Ekvira (also spelled as Ekveera) is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

, regarded to be a form of the goddess

Renuka Renuka, also known as Yellamma, is a Hindu goddess worshipped predominantly in the South Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and western state of Maharashtra. She is also known as the mother of Parashurama ...

. She is the

kuladevi A kuladevatā (), also known as a kuladaivaṃ, is an ancestral tutelary deity in Hinduism and Jainism. Such a deity is often the object of one's devotion ('' bhakti''), and is coaxed to watch over one's clan (''kula''), gotra, family, and c ...

of the

Koli Koli may refer to: Places * Koli, Finland, a hill in Finland * Koli National Park, a national park in Finland * Koli, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Koli Airfield, a former airfield in the South Pacific Other uses * Koli peopl ...

people. Every year Kolis pay respect to Ekvira and celebrate the

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

Karla Caves The Karla Caves, Karli Caves, Karle Caves or Karla Cells, are a complex of ancient Buddhist Indian rock-cut caves at Karli near Lonavala, Maharashtra. It is just 10.9 Kilometers away from Lonavala. Other caves in the area are Bhaja Caves, Pat ...

Temple

The Ekvira Aai Mandir is a Hindu temple located near the

near

Lonavala Lonavala (ISO 15919, ISO: Loṇāvaḷā) is a hill station town and a Municipal Council in the Pune district, Maharashtra, India. It is about west of Pune and to the east of Mumbai. It is known for its production of the hard candy ''chikki'' a ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Here, the worship of the goddess Ekvira is carried on right next to the caves, once a center of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. The temple is a prime spot of worship for the

people. The temple-complex originally consisted of three similar shrines built in a row all facing west. Of these, the central and the southern shrines are preserved in full, and the rest of the structures are preserved only on plan. The maha-mandapa, varsha-mandapa and gopura are situated in front of these three shrines and these three shrines are surrounded by sixteen shrines of additional ''parivara devatas''. The devotees throng the temple on all occasions of

Navaratri Navaratri is an annual Hindu festival observed in the honour of the goddess Durga. It spans over nine nights (and ten days), first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and again in the month of Sharada. It is ob ...

and

Chaitra Chaitra (Hindi: चैत्र) is a month of the Hindu calendar. In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Cho ...

Navratra to worship and celebrate. It is believed that the goddess has magical powers. The temple is on a hill. One needs to ascend around 500 steps to reach the temple. It is surrounded by the Karla caves, which are now protected by the Archeological department. While the main deity is Ekvira, she is accompanied by a

murti In the Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' ( sa, मूर्ति, mūrti, ) is a devotional image such as a statue, or "idol" (a common and non-pejorative term in Indian English), of a deity or saint. In Hindu temples, it is a symbolic icon. Thus ...

of Jogeśvarī Devi. Goddess Ekvira Temple and karla Caves

References

External links

More info on the temple.
{{Hindu temples in Maharashtra Hindu temples in Maharashtra