tulja bhavani temple in solapur is one of the four shakti peeth temples of maharashtra. tulja bhavani ma is family deity of many maharashtrian families as well as of royal families of maharashtra. she is known by various names as tulaja, turaja, tvarita, bhavani and amba.
shiva ji maharaj, founder of great maratha empire also used to come to this temple to take maa blessings. it is said that bhawani maa blessed him with a sword thats why shiva ji maharaj always used to win every war despite any amount of odds. bhavani maa gives courage and valour to face any difficulties.
the ‘swambhu’ (self manifested) black color granite statue of tulja bhavani ma is little above 3 feet in height and has eight arms. her four right arms are carrying trident, dagger, arrow and chakra. her four left arms are carrying shankh, bow, bowl and knot of hair on the head of demon mahishasur. she had killed the demon mahishasur. her right feet is placed over mahishasur body and left leg is on ground.
during certain days of year, devi ma is supposed to be asleep or resting. when i visited the devi ma just before navratri (oct 2014) then she was resting. in the inner sanctum, there is a beautiful bed on which devi ma rest and sleep. during the resting period, no pooja or rituals are done and the the idol is placed in reclining position and devotees can have darshan of the devi ma.
i was not aware that the statue is in reclining position, so it took me some time to recognize devi ma face. when i visited the devi ma after 10 days during navratri then devi ma statue was placed in the inner sanctum and her grace and energy was in full force. during last day of navratri night, we were allowed to take parikarma of devi ma bed (resting place). the energy around the bed was the purest satwic energy, i have ever experienced. fyi, when you see the devi ma statue in inner sanctum, then devi ma bed will be on your right side.
as you enter inside the temple, you will feel a subtle calmness and peace descending over you. friday and tuesday are important days for visiting ma temple. there is a big crowd of devotees during navratri, every full moon and no moon.
how to reach tulja bhavani temple in solapur:
1. the temple is situated around 45 km from solapur. buses run from here to tuljapur.
2. 270 km from pune
3. 300 km from hyderabad
4. 415 km from mumbai.
nearest airport are of pune and hyderabad. nearest railway station are tuljapur and osmanabad station (around 20-25 km away).
other places to visit in solapur:
1. ashram and samadhi of swami samarth maharaj (fourth incarnation of lord dattatreya). the samadhi is situated in akkalkot, around 40 km from solapur. the tulja bhavani temple and akkalkot swami samarth ashram are situated in opposite ends of city. approximate distance between them is 75 km.
2. revansiddeshwar temple – old shiva temple
3. siddheshwar temple – peaceful temple in middle of a lake.
4. pandharpur which is one of the most popular and important religious place of maharashtra. situated around 68 km from solapur
5. ganagpur, famous for lord dattatreya temple is around 106 km from solapur.
virtual tour of tulja bhavani temple in solapur:
tulja bhavani temple is build in a fort like structure. the steps leading to inner courtyard are very steep. elderly people might face problem climbing down the steps. they can hire palanquin at temple entrance for approx 400 rs. as you enter inside the temple, you will see a library and further down is the go mukh teerth. wash your hands and feet in this holy water. at this point, line usually slows down as some peopel try to fill the water bottles. in front of go mukh teerth is another closed place to take dip in holy water.
after gomukh teerth you will statue of lord ganesha and shivalinga. after going 50 feet further, there is one more security checkup and after that the inner temple courtyard begins. the above photo is of the inner temple courtyard.
this is the place where pooja and havan happens. just in front of this place there is a big sitting space… as lots of steps are build like we have in stadium. so you can sit there and have a very good view of temple.
temple courtyard.
close up temple view from right side. you can buy the ladoo prasad from here or at the entrance of darshan hall.
close up of temple view from left side. there are two darshan available. mukh darshan which is from a distance and dharma darshan which is a proper darshan. on crowded days, there is a big line for mukh darshan also.
on special days like navratri when there is a big crowd, it might take 2 to 5 hours to get dharma darshan. there is a very elaborate arrangement for the line of dharma darshan just like shirdi sai temple. there are lined barricades which go round and round and takes you to fourth floor from ground floor and then back to ground floor. after every few feets, there is sitting arrangement in the line. so that tired people can sit.
on normal days, it just takes 15-10 minutes to get darshan.
temple courtyard photo. there are 3-4 small temples build inside the temple courtyard.
as you do parikarma of temple then you will come across these temples.
yamai devi temple – first temple you will come across when you do parikarma. yamai devi main temple is in aundh, satara. she is kuldevi of manay maharashtrian families. another yamai devi temple is near lord jyotiba temple in kolhapur.
laxmi narsingh mandir in temple courtyard.
jejuri khandoba mandir. one of the famous temple devoted of ferocious form of lord shiva, situated close to pune.
there is one chintamani dagad (wish fulfilling stone) here. if you have any wish and wants to know its outcome. then place your palm over it. if the stone rotates to right then your wish will be fulfilled. if it rotates to left, then wish won’t be fulfilled. if it does not move, then it means it will take some time for the wish to be fulfilled.
as you complete the parikarma, you come across this shop managed by temple trust. here they sell the sarees which are offered to tulja bhavani ma by devotees and are worn by maa statue. these sarees are like maa prasad to devotees. the price of sarees is from rs 300 to rs 3000 or little more. they sell at 30 % discount but fixed rate. ladies can wear these sarees on auspicious days like diwali, karwa chauth, gudi padwa etc.
mostly there are maharashtrian and south indian sarees. navari maharashtrian sarees are 9 yard long, so check before you buy. i saw that maa sarees are sold in kolhapur mahalaxmi temple also, but during navratri only. but here, in this temple you can buy sarees on normal days also.
this was the decoration done to tulja bhavani temple during navratri (oct 2014). i visited the temple around 10 pm. most devotees had already left as the temple is outside the city. but the energy and vibration inside the temple was very strong as compared to normal days. as if, a big celebration had just happened. which was the case also as on dusshera/vijayadashmi, the biggest fair of the year happens and a big crowd of devotees come on this day. there were 200-250 police personnel guarding the place at various points.
note – another place which you might like to visit near by is ghar-shila (a big boulder). i read that on this rock lord rama, laxmana and bhavani ma sat for some time. i missed visiting this place as i came to know afterwards.