbakeshwar which is just 1 hour drive and need another 2 days to visit all the holy places inย trimbakeshwar.
mohan kamble says
Nice all religous briefying for useful and good to know importance of places ..
amit trehan says
thanks mohan
Dilip Pangarkar says
เคเคพเคจ เคเคฃเคฟ เคฎเคพเคนเคฟเคคเฅเคชเฅเคฐเฅเคฃ….