KOLHAPUR - MAHALAKSHMI

There is the marble image of Ganesh known as Siddhi vinayak; then come the Navgrahs, Surya, Mahisha surmardini, Vitthal-Rakhmai, Radha- Krishna, Rama-Lakshman-Sita, Shiva, Sheshashai Vishnu, Malhari Mhalsa, Muralidhara Krishna, Kalabhairav and Tutja bhavani. These guests are regularly worshipped by some priest of the other and the Karvir-Mahatmya, a composition of late date (18^th Century) has managed to bring all of ’them in some kind of relation with the legends regarding the chief deity- Mahalakshmi. In the same court yard is the Manikarnika kund. It is square on plan, flights of several steps lead down to the water from the north and south. On its bank is Vishveshvar Mahadev. A bath in this kund followed by the darshan’ of Vishveshvar and Mahalakshmi is the giver of great good ‘punya.’ During the Shiva or third ‘kalp’, while Shiva and Parvati were staying here, the goddess lost a kundal or earring. It was of pearls-mani. The ganas’ of Shiva searched for it and went on even to dig the earth to recover it. They found it deep in the earth. The goddess greatly pleased at this, turned the ditch into a tirth and named it ‘Manikarnika’ after her manikundal.

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