| Temples & Legends Of
Maharastra |
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| Temples & Legends Of
India |
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TULJAPUR - BHAVANI |
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| As the date of
this verse is uncertain the reference may mean two things, either that the original old
image was removed from Tuljapur to Parghat before the atrocities of Afzal Khan or that a
new image was established as a. replica of the Bhavani of Tuljapur.The image might be new
or old, but the pith is ancient. There can be n-) doubt on that count. A brief perusal of the known historical records
show that the earliest reference to the goddess is from a copper plate grant of 1204 A.D
This plate refers to the goddess as Tukai, but the name of the kshetra is unmistakable
Tuljapur. The next known record comes from a small village named Kati in the Osmanabad
district itself. It is dated 1398 A.D. This inscription records the donations of some
presents by one Parashurama to the great Tulja-mata. There is a story in the Gurucharitra
relating to the life of Shri Nrisimha Sarasvati that a person had been staying at Tuljapur
to obtain relief from a malady, but the goddess appeared before him and directed him to
proceed to Ganagapur where he would be cured. Some scholars date the Gurucha ritra to the
early sixteenth century and Shri Nrisimha Sarasvati's lifetime to the first half of the
fifteenth century. This -reference shows that the kshetra of the goddess was even then
treated as a very important religious centre, Gunakriti, a Jaina author in his work
Dharmamrit (1592 A.D.) has discussed the good and bad tirths and kshetras. The good tirths
are, of course, those of the Jaina sect, various shrines of this or that tirthankaras. And
amongst those that are dubbed as Ikutirths' or evils centres are Pandbarpur, Tuljapur-the
two foremost kshetras of ]Hinduism. This is an obvious indication of the importance
enjoyed by the kshetras even then. |
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