Tirumala Tirupathi Venkateshwara Swamy

The Lord of Tirumala is the all-pervading Lord of the Universe.A large number of devotees-daily 30,000 on an average, visit the sacred shrine of Lord Venkateswara to pay their homage to Him.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams are in turn dedicated themselves to these devotees by providing facilities for darshan, accommodation as well as for sevas.The aim of the Devasthanams has always been to improve these facilities for making the pilgrimage a spiritual experience.

This site is a revised edition containing more detailed information about the accommodation, the sevas and festivals in Tirumala in which they can participate and general information about what to do and what not to do on the Holy Hills.

The host hopes this site will serve as a valuable guide to the pilgrims.

Significance: Tirupati/Tirumala is a pilgrimage center of great significance and is visited by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims throughout the year.Venkateswara, or Srinivasa or Balaji as the presiding deity Vishnu is known, is enshrined in this temple, located on a range of the Eastern Ghats, called the Seven Hills.It is an ancient temple and its glory has been sung by the saints of the yesteryears.

Said to be the richest temple in India, this temple is a vibrant cultural and philanthropic institution with a grand history spanning several centuries. It attracts pilgrims from all over the country and it is not unusual for pilgrims to stand in line for hours together to obtain a glimpse of the presiding deity for a few fleeting seconds.

TTD, or Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam manages the affairs of the temple, the well being of the pilgrims, the upkeep of the environs in and around the Tirumala hills and sponsors several undertakings that are religious, charitable, social and educational in nature.

References to Tiruvenkatam abound in early Tamil literature(Tolkappiam and Silappadikaram) . Explicit reference to the Lord of Tiruvenkatam is found in the works of the early Tamil Saint Poets Poigai Alwar, Bhuthathu Alwar and Pay Alwar as well as in the poems of the later Alwars. The great religious leader Ramanuja Acharya is said to have visited here in the 11th - 12th century AD.

References to Venkatachalam are also found in several of the Puranas. Tirumalai constitutes one of the 108 Sri Vaishnava Divya Desams - sacred shrines in the Sri Vaishnavite tradition. Krishna Deva Raya of the Vijayanagar Empire is said to have visited this temple 7 times. An image of his is also found in the temple. The Venkatesa Itihasa Mala and the Varaha Purana contain several legends connected with Tirumalai.

Location: Tirupati is a town in the Chittoor district of the Southern portion of Andhra Pradesh and is at a convenient train journey away from Chennai (formerly Madras) in Tamilnadu. Tirumalai, on the last of the seven Hills, is home to this temple and is connected by a well maintained and picturesque mountain road constructed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devastanam.

The Legend of Lord Ayyappan

King Rajasekara

The descendants of Pandya dynasty were living scattered in places like Valliyur, Tenkasi, Shengottah, Achankovil and Sivagiri and in parts of Travancore, where they were the ruling dynasty. The descendants of Pandya dynasty belonging to Chempazhanattu Kovil, living in Sivagiri were given the right to rule the country of Pandalam, by the King of Travancore eight hundreds years ago. King Rajasekara was the direct descendant of this dynasty.

King Rajasekara was a very talented, courageous and just ruler in all his dealings. People were living happily and prosperously during his regime. However, the king was very unhappy that he had no children and his subjects were also worried that he had no heir to inherit his kingdom. As per the wish of the queen, both of them prayed to Lord Shiva for blessing them with a child.

Lord Ayyappa

Lord Shiva, answered Rajasekara's prayer and ordered Dharmasastha to take the avathar of Ayyappan . Ayyappan took the form of a baby with a golden chain and bell around his neck and placed himself near the Pamba river.

(Dharmasastha born to Lord Shiva and Lord Mahavishnu who was in the disguis of Mohini to get back the Amrutham from the asuras and restore to the devas.)

King Rajasekara who was returning after hunting in the forest adjoining the banks of River Pampa, along with his men, heard a child crying from somewhere in th

e forest. Surprised, he went round and reached the banks of River Pampa. There he saw a beautiful and divine child (i.e. Ayyappa) kicking its legs and crying out, and was in a dilemma whether to take the child to the Palace or leave it there itself.

While the King was engrossed in his thoughts, a Sanyasi (Yogi) appeared before him and told the King that he need not be afraid of the child and take him to the Palace and that the child belonged to Kshatriya dynasty capable of mitigating all sufferings. The Sanyasi further stated that since the Child had a gold bell around his neck, his name be called "MANIKANDAN" and when the child completed twelve years, the King would know his divine history. After uttering these words, the Sanyasi disappeared.

The King of Pandalam was very joyous; he took the child to his Palace and briefed the Queen about the incident. The King and the Queen, having prayed to Lord Shiva, for a child, were very happy that they had been blessed with a child. The people also felt happy that a heir to inherit the Kingdom after the King, had been found.

The Diwan

However, the Diwan of the Kingdom who was thinking that he would be the next crown after Rajasekara was worried.

The Study period of Ayyappan

He was taught all martial arts and sastras and the Guru was surprised at his brilliance and agility and the extraordinary talents. The Guru came to the conclusion that he was not an ordinary child, but a divine power. After completing his education under the Guru, Manikandan approached the Guru to offer his Guru Dakshina.

When Manikandan went to his Guru for his blessings, the Guru told him that he already knew that he was a divine power and he was blessed for having been given an opportunity to have Manikandan as a student. The Guru further told Manikandan that he had one request to make and that was that his only son who was dumb should be given the ability to speak. Manikandan called the Guru's son and put his hands on his head and immediately there after the Guru's son began to speak. Manikandan requested the Guru not to reveal this to anyone and went to the Palace.

Birth

of RajaRajan

In the meanwhile, the Queen gave birth to a male child and the child was named RajaRajan.

Enthronement
King Rajasekara, impressed with the talents of Manikandan, decided to crown him, treating him as his eldest son. He ordered the Diwan to make arrangements for the same.

The Diwan's plot

The Diwan started devising plans to prevent Manikandan from being crowned to the throne and to annihilate him. He tried various methods including poisoning of food, but failed in all these. However, Manikandan's body bore an injury due to these and ordinary physicians could not cure it. Lastly, Lord Shiva disguising himself as a physician, treated Manikandan's injury and cured him.

Having failed in all his attempts to kill Manikandan, the Diwan approached the Queen and told her that as she had her own son, it was not correct to crown a person who came from the forest. He further told the Queen that since Arthasastra itself has justified any misdeed if it was

done to extract a good thing, he would suggest that the Queen should pretend as if suffering from severe headache and stomach pain and he would make the physician tell that only a tigress' milk should be brought to cure the Queen and since Manikandan would only go to the forest to bring the milk, he would be in danger from the wild animals and even if Manikandan returned without bringing the tigress' milk, the King's love for him would not be as before. The Queen, became a prey to the Diwan's plot and agreed to do what he told, so that her son could succeed the King to the throne.

The queen's sickness

The Queen, as told by the Diwan, cried out loudly that she was suffering from severe headache and stomach pain and the King, believing this, called the Diwan to bring in the best physicians to treat her. The Physician, brought by the Diwan examined the Queen and told the King that the Queen had been suffering from a dangerous disease and it could be cured only by applying Tigress' milk .The King sent several of his men to the forest for bringing this milk. The King understood that it was an impossible task and wanted his dear Queen to be cured at any cost and offered half of his Kingdom to anybody who br

ought the Milk.

Manikandan's persistence

Manikandan asked the King to let him go to the forest promising to bring the milk. However, the King told him that he was awaiting to be crowned to the throne that he was also not of age and hence refused to let him go. Manikandan told the King, in spite of his refusal, he had to go lest he would be cursed for not curing the Queen. Since the King persisted in his refusal Manikandan wanted the King to promise to do something he wanted. The King gave the promise and asked him what he wanted and immediately Manikandan asked the King to permit him to go to the Forest. The King felt disappointed that he had been tricked and with no other alternative permitted Manikandan to go to the forest.

The arrangements

King Rajasekara made arrangements to send a group of his loyal men along with Manikandan, which however was refused by Manikandan on the ground that the tigress might run away seeing the crowd of soldiers.
King Rajasekara sent along with Manikandan necessary foodstuffs and coconuts with three-eyes, in remembrance of Lord Shiva. The Panchabuthas, sent by Lord Shiva, accompanied Manikandan to Forest.

Visiting Devaloka and destroying Mahishi

However, on his way Manikandan, came to know the atrocities of Mahishi in the Devaloka, he went there and fought a battle with Mahishi. During the conflict, Manikandan threw Mahishi down to earth from devaloka and she fell on the banks of Azhutha River. Manikandan clashed with her at Azhutha river again. At the end, of the battle between Mahishi and Manikandan at Azhutha River banks, Manikandan climbed up on her chest and danced violently. The impact of his dance was felt on the Earth and Devloka and the Devas were afraid. Mahishi knowing that the divine power dancing on her body was none other than the son of Hari and Haran, prostrated before Manikandan and died.

(Mahishi- blessed by Lord Brahma that nobody , except the son created out of the union of Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Haran), would be able to kill her. She wanted to take revenge upon the devas who killed her brother)

Malikapurathu Amma

This dance was witnessed by Lord Shiva and Mahavishnu from a place called Kalakatti. (It is said that Leela, daughter of Kavalan, a Maharishi, due to her husband's curse,was born as daughter of Karamban, with a face of Mahishi and freed herself from the curse and obtained Moksha by the grace of Shri Dharmasastha, which is described in Sabarimala Temple as Malikapurathu Amma, by which name she has a temple there)

Comfort to the King Rajasekara

After killing Mahishi, Manikandan went to the forest for the tigress milk, when Lord Shiva appeared before him and told him that though he had done good for the Devas, still there was one main task and that was to give comfort to the King Rajasekar

a who was very concerned about him. Lord Shiva further told him that he could go to the Palace with Lord Devendran in the form of a tiger. With Manikandan on the tiger, all female devas in the disguise of a tigress and male Devas, as tigers started their journey to the Palace.

When Manikandan, with the tigers, approached the Palace, the people who ridiculed him when he started his journey to forest if he wanted a toy tigresses etc , really got panic seeing the violent bunch of animals and started running helter shelter.

Revealing of Manikandan's identity

Just then, the same Sanyasi who appeared before King Rajasekara when he picked up Manikandan at the forest as a baby, appeared again at the palace and told King Rajasekara the real identity of Manikandan.

Hearing this, the King stood in great surprise and silence. He saw Manikandan riding a tiger and people running away. Seeing the King, Manikandan descended from the Tiger and told him that since the tigresses were there, he could get the Queen cured with their milk. King Rajasekara, fell at his feet and asked to forgive him for whatever happened without his knowledge, and asked him to send back the tigers as the Queens ailment had been cured the moment Manikandan went to the forest. On that day Manikandan reached the age of twelve.

The temple

King Rajasekara told Manikandan that the Diwan was responsible for all these things and hence he should be punished. However, Manikandan told the king that he need not punish the Diwan and all had happened only through the will of God, and he told further that time had come for him to go to Devaloka since the task for which he took avatar himself on the Earth is completed and asked the King what boon he wanted from him and he was ready to give it as he was much pleased by his devotion.

Immediately, King Rajasekara told him that they wanted to raise a temple in his memory and suggest a suitable place for the temple. Manikandan aimed an arrow which fell at a place called Sabari, where in Sri Rama's era a Sanyasini called Sabari observed Dhavam. Lord Manikandan told the King to build the temple in that place and then he disappeared.

Foundation stone for the building the Sabarimala Shrine and the purpose

As per Saint Agasthya's advise, King Rajasekara laid the foundation stone for the building the Sabarimala Shrine.

Bhagwan Manikandan, had made it clear that he would grace only those devotees who offer Dharshan after performing Vritha for fortyone days keeping themselves isolated from family desires and tastes and leading a life like Brahmacharya, thinking of good things always, and that while coming for his darshan, they shall carry the holy irumudi on their heads, as the Bhagwan did when he went to the forest to fetch tigress milk, and bathed in River Pampa raising slogans of Saranam and climb the eighteen stairs.

The completion of the temple

As graced by the Bhagwan King Rajasekara completed building of the temple with eighteen steps to reach it. When the King was th

inking how to put Dharmasastha's figure in the temple for darshan to devotees, he recalled the words of the Bhagwan, the River Pampa was a holy river as River Ganga, Sabarimala was a holy place as Kasi. Dharmasastha sent Parasuraman to Sabarimala who carved the figure of Lord Ayyappa and installed it on the day of Makarasankranthi, the day on which the Makara Jothi appears.

Every year lakhs and lakhs of people throng to Sabarimala irrespective of caste or creed and adorn themselves with garlands and irumudis, chants slogans on Lord Ayyappa, bathe in holy river Pampa, climb up the eighteen steps and get the grace of Lord Ayyappa, the Dharmasastha.

Adorning the jewelleries on Ayyappan on the Makarasankranthi day

The Jewel Casket is carried on head from the ancestral residence of the royal family of Panthalam to the Shrine on that day. A Garuda, the Brahaman kite, follows this ornaments carrying procession, hovering about in the sky. After these ornaments are worn on the Lord the bird circles the temple in the sky three times and disappears. Excited by this sight the devotees begin to chant "Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa". A Star never seen before in the sky appears on the day of Makara Jothi day before the sighting of the Jyoti. A Jyoti is seen for a little time o n the hilltop showing the presence of Swamy Ayyappan gracing his devotees.

The Sannidhanam (The Temple)

The layout of the Ayyappa temple is believed to have originated from the specific instructions of the Lord himself, who wanted Malikappurathamma, on his left a few yards from Sannidhanam, and his trusted lieutenants Vavur and Kadutha to be positioned as his guards at the foot of the holy 18 steps. The pilgrims worship in this place also. This exemplifies the unique feature of the temple. The temple is open to all faiths. The divine qualities like equality, fraternity, tolerance, humanity etc.. are shining well in the pilgrims.

Ayyappa cult gives much importance for the secularism and com

munal harmony and has turn out to be a model for the whole world. Another significant aspect of the pilgrimage is that all the pilgrims whether rich or poor, learned or illiterate holding position or not master or servant are all equal before LORD AYYAPPA and all address each other as AYYAPPA.

The pilgrims on their sojourn to Sabarimala worship at Erumeli Sree Dharma Sastha Temple and conduct "Petta Thullal". They also worship in the mosque at Erumeli as a part of their pilgrimage.

According to legend, the temple of Sabarimala and the deity of Ayyappa have always been regarded as the Pandalam Raja's very own. So permission from the King has to be attained before proceeding to the temple. To make it easy for pilgrims to obtain the necessary permission, a representative of the king sits with all the royal insignia, on a raised platform at the base of the Neelimala Hill. The pilgrims offer a token amount (not necessary) to the royal representative, and receive vibhuti from him.

This marks the beginning of the steepest climb of the pilgrimage, the 3 km trek up the majestic Neelimala Hill, atop which sits Lord Ayyappa in all his glory. The pilgrims wind their way up the difficult trail in an unending stream, the hill reverberating with the constant chanting of thousands.

At the first sight of the Patinettampadi, the holy eighteen steps, a full throated cry goes up from the devotees, "Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa!" It is the realisation of a mission.

The shrine of Lord Ganapati: To the south-west of the main temple is the shrine of Lord Ganapati, known as Kannimula Ganapati. The special offering to this deity is Ganapati homan.

Homakunda: There used to be a large homakunda in front of the shrine, which burned constantly, fed by the coconut shells thrown by the devotees, after offering the ghee. As the coconut shells gets consumed by the fire, the sins of the devotees are believed to be cleansed. Due to the growing crowds in the temple, the homakunda has now been shifted to a location below the temple.

Bhasma Kulam: About a 100 metres away is the shrine of Malikappurathamma. En route to the shrine is the temple tank, Bhasma Kulam, in which hundreds of devotees take a holy bath in mem

ory of the tapaswini Sabari who entered a fire to end her mortal life. It is after her that the peak is named Sabarimala.On account of the number of people who bathe in the tank, the water is frequently drained out and refilled with fresh water.

Malikappurathamma: Situated on a small hillock, the Malikappurathamma temple houses the shrines of the Devi and Kaduthaswamy. Devotees also worship a trident and lamp here, and offer coconuts. The coconuts are not broken, however, but are just rolled on the ground .

To the left of this temple are the shrines of the snake god and goddess, Nagaraja and Nagayakshi. Here, tribals beat on drums, play stringed instruments and sing sarppa pattu to protect devotees and their progeny from the harmful effects of snakebites.

Shrines of Kaduthaswamy and Karuppaswamy: At the foot of the Patinettampadi are the two shrines of Kaduthaswamy and Karuppaswamy, who stand like dwarapalakas or guardians of the holy steps, to ensure that they are not polluted by thos

e who tread on them without fulfilling the rigid austerities required of them. They are also believed to protect the devotees from the evil spirits of the forests.

According to legend, Kadutha was a great warrior who helped the Pandalam king defeat the armies of Udayanan and other enemies. When the king came to Sabarimalai to reconstruct the temple, Kadutha came with him to protect him. Ultimately, he became so attached to Ayyappa that he decided to spend the rest of his days with his Lord.

Also near the Patinettampadi is the shrine of the Muslim Vavurswami. While there are several accounts of identity of Vavur, it is generally believed that he was a warrior who was defeated and subdued by Ayyappa, and later became a close associate. It is believed that Lord Ayyappa himself instructed the Pandalam king to build a mosque for Vavur at Erumeli and a shrine at Sabarimalai.

Renovations Done:

Golden 18 Steps: The original granite steps were badly damaged due to continuous breaking of coconuts on the steps by pilgrims climbing the steps. The Devasom Board with the approval of Lord Ayyappan through a devaprasanam, covered the steps with panchaloka. The work was completed by 15th November 1985. Later on these steps were covered with gold.

Ganesha Temple Yagya - Kanchipuram

This Ganesha temple is in the country outside Kanchipuram. It is rare that they would let anyone video the abishekam, so we are lucky to have permission to do this. The gopuram (tower) is nicely painted, although as you can see in the following photo, the Ganesha looks rather stern!

In the temple, the Ganesha sits back in the sanctum as is the style in Southern India. This photo was taken before the abishekam and you can see the garland of tulsi (basil) leaves around his neck.

In the foreground you can see the back of the Mushika; the small mouse that Ganesha rides on. The tradition is that the "vahana" or vehicle for each deity sits opposite the deity looking at him. In all temples, Ganesha has Mushika, Shiva has Nandi the bull, and Vishnu has Garuda the eagle.

During the abishekam, the murti is washed and bathed and offered his favorite fruits, flowers and foods. Afterwards the temple feels calm and smooth and energized. It is a very gentle yagya.

At the end of the event, the Ganesha is clothed in a fresh new dhoti and lots of new flower and tulsi garlands. Although the photo is a little out of focus, you can see where sandalwood paste has been applied with dots of dark red kumkum powder.

The three lines of gems on his forehead are called a tripundra and is associated with Shiva. The first line symbolizes relief from material life, the second symbolizes the relief from past karma, and the third symbolizes the desire for enlightenment.

The Rig Veda contains a mantra for Ganesha that is recited in all Ganesha pujas:

Om gananam twa ganapatigm havamahe
kavinka vina mupamas ravastamam
jyeshtharajam brahmanam brahmanaspata
anah srinvan nutibhih sidasadanam

OM shanti shanti shanti

We honor Ganapati, the protector of noble people, the best poet, the most honorable, the great ruler, and treasure of all knowledge. Oh Ganapati, listen to us and find a home in our heart. Peace, peace, peace.

Kanipakam Vinayakaswamy Temple

The Kanipakam Temple
Many visitors to this temple say that the this 11th century temple is truly a classical hindu temple as well as a tourist location that any tourist visit this part of the country can miss visiting. The Kanipakam Vinayak Temple has the swayam-bhu idol of Lord Vinayaka (Ganesh).

Some of the daily prayers offered at this temple are Suprabatham, Binduteerthaabishekham (4:30 AM to 5.45 AM), Paalabhishekam(7:30 AM to 8:00 AM), SankataHaraGanapati Vratham(9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon), Special Abhishekam(9:00 AM to 10:00 AM & 11:00 AM to 12:00 Noon)

The Pavalimpu Seva (Ekantha Seva) is conducted between 9:00 PM to 9:30 PM

The Annual Brahmotsavams Festival will be conducted for 21-days starting on the Hindu festival of Vinayaka Chavithi (or Ganesh Chaturthi) that generally falls in the months of August/September of every year. People from all parts of the state will be taking the darshan of Lord Ganesh during this festive season. Lord Ganesh will appear in a different avatar each day to his devotees. These include Gramotsavam, Hamsa Vahanam, Peacock Vahanam, Mooshika Vahanam, Shasha Vahanam, Vrishabha Vahanam, Gaja Vahanam, Rathotsavam(in which the Lord ascends a traditional Chariot), Thiru Kalyanam and Vadayathu Utsavam.

Sri Swayambhu Vasaradhi VinayakaSwamy

Vatapi Ganapati

The town of Tiruchenkaatankudi near Nannilam near Thanjavur in Tamilnadu is home to the Tevara Shivastalam Ganapateeswaram. It has been revered by the hymns of the Tamil Saivite Saints of the 1st millennium CE.

This temple also hosts an image of Vatapi Ganapati, an image of Ganapati brought back from Badami, the Chalukyan capital then known as Vatapi - by Sirutondar, a general of the then Pallava monarch (circa 7th century CE).

The famous kriti Vatapi Ganapatim Bhaje by the composer Mutthuswamy Deekshitar, in the Karnatic music idiom salutes this deity.

Lord Vatapi Ganapati

Legend has it that Ganapati worshipped Shiva here for the sin of having killed the demon Gajamukhasuran. The elephant faced demon Gajamukhasuran, who had received a boon of immortality (subject to certain caveats) from Shiva, caused untold suffering to humans from his self made capital at Matangapuram.

The elephant faced God Ganapati, vanquished the demon with his broken right tusk. The land here is believed to have turned red, thanks to the blood spilled by the demon, and hence the name Tiruchenkaattankudi in Tamil. Although the presiding deity here is Shiva, Ganapati receives the first place of honor.

Ganapati's worshipping Shiva is enacted in the form of a grand festival in the tamil month of Margazhi.

Temples of Lord Ganesha

The elephant head God Ganesh is known by various names like Ganapati, Ekadanta, Vinayaka, Heramba, etc. There are various temples dedicated to the god of wisdom across the country. Every auspicious ceremony has to start by invokong Lord Ganesha. The major temples dedicated to Ganapati are: Ashta Vinayak shrines, Siddhi Vinayak, Vatapi Ganapati, Pillayaarpati Ganapati etc.

This God of knowledge and the remover of obstacles is also the older son of Lord Shiva. Lord Ganesha is also called Vinayak ( knowledgeable ) or Vighneshwer (god to remove obstacles). He is worshipped, or at least remembered, in the beginning of any auspicious performance for blessings and auspiciousness. He has four hands, elephant's head and a big belly. His vehicle is a tiny mouse. In his hands he carries a rope (to carry devotees to the truth), an axe (to cut devotees' attachments), and a sweet dessert ball -laddoo- (to reward devotees for spiritual activity). His fourth hand's palm is always extended to bless people. A unique combination of his elephant-like head and a quick moving tiny mouse vehicle represents tremendous wisdom, intellegence, and presence of mind.

Siddhivinayaka Temple - Mumbai, Maharastra

Shree Siddhivinayak's temple is on a hill top facing north. The sanctum of the temple, which is fifteen feet high & ten feet broad was built by Ahilyabai Holkar. The swayambhu idol of Shree Siddhivinayaka is placed in a brass frame. Brass idols of Jay & Vijay are placed on both sides of Siddhivinayaka. In the sanctum itself there is a Shivapanchayatan & goddess Shivai's small temple. The hall of the temple was previously built by Baroda's landlord late Shri Mairal. It was broken in 1939 & was rebuilt by Ganesh's devotees in 1970. Nagarkhana on the main gate was built in memory of Shree Haripant Phadke. Legend has it Mahavishnu who was engaged in a serious battle against the demons Madhu and Kaitabha, was dismayed by his inability to bring the battle to a quick and decisive finish. Shiva advised him to propitate Ganesha. Upon doing so, Ganesha appeared on the battlefield, and his appearance strengthened Mahavishnu's resolve and abilities and enabled him to vanquish the demons with ease. Ganesha's appearance on the battlefield is marked by the Siddhivinayak shrine at Siddhatek, said to be capable of granting Siddhi. Mahavishnu is worshipped as the destroyer of the demons Madhu and Kaitabha at Tiruvallur near Chennai in Tamilnadu, and as the restorer of the Vedas from the same demons, at Indalur in Mayiladuturai near Thanjavur again in Tamilnadu, both these temples being over 1200 years old. Another Legend,It is said that, years ago there was a heap of ashes from this sacrificial fire. However, this place is now covered by water. The road leading to the main temple was built by the Peshwa's Senapati Haripant Phadke.