SHRI LOTESHWAR TEMPLE

SHRI LOTESHWAR TEMPLE
You must have seen temples of various designs, architecture, art & culture and located at various places. But a temple that you are going to read about now is a different one. it is located on a huge rock. The rock itself is located in a stream of water. What a marvel of the Nature !
The idol (i.e. Shankaraachee Pindee) is said to be naturally existing on the rock. The exact year in which this temple was built at this place is not known. The temple is located at the bottom of a valley. There are hills on three sides of the temple. From the fourth side, a stream of water approaches the temple. The stream originates from somewhere else. But the place appears like an opening of a cave. The rock, nearly 30 feet tall and 25 feet in diameter, is surrounded by water, for all 12 months of the year. In summer, the flow of water gets slowed down. But the hills on two sides remain ever green on account of forest. The third hill bears large plots of farms of the residents of the village Dugawe.
You can reach Dugawe village along Ratnagiri-Kurtade route. It is nearly 15 km away from Ratnagiri city. There is no direct bus service to this temple. We need to take a walk of about 15 minutes from the nearest bus-halt. From our Tonade village, we reach Dugawe within 45 minutes on foot. The local residents can reach there in less than 30 minutes, even after climbing up the steep, tiring up-hill footway.

Photo Courtesy : Guru Chaugule

Article Courtesy: Mr. Ajay Phalnikar

ajay_asp2000@yahoo.com

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DABHOL AND SHAHI MASJID (Anda Masjid)

The Dabhol port boasts of centuries old history. Dabhol was of great importance in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It used to be the principal port of South Konkan region, carrying on trade with ports in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. During 13th to 15th centuries this port was ruled by the Bahamani dynasty and was known as Mustafabad. Later on it was Hamjabad and then it was Dabhol.

You can find many religious places of Hindus and Muslims. There is a fine mosque called Shahi Masjid with dome and minarets standing close to the port which was built in Adilshah’s Regime. It is said that Adilshah’s Begum spent around 1.5 million rupees in Indian currency for the construction of this mosque. Shahi Masjid is an excellent example of Muslim architecture. Dabhol was previously very famous, but of late much ruined by the Wars, and decreased in trade.

Dabul was conquered by Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj around 1660 and annexed to the new Maratha kingdom. The erection of the Maratha fort of Anjanvel (Gopalgad)  right across the river eclipsed whatever role remained for Dabul, and the once-great port city simply evaporated and disappeared from the maps.

Attempts to locate the historic port have sometimes led historians to mistakenly identify historic Dabul with modern Dapoli, an interior town several miles north of Dabhol.

Sadly, Dabhol's name was revived in the 1990s in association with the notorious Dabhol Power Station erected near the site by the Enron Company.

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KARHATESHWAR

The tourist gets spellbound to see astonishing beauty of the nature surrounding Karhateshwar Devsthan. No one could anticipate how splendid the bounty of the nature would be there till he reaches the place. Karhateshwar Devsthan is situated in the village Nandiwade near the coastline 4 to 5 km from Jaigad. The temple is of wooden structure, built during the regime of Shilaharas. In the night, temple is closed for visitors. On the slopes of the hill by the side of seashore between the cuttings of the hill, water springs in small stream, throughout the year. This spring water is stored in two small tanks for bathing purpose. Even during winter the water is warm. One who takes bath gets fresh and energetic. Shri Narayanbhau Jog, a Ramdasi, has described the place in following words:

Ekantsthali Ha Suramya Vilase Name Karhateshwar  |

Paai Sagar Nitya Ha Vasatase Garjoniya Gambhir ||

The deity of Karhateshwar is installed at a beautiful lonely place, at whose feet the roaring sea is there for ever.

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WAGESHWAR TEMPLE (TONDAVALI)

WAGESHWAR TEMPLE (TONDAVALI)

This old Temple sits amidst of Tondavali which is 24 Kms away from Malvan. A Shivlingam located in a cave of a big rock. Lots of people come on each Monday to worship the Shivlingam. The legend behind this says that in old days Tondavali area was completely under the sea. When a sailor threw his net for fishing it got hooked up. Sailor could not pick up his net so he kept it and came on next day to search. He found a Shivalingam trapped in the net. After some years by the storage of sand, a belt of land was formed on the same location. The sailors built a Temple over the location with their own contribution. On the back side of Temple there was a bushy jungle with wild animals. People says that in old days tigers came in the Temple but never disturbed any mankind. So the Temple is known as Wagheshwar Temple. Just beside the Temple there is a big rock in which a cave of size 80 Sq ft is carved. Many tourists come in Tondavali to visit this religious & beautiful tourist spot.

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TONDAVALI BEACH

        
TONDAVALI  BEACH     

This is perhaps the true manifestation of an untouched beach. It had to hike almost a km from the road to get to the shore but it was totally worth the drain. When I first saw a glimpse of the shore from the end of the tree thickets, I could identify with a feeling of someone who discovers new land. Not a single soul here and the sand had just patterns of sea wind. Fine grains of soft white particles urged everyone to feel them without footwear. Cool waters splashing away you almost feel sorry no one watches this phenomenon abundantly.                                                                                                

                                                                                                         

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KUNKESHWAR TEMPLE

An ancient Shiva Temple is located in Kunkeshwar village, 14 Kms from Devgad town. A pristine beach with a very long stretch of seashore and white sand adds to the beauty of temple surroundings. This beautiful temple near beach has alluring architecture with reminiscent of South Indian style of temple architecture. Yadav Kings built this temple in 1100 A. D. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who rejuvenated this temple many times was a frequent visitor to this temple. This temple is also famous as Kashi of South Konkan. Every year a huge celebration takes place on the occasion of Mahashivratri, which keeps religious beliefs in constant sight of the multitudes. During the festival a large number of devotees throng this place with their families and friends. This vigilant Shiva deity bestows blessings on everyone who surrenders to its feet.

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KESHAVRAJ TEMPLE

 Shree Keshavraj Temple is located amidst lush green land, a perennial stream and rolling hills. You can park your car on the Asud Bag road and take a 15 minute trek through coconut, betel nut, mango and cashew trees to reach here. The natural spring originates at the hill top and flows down to the front of the temple supplying water to the stone carved cow mouth (Gomukh) throughout the year. The surroundings are calm and tranquil interrupted only by the harmonious chirping of birds.

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TAMBALDEG BEACH

Tambaldeg is one of small village of Sindhudurga District. This is famous for Beach. Long stretch of stunning white sand is an interesting feature of this virgin beach in Maharashtra. A temple is located at one end of the beach. The Occupation of the people in this village is fishing. Tambaldeg is surrounded by white sand.

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