Amba Devi Temple, Amaravati, Maharashtra

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Amba Devi Temple-Amaravati

Shri Amba Devi temple is situated at the heart of the city of Amaravati, Maharashtra, which is 155 km from Nagpur.  The presiding deity is Amba Devi (Goddess of Shakti). According to legends, it is believed that Shri Krishna married Rukmini after abducting her when she came to pray at the Amba Devi temple. Goddess Amba is popular amongst the devotees from Vidarbha.

The temple is dedicated to the main deity of the district “Goddess Amba”, who is another incarnation of Goddess Durga.  Amravati district is believed to have been named after the presiding deity, which translates as “The Eternal City” or “The City of The Immortals.”

Shri Amba Devi temple is so ancient that one cannot find even a single mention of it in the old gazetteers. The temple is held in great reverence by Hindus and people from different corners of not only Maharashtra, but the whole of India, who come all the way to Amravati to pay respects to the Goddess.

One of the major attractions of the temple is the Navratri festival, when the whole temple gets beautifully decorated.  People belonging to, even the neighboring cities flock to the festival during this time, to catch a glimpse of the Goddess.  During Navratris, a huge mela (fair) is organized on the grounds of the Ambadevi temple, in which the devotees participate with full enthusiasm. The nearby hotels provide a solution to the accommodation problem faced by the pilgrims.

There is a very interesting legend associated with the Amba Devi temple of Amaravati.  It goes that king Bhishma's daughter Rukmini fell in love with Lord Krishna, after hearing the tales of his courage. However, her brother Rukmiya, fixed her marriage with his friend, king Shishupal of Chedi.  It is said that Rukmini was kidnapped by the Lord Krishna, just a day before her marriage with Shishupal, when she came to visit the Ambadevi temple.

Varada Vinayak temple,Mahad Village ,Khalapur

Good morning.( 27th June 2017)

Varada Vinayak temple is located in Mahad Village
On NATIONAL HIGHWAY NO.4, NEAR MUMBAI PUNE EXPRESS HIGHWAY, KHALAPUR-410203

This is a famous Ganesha temple in India. A nandadeep or

lamp has been lit in this Hindu temple continuously since the 1892. It is one of the Ashtavinayak temples of the Hindu deity Ganesha.

The idol of this Indian temple, Varada Vinayak is supposed to have originated itself and was found in the adjoining lake in 1690 AD. The temple was built in 1725 AD by Subhedar Ramji Mahadev Biwalkar. The temple has a beautiful pond. The idol of this Hindu temple faces east. There is an oil lamp in this shrine which is said to be burning continuously since 1892. This temple also has the idols of Mushika, Navagraha Devtas and a Shivalinga. There are 4 elephant idols guarding the 4 sides of this Hindu temple. In this Ashta Vinayak temple, devotees can enter the Garbagriha and pay their homage and respects to the idol personally.

According to the temple legends,King Bhima of  Koudinyapur had no child. He and his wife met sage Vishwamitra when they went to the forest to do penance. Vishwamitra gave the king a mantra, Ekashar Gajana mantra to chant and thus his son and heir, prince Rukmaganda was born. Rukmaganda grew up into a beautiful young prince.

Once on a hunting trip, Rukmanganda stopped at the ashram of the  Rishi Vachaknavi. The Rishi's wife, Mukunda fell in love at the sight of the handsome prince and asked him to fulfill her desires. The virtuous prince flatly refused and left the ashram. Mukunda became lovesick. Sensing an opportunity, King Indra took the form of Rukmaganda and made love to her. Mukunda became pregnant and gave birth to a son Gritsamada.

When Gritsamada came to know about the truth of his birth, he cursed his mother to become an unattractive and thorny berry-bearing "Bhor" plant. Mukunda in turn cursed Gritsamada, that a cruel rakshas (demon) will be born to him. Suddenly they both heard a heavenly voice saying, "Gritsamada is the son of Indra", shocking them but too late to alter their respective curses. Mukunda was transformed into the Bhor plant. Gritsamada, ashamed and penitent, retreated to the Pushpak forest where he prayed to Lord Ganesha (Ganapati). Lord Ganesha was pleased by Gritsamada's penance and offered him a boon that he will have a son who would not be defeated by anybody other than Shiva. Gritsamada asked Ganesha to bless the forest, so that any devotees who pray here would be successful and urged Ganesha to stay there permanently . Gritsamada built a temple there and the Ganesha idol installed there is called Varadavinayaka. Today the forest is known as Bhadraka.