We have been to Bhimashankar, the sacred site of one of the four
‘Jyotirlings’ in Maharashtra, before, but for some reason this time it truly
felt enchanting. It was, perhaps, because we took a lesser trodden route and
the day breaking over the Northern Sahyadris added a magical quality to the
picture postcard beauty of the landscape.
We drove a distance of just over 120 km from Pune via Chakan,
over NH50, to Ghod over SH54. We happened to take a detour at Khed to Ghod, avoiding
the shorter route via Manchar. It proved to be a very lucky mistake because we
passed through a most scenic countryside resonating with the chirping of birds all
around and the best part was that we did not encounter any other vehicle till
we met up with road leading from Manchar. The extra 6 Kms made the trip a memorable one.
The River Bhima originates in this region (hence the name)
and ultimately merges with the Krishna river near Raichur.
The Temple is in the Nagara style of Architecture dating
back to the 13th century. The Shikhara as also the Sabhamandapam were
added by Nana Phadnavis in the 18th century. A huge bell dated 1727, which was brought and presented by Chimaji
Appa from the Vasai Fort after he won a
war against the Portugese was also installed by Nana Phadnavis in
front of the Shani Temple in a Hemadpanthi structure.
The old structure is built over a 'Swayambhu' ie self emanating (ie not manmade) Shivling called a Jyotirling. As mentioned earlier 4 of the 12 Jyotirlings are in the state of Maharashtra.
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| A nice breakfast place on the route |
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| India shaped lake! |
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| A Bay-backed Shrike sitting on the road! |
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| The Bay-backed Shrike on its more usual perch |
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| Teak wood trees |
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| No temple in India is bereft of these |
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| Shiva's favourite - Dhatura |
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| Pedas (sweetmeats to be offered to the God) being made |
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| Rajeev has discovered the shop-keepers personal coin collection!! unbelievable! |
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| The Bhimashankar Temple |
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| Shiva slaying Tripurassura |
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| The endearing god Hanuman |
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| The "Deep-Maal". One can only picture how beautiful it looks with little lamps on each of the upturned elephant tusks |
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| Communing with Nandi and his consort |
People whisper their petitions to Lord Shiva in Nandi the Bull's ear so that he can request Shiva to fulfill the wishes (Nandi is Shiva's ride). One lady was at it for a very long time till she caught me looking at her.
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| Hemadpanthi structure in front of the Shani (Saturn) temple |
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| Bell won by Chimaji Appa from Fort Vasai |
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| A sweet mangy dog - eating too much 'prasad' |
Bhimashankar is surrounded by a conserved forest area and a wildlife
sanctuary with some rare and threatened species of animals as also a variety of
birds, insects, flowers and plants. The rare red squirrel or “shekru” can be
seen in the deep forest. The Blue Mormon butterfly too can be seen here. On an
earlier trip we went into the forest upto the ‘Gupt Bhima’ where the
river appears to have cut little structures in the rock which look like shivlings. I saw
the Blue Mormon butterfly too on that trip but alas I could not take a picture.
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| Walk into the reserve forest |
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| Gupt Bhima |
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| Shivlings formed by the river |
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| This one looks manmade! |
On the way back the sun was overhead and nobody was looking forward to driving. The magic had gone a bit. So we took the same way back and stopped at the lake to dip our feet in the water.
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| Nisha in the lake - Sketchers shoes and all! |
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| flowers growing wild |
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| Dam on the River Bhima |
There are a number of legends attached to this temple. One such legend has
it that the demon called Tripurasura earned the gift of immortality from the ever so
magnanimous Shiva by virtue of his long penance. As is wont to happen,
Tripurasura became arrogant and destructive forgetting Shiva’s advice to use
his gift of immortality for the betterment of the people at large. Shiva was
called upon by people the demon was victimising to put an end to the Asura’s life. Shiva
requested his consort Parvati (Kamlaja Mata) to help him in this task and took
on the form of “Ardh-Narya-Nateshwar” or ‘Ardhnarishwar’ (ie the half female god) and slayed Tripusura
on Kartik Purnima also called “Tripurari Pornima” in these parts. Shiva was also assisted in this task by the Asura's wives Shakini and Dakini therefore this place is also called Dakini Bhimashankar.
ReplyDeleteRamchandra Lalingkar has commented on 29.10.13:
"As usual, nice photographs and elaborate description of your visit to Bhimashankar. The 'Deepshikhar' you are referring to is called 'Deep-maal' here in Maharashtra. It is beautiful scene when small lamps are lit, one each on each of the small pedestals surrounding the main high stone pillar, stood in front of a temple, especially Shiva temple. I have seen such beautiful Deep-maal(s), fully lit with lamps, during my childhood in Pune. There may be some temples in Pune even now who are displaying such a live decoration on 'Tripoori-Paurnima' day, around Diwali season."
Thank you so much for your very illustrative comment. The correction has now been incorporated in the Post.
ReplyDeleteA friend prodded me to watch OMG. I could kind of connect with all the sequences in the movie.Bhima Shankara yes May God Bless him. It is time we rethink what reality is. I agree life is a pilgrimage. But that was when we walked one thousand miles to have darshan of Vaishno Devi.Thus pilgrimage is a subset of the big set which we call life journey. Here are some pointers ----- don't burn the nonrenewable energy resources for finding God. Because God is everywhere he is right in your home. Sit quietly and hold the presence. Teach Algebra to the slum children of the person who cleans your home . Be a presence holder. Follow the teachings of the Great Sankarcharya who never used motorized transport walk to a holy spot but please please do conserve the fossil fuels
ReplyDeleteA still mind with no thought of going any where is what we need today.
We cannot shrug our shoulders and say Indirra Gandhi will take of the Problems facing India. Alas she is no more and we need to look within ourselves will any of my action escalate the Global warming.deny energy resources to the future generations! Put these questions to your still mind and you will know who I am because I am YOU!!!!
Dont dismiss this mail as Anti God.I have no illusions about me. I burn enormous amount of nonrenewable s every day but I want an answer to questions like where are the butterflies which was there years ago and I have not spotted a single honey bee this spring and fall. Forgive me please if I have trodden on sensitive toes
That was so wonderfully put! I concur. I now have to make long trips to forests to see dragonflies, butterflies and birds - for god of course one doesn't need to go anywhere. Thankyou.
ReplyDeleteGood post. Bhimashankar is religious place in Maharashtra and one of the famous Jyotirlings. The temple architecture is main attraction of tourist.
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing this post. Celebrated as Maharashtra's cultural capital, Pune houses a plethora of educational institutes, museums and hill forts. Besides being a cultural and educational hub, Pune has ample attractions to satiate most visitors. Explore all about Bhimashankar temple.
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