It has been long time that my family wanted to visit the Khandoba of Jejuri, Datta mandir of Narayangaon and the Balaji temple. I had been to Balaji temple last year and I was quite impressed by the cleanliness and the automosphere of the location. When I say balaji temple I mean the one which is near to Pune. With the help of google and few friends we chalked out the path so as to cover all these places in one go!
View Larger Map
We started at around 9:30 in the morning. Our first stop was at Balaji temple. This temple is developed and managed by Venkateshwara Hatcheries. It is located at a very scenic place. Everything is well managed and it is said to be the replica of the Balaji temple of Tirupati. I have not been there so I cannot judge. We reached there at around 11am. After darshan we decided to have our lunch at the temple itself. It consisted of rice and sambhar and was very well prepared.
Then we started for the Narayangaon. It is famous for its Datta Mandir. The temple seems to be renovated and is right on the main road passing through the village. You have to be lucky to find the parking space by the road. There was no crowd on the day of our visit so we had good darshan of lord Datta. This is the first temple where I saw ek-mukhi Datta. The road to Narayanpur was very beautiful, more so since it had rained for a few days before our journey. All over there was greenery.
We did not spent much time at Narayangaon and proceeded to Jejuri. I had been to Jejuri long time back during my college days with my friends. Once a sleepy village is now a bustling small town. One can drive in the four wheeler right till the base of the temple. There are many private parking spaces available for some fee. I parked my car as near the temple's base as possible :-). One has to climb about 150 steps to reach the Kandoba's temple. On the way one can see the huge statue of Umaji Naik. This temple is actually a fort on which Shivaji Maharaj met Shaji Maharaj after a long time and at this place they worked on various war strategies against the Mugals.
Jejuri is also known for the deepmalas. There are more than 100 deepmalas on the way to the temple. These are made up of solid rock and were used in olden days to put in earthen lamps. For reasons not known to me at this temple the devotees diplay their devotion by throwing fine turmeric powder and pieces of cocunut and chanting "YelKot YelKot JaiMalhar". I do not know the reason or root of this traditioin. If you know about it, you are welcome to share it. Make sure that you do go up the stair case on the side of the temple. From top one can see the beautiful water bodies around the temple. This site is not to be missed!
After Khandoba's darshan we started on our way back to Pune. The return journey was through Hadapsar so though there was traffic the distance was less. Have you been to these places? What was your experience?
Posts
