Monday, January 30, 2012

The 'Holy Road Trip' 28' Jan 2012

The trip started at 8.30 With tea at Mohan's..

after fueling Up, we straight head towards Narayan Gaon, A straight 60 Kms Ride on NH-4 Pune -Satara Road. Crossing Nasrapur Phata, we reached a small Village and Just on the Left side we cruised through the Saswad road, leading to Ketkawle.


We parked out Bikes in a sufficiently Big Parking area and Head through Beautifully carved Marble 'Gopur' (Gate).We Joined the Darshan -rang (The Que) and after all the security measures, we entered the Garbhgrih. The standing Idol of Lord Balagi was royal and Beautiful.


The 'Upalaya' (Surrounding areas around main temple) has smal temples like Mahalaxmi, Padmawathi, Krishna Hanuman and Kuber Temple.





Also get to see the famous Aarthi- Dhoop- deep- Pujan. the temple was a real beauty, the carvings on the marbles were awesome.




One more Notable thing we enjoyed is the Maharashtriyan 'Pasaydan'
and 'Vitthal dhun' in 'Karnatic Music shailiy' the Music has a feel of Karnataka, But the wordings were Marathi, and It was a really awesome Combination.











Our Next destination was Narayan Pur, we took the 'Ketkawle-Saswad road'. Glimpses of Purandar made me think of Sambhaji Maharaj again.


We reached Narayanpur and visited Narayaneshwar temple. This is very ancient Shiva temple.

We also visited adjacent ‘Ek-mukhi (single faced) Datta’ mandir. The standing idol of Lord Datta is worth seeing.

and after driving Around 30 Kms from Narayanpur, and crossing Saswad, we reached Jejuri.


Lord Khandoba is one of the important Gods worshipped by Dhangar, the oldest tribes in Maharashtra. It is believed that Khandoba, is a god of Sakamabhakti i.e. it God who fulfils all the desires of his devotees. Jejuri is popular for its old Deep Mala.
Jejuri has also been a historically important place as Shivaaji met his father Shahaji here after a long period. The meeting is historically very important as both discussed the strategies against Mughals, here.

As the temple is on the hill, one has to climb almost 200 steps. But the climbing is not so tough and the wonderful view of Jejuri town is marvelous. One can easily see the view of Saswad and Dive Ghat if weather permits. One can enjoy number of ' Deep Mala ' ( Light Stands of Stones ) while climbing the hill. Jejuri is really popular for its old Deep Mala. The temple over the hill is pretty. Though a simple one, still looks beautiful. The temple can be divided into Mandap and Gabhara. The two bells and idols in the temple are good looking.

The idol of Khandoba in the temple is beautiful. Various weapons like Sword , Damaru and Paral are of historic remembrance. The competition of handling the sword on Dasera Day is very popular , as one has to lift the sword high for maximum time. The other idols of Khandoba , Mhalsa and Manimalla looks beautiful. Jejuri is historically an important place as Shivaji meet his father Shahaji here after a long period. The meeting is historically very important as both discussed the strategies against Mughals , here. At that period , Jejuri was one of the major hill forts in South region.




Khandoba is believed to be a kadak (fierce) deity, who causes troubles if not propitiated properly as per the family duties. Khandoba is worshipped with Turmeric (Bhandār), Bel fruit-leaves, onions and other vegetables. The deity is offered puran poli - a sweet or a simpler dish called bharit rodga of onion and brinjal.

Also Khandoba is also a figure of respect and worship to Muslims, and this affiliation is visible in the style of his temples. He is called Mallu or Ajmat Khan by Muslim devotees, and many times portrayed as being a Muslim himself in this context. The latter is believed to conferred upon by the Mughal invader king Aurangzeb, who was forced to flee from Jejuri by Khandoba's power. Some of these distinguishing Muslim features include his usual appearance as that of a Paṭhān on horseback, one of his wives being a Muslim, and that his horse-keeper is a Muslim in Jejuri.

Watch Video: Khandobanchi Jejuri.

The atmosphere was So vibrant here, The Sound of Dhol- tasha, and the Vibrant Yellow colour of Turmeric all over the place was a real treat to watch. 'Kandobacha Yelkot ' ' Jay Malhar ' are some of the popular terms here. One can find many sculptures in and nearby the Jejuri temple.

It was a different experience all together..


After Having Tea, we head towards Moregan (One of the Ashtavinayaka) temple, Situated around 40 Kms from Jejuri. The idol is believed to be "Swayambhu" as was found or not sculpted by human hands. Morgaon is at the distance of 64 kms from Pune. This is also known as Shri. Mayureshwar.

The temple was built in 14th century by Moraya Gosavi. According to the legend Ganpati took birth as Mayureshwar riding a peacock to kill Sindhu ( who was son of Chakrapani ) also had powerful by worshipping Surya and was attacking Gods and imprisoned them. This is the place where head of Sindhu fell.
It is believed that one Should start the "Ashtavinayak" yatra from Morgaon.

The temple is situated in a small town Moregaon, on the river shore. it was a cool and calm Environment, unlike the Jejuri.

we took the "Darshan" and head towards Pune, via Saswad and after crossing the Beautiful and scenic 'Dive ghat' we reached Katraj and again took the Satara Pune road, back Home!

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