Jyotiba Temple ( mr, ज्योतिबा) is a holy site of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

near Wadi Ratnagiri in

Kolhapur district Kolhapur district (Marathi pronunciation: olʱaːpuɾ is a district in the Maharashtra state of India. The city of Kolhapur is its district headquarter. It is situated near Panchaganga river. It is bordered by the Sangli district to the Nor ...

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 ...

state in western

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 ...

. The deity of the temple is known by the same name. An annual fair takes place on the full moon night of the Hindu months of

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 ...

and

Vaishakha Vaisakha; hi, बैसाख, Baisākh; pa, ਵਿਸਾਖ/وساکھ , te, వైశాఖ, kn, ವೈಶಾಖ, Vaiśākha; ml, വൈശാഖം, Vaiśākham; mr, वैशाख, Vaiśākh; ta, வைகாசி, Vaikāci; ne, � ...

Location

Jyotiba temple is situated at a height of 3124 feet above sea level and is dedicated to Jyotiba. The temple is 18 km north-west of

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is kn ...

and around 55 km from

Sangli Sangli () is a city and the district headquarters of Sangli District in the state of Maharashtra, in western India. It is known as the Turmeric City of Maharashtra due to its production and trade of the spice. Sangli is situated on the banks ...

. According to the tradition, the original Kedareshwar temple was built by Navji Saya. In 1730,

Ranoji Shinde Ranoji Shinde the founder of the Scindia dynasty from maratha caste that produced outstanding Maratha military commanders during the 18th century. Later the Scindia served as vassals of the British from the northern Princely state of Gwalior. ...

built the present temple in its place. This shrine is 57 ft x 37 ft x 77 ft high including the spire. The second temple of Kedareshwar is 49 ft x 22 ft x 89 ft high. This shrine was constructed by Daulatrao Shinde in 1808. The third temple of ''Ramling'' is 13 ft x 13 ft x 40 ft high including its dome. This temple was constructed in circa 1780 by Malji Nilam Panhalkar. The interior of the temple is ancient. There are other few temples and Light-towers in the premises.

Mythology

DCP 0020 SVT trustee Mr Shankar Matkar visiting Mahalaxmi Temple, Kolhapur

Legend says Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva came together to incarnate as the deity Jyotiba who eventually destroyed the evil Ratnasura. Jyotiba helped Ambabai in her fight with the demons. He founded his kingdom on this mountain, and belongs to the

Nath Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.sampradaya ''Sampradaya'' ( sa, सम्प्रदाय; ), in Indian origin religions, namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, can be translated as 'tradition', 'spiritual lineage', 'sect', or 'religious system'. To ensure continuity and ...

. Lord Jyotiba destroyed Raktabhoja Rakshasa, and Ratnasura

Rakshasa Rakshasas ( sa, राक्षस, IAST: : Pali: ''rakkhaso'') lit. 'preservers' are a race of usually malevolent demigods prominently featured in Hindu mythology. According to the Brahmanda Purana, the rakshasas were created by Brahma whe ...

thus liberating the region from their tyranny. The idol of Lord Jyotiba is four-armed.

Festival

On Chaitra Poornima of Hindu calendar, a big fair is held, when lacs of devotees come with tall (Sasan) sticks. Shree kshretra padali, vihe, kolhapur chatrapati, himmat bahadur chavan, Gwalior shinde kival navajibaba are some sasankathis in this festival. Due to scattering of ‘Gulal’ by the devotees the entire temple complex appears pink and even the Jyotiba hill has turned pink, resulting in people referring to the temple as the Pink temple. Being Sunday is day dedicated to Jyotiba, there is always rush over there.

Nearby Cities

- 20 km *

- 55 km

Nearby Railway Stations

* Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Terminus, Kolhapur - 20 km *

Sangli railway station Sangli railway station serves the city of Sangli Sangli () is a city and the district headquarters of Sangli District in the state of Maharashtra, in western India. It is known as the Turmeric City of Maharashtra due to its production an ...

- 55 km

References

External links

Location in Wikimapia
{{Kolhapur district topics Tourist attractions in Kolhapur district Hindu temples in Maharashtra