| Temples & Legends Of
Maharastra |
|
 |
| Temples & Legends Of
India |
|
|
|
KHANDOBA - JEJURI |
|
|
| Martand ordered
Gritamari to attack him. Her attack was so ferocious that several of the assistants of the
daitya, and hundreds of his war elephants were killed and he lost one of his arms. Then
Martand himself charged. The duel was terrific both the contestants receiving numerous
wounds. Ultimately the daitya was brought down and then he like his brother begged that
his name and image be associated with that of the god, hence the name Malhari and the representations
of the heads ofMani and Malla on the pedestals of the Khandoba images. After the final
victory the rishis and sages requested Malhari to stay on the Jayadri mountain, that is
Jejuri. This he agreed to do in a ling form and is ever since seen and worshipped there.The other equally popular
shrine devoted to this god is at Pal in the Satara district. This place is a small village
on the river Tarala, a small tributary of the Krishna river. This river divides the place
in two parts, the one on the southern side is known as Pal and the one on the northern
side as Rajapur. The shrine is located in the Rajapur area. Pal is approached from two
places, Kashil and Atit, which are small villages on the Satara-Karad section of the
Poona-Bangalore national highway. The route from Atit is no better than a foot track or at
best a cart track and the distance is five miles. The one from Kashil which is nearer to
Karad, is better and although there is no regular bus service between Kashil and Pal,
during festival seasons the State Transport runs special buses between Kashil and Pal and
between Karad and Pat. The place is now void of all its former glory, but in the
eighteenth century various Maratha sardars had paid great attention to the shrine and its
surroundings. |
[ Back ] [ Up ] [ Next ] |
|
|
|
