shiva, shakti (feminine principle in her many forms), vishnu, ganesha and hanuman are some deities which are worshipped all over india.
in maharashtra there are many temples devoted to lord shiva. many forms of shiva are worshipped asย the kul-devata of many maharashtrian families. khandoba and jyotiba are forms (avatar) of shiva and are very popular deities in maharashtra.
shiva temples in maharashtra:
1 jyotirlingaย temples: there are 12ย jyotirlingaย temples in india. out of them, 3 are in maharashtra. but locals believe that there are 5ย jyotirlingaย temples in maharashtra. so 4th and 5th temples in this list are disputed.
a)ย trimbakeshwar temple in trimbak, near nashik –ย trimbakeshwar and pandarpur are two of the most ancient holy cities of maharashtra. the city is known for its shiva temples and other spiritual places. it is also believed to be the birth place of lord hanuman. godavari river also originates from this place.
b)ย bhimashankar – 65 km from pune.
c) grishneshwar – near ellora, aurangabad.ย it is believed as the last or 12th jyotirlinga on earth.
d) parli vaijnath temple, in beed district – but most people says that jyotirlinga temple is inย deoghar, jharkhand.
e)ย aunda nagnath shiva temple – it is located at hingoli district of maharashtra. it is supposed to be the 8th of the 12 jyotirlingas in the country.ย 2 more shiva temples which are believed as identical to this jyotirlinga are jageshwar temple near almora in uttarakhand and the nageshwara temple near dwaraka in gujarat.
2. hari hareshwar – a very famous shiva temple is located inย harihareshwar town of raigad district. the town is famous for shiva temple and also for its beaches.
3. marleshwar shiva temple in ratnagiri – this shiva temple is located in a cave, on the top of a hill. you have to climb 300-400 steps to reach the temple. this cave temple was found by a group of hunters. the temple is located at a very beautiful location, surrounded by lush green mountain. few km from the temple there is a big waterfall which can be seen from the temple premises itself.
4.ย kopeshwar temple, kolhapur – the temple was build around 12th century or could be older than that. its situated on the bank of krishna river and is known for his architectural beauty and craftsmanship.
as per legend, daksh prajapati (son of brahma) did a yagna to insult his son in law (lord shiva). he didn’t invited shiva in the yagna against the yagna rules. shiva wife ma sati went to the yagna assuming that family members does not need anyย invitation and alsos he will make her father understand. but when she went to yagna site she realized that her father bent upon insulting shiva. so using her yogic powers ma sati burned her body. seeing this, lord shiva became very angry and his veerbhadra avatar destroyed the whole yagna and also killed daksh prajapati. when lord shiva becomes angry then its very difficult to pacify him. it is believed that at this temple, lord shiva anger came down. so you can relate to temple name now –ย kopeshwar.
5. velneshwar shiva temple in guhagar, ratnagiri – there is a old shiva temple in guhagar. the place is famous for its silent beach also.ย velneshwar is around 40 km from famous ganpatipule temple. when i went to this temple from ganpatipule then i also visited dashbhuja laxmi ganpati temple on the way.
6. shikhar shingnapur, in satara –ย shani shingnapur is a famous temple devoted to lord shani dev in maharashtra. so when i heard aboutย shikhar shingnapur, i started relating it with shani dev temple. i was totally wrong. this temple is devoted to lord shiva and is situated at the top of a hill. its a very well maintained temple and a concrete road goes till the top of the hill. everybody is treated equally and no VIP status is given to anybody.
7.ย gupt shivling temple, in satara – just 3 km fromย shikhar shingnapur, is this silent and peacefulย gupt shivling temple. the temple is nested between hills. the temple is calledย gupt shivling because one shivling is hidden upside down, right below the main shivling. for this, you have to remove one tile (stone) next to the shivling and insert your arm in the gap filled with water. at a distance of around 2-3 feet you can feel the shivling in inverted shape. it is said that only fortunate people will be able to touch it. i also read somewhere that only ma parvati can touch shivlinga. so if that is the case, then only male members should try to feel this gupt shivling.
8. jyotiba temple, in kolhapur – 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. if you visit this temple then also visit the yamai devi temple close by.
9.ย revansiddeshwar temple in solapur – there is a old shiva temple located in middle of solapur city.
10.ย kaneri math, in kolhapur –ย its a well known math known for trying to implement vision of mahatma gandhi – that is self sufficient village. there ia a temple dedicated to lord shiva. the first photo in this postย is also from kaneri math only.
11.ย kashi vishveshvar temple, in wai ย – wai is an ancient city in satara district and is also known as town of temples. the most famous temple in wai isย mahaganapati temple (dholya ganapati temple). ย kashi vishveshvar temple is situated right in front ofย mahaganapati temple.ย the large statue of ganapati is made from single black finished stone and from the same stone the nandi statue is made in kashi vishveshvar temple. the temple was build in 1762.
shiva temples in mumbai:
1. babulnath temple – this is one of the oldest temple in the city.ย shiva in the form of the lord of the babul tree is the main deity in this temple.
2.ย walkeshwar temple –ย also known as the baan ganga temple. as per the legend, lord rama before going to lanka stopped here. he made a shivalinga and worshipped the shivalinga for getting victory over demon king ravana.
3.ย kailasa temple, ellora –ย famous rock cut monument build in 8th century by the rashtrakuta king krishna I.ย the rock is cut in a such way that it gives a feeling of mount kailash, (the placeย where lord shiva resides in himalayas). the temple is carved out from one single rock.
there are total 34 caves in ellora – 12 buddhist, 17 hindus and 5 jain. but the most famous and largest cave temple is kailasa shiva temple. its also the world largest monolithic sculpture. it will take around one full day to visit all these caves. so if you are short of time then first visit this kailasa cave temple. the temple has carving showing scenes from ramayana, mahabharta and krishna stories. ellora caves is now UNESCO world heritage site and just 31 km from aurangabad. when you visit this temple then also visit grishneshwarย jyotirlinga and bhadra maruti temple. they are on same route.ย grishneshwar is just 1 km from kailasa temple.
4.ย elephanta cavesย in mumbai – network of sculptedย cave temples in elephantaย island situated around 10 km from mumbai. the caves can be reached by an approx. 1-hour boat ride from gateway of india. this is also aย UNESCO, world heritage site. there are buddhist as well as hindu cave temples. shiva cave temple is most famous one.
shiva temples in pune:
1.ย bhuleshwar temple, pune – its a 13th century temple devoted to lord shiva. in this temple, devotees offer pedas (milk based sweet) to shiva and some pedas get disappeared after some minutes. the temple is situatedย 45 kilometres from pune and 10km from pune solapur highway from yawat.
2. pataleshwar caves, pune – 8th century, ancient rock cut shiva temple situated right in middle of pune city. if you want to visit this temple then ask for jangli maharaj road. the temple is situated beside jungli maharaja temple. its an ancient and very silent place situated in middle of crowdedย area of shivaji nagar, pune. although the place is not very famous but a ASI protected site.
3. jejuri khandoba, pune – 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. mughal emperor aurangzeb wanted to demolish this temple. but the fury of khanodoba made him realized his mistake. the temple isย situated 48 km from pune. if you visit this temple then you can consider visiting most popular moreshwar temple, which is the most popular ashtavinayaka temple. distance between jejuri khandoba and ganpatiย moreshwar temple is 18km.
4.ย bhimashankarย jyotirlinga – one of the 12ย jyotirlinga temple.
rajendra r nikam says
jai shree khandoba jai shree jyotiba jai shree dattaguru