Vajreshwari Temple
Vajreshwari Temple | |
---|---|
Shree Vajreshwari Yogini Devi Mandir | |
Thane | |
Deity | Vajreshwari |
Location | |
Location | Vajreshwari (town) |
State | Maharashtra |
Country | India |
Geographic coordinates | 19°29′12″N 73°1′33″E / 19.48667°N 73.02583°E |
Architecture | |
Creator | Chimaji Appa |
Completed | 1739 |
Temple(s) | 2 |
The Shree Vajreshwari Yogini Devi Mandir is a
Location
The town of Vajreshwari, on banks of the river Tansa, lies in Bhiwandi city, Thane district, Maharashtra, India It is 27.6 km away from the nearest station of Virar on the Western Railway line and 31 km from the nearest station of Khadavli on the Central Railway line. The temple is located near the post office of Vajreshwari town, on the Mandagiri hillock, which was formed out of a volcanic eruption and is surrounded by hills on all sides.
Legends
The
The primary deity of the temple, Vajreshwari (vajreśvari), also spelled Vajreshvari, also known as Vajrábái and Vajrayogini, is considered an incarnation of the goddess There are two legends about the goddess' origins, both associated with the Vajra.
A
Another legend in the Vajreshvari Mahatmya says that Indra and other devas went to goddess Parvati and requested her to help slay demon Kalikala. Goddess Parvati assured them that she would come to their aid at the right time, and ordered them to fight with the demon. In the battle, Kalikala swallowed or broke all weapons thrown at him. Finally, Indra threw the Vajra at the demon, which Kalikala broke into pieces. From the Vajra emerged the Goddess, who destroyed the demon. The devas extolled her as Vajreshwari and built her temple.[1]
The seventh canto of
This place is also called Nath Bhoomi, a land of Nathas.
History
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Hinduism |
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The original temple of Vajreshwari was at Gunj, five miles (8 km) north of Vadavli. It was moved to Vadvali after its destruction by the Portuguese.[2]
In 1739,
The Nagarkhana in the main entrance gate was built by the
Temple structure
The main gate entrance has a Nagarkhana or drum house, and is built similar to the Bassein Fort's entrance. The temple is also surrounded by a stone wall like a fort. Fifty-two stone steps are to be climbed to reach the main shrine. A golden tortoise is carved on one of the steps and worshipped as Kurma, the tortoise incarnation of Vishnu.
The main shrine has three sections: the main inner sanctum (
Smaller shrines on the temple premises are dedicated to Kapileshwar Mahadeva (
Temple festivals
The temple celebrates
A fair in honour of Goddess Vajreshwari is held on Amavasya (new moon day) in the month of Chaitra. The fair commences on the 14th day of the fortnight of the waning moon of the month with ceremonial worship of the Goddess. On Amavasya at night, lamps are worshipped. On the next day, the first day of the Hindu month
Other festivals the temple celebrates are Shiva worship in the Hindu month of Shravana; Kojagiri Poornima - full moon day of Hindu month Ashvin; Diwali (festival of lights); Holi (festival of colours); Datta Jayanti (birthday of the deity Datta); Hanuman Jayanti (birthday of the monkey god Hanuman) and Godhadebuwa Jayanti (birthday of the saint Godhadebuwa).
Administration
The temple is taken care of by the Shree Vajreshwari Yogini Devi Public Trust. The members of the Giri Gosavi sect are members of the trust and have been responsible for worship and maintenance of the shrine since its establishment in 1739.
Hot springs
There are around twenty-one
Other temples of the goddess Vajreshwari
- A small shrine at Gunj and Katai in Wada taluka, Maharashtra, where the original temple stood
- Vajreshwari Temple, Sati(first wife of Shiva, who was reborn as Parvati - Shiva's nominally second wife) fell
- Vajreshwari Temple, Ekrukhe Village, Shirdi, Maharashtra.
- Vajreshwari Temple, Chamba, Himachal Pradesh
- Vajreshwari Temple, Idar, Gujarat, which is located on Idar Mountain with full nature surroundings (by Dhruv Pandya
- Vajreshwari Temple, Solpur, Bidar district, Karnataka state.
References
- Website about the Vajreshwari temple
- Abhilash Gaur (2 November 2003). "River, springs and a green carpet welcome in Vajreshwari". The Tribune.
- "geocities.com". Archived from the original on 22 October 2009.
- "VAJRABAI OR VAJRESHVARI". Maharashtra State Gazateer. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f "VAJRABAI OR VAJRESHVARI". Thane District Gazetteer. 1982.
- Sir James MacNabb Campbell, Reginald Edward Enthoven. Published 1882, Govt. Central Press, p.105
- ^ Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency By Sir James MacNabb Campbell, Reginald Edward Enthoven. Published 1882, Govt. Central Press, p.373
External links
- [1] Vajreshwari temple Mumbai