Velneshwar

Velneshwar is a village on the Western Coast of

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, about 70 km from

Ratnagiri Ratnagiri (IAST:Ratnāgirī ; �ət̪n̪aːɡiɾiː is a port city on the Arabian Sea coast in Ratnagiri District in the southwestern part of Maharashtra, India. The district is a part of Konkan division of Maharashtra. The city is known for ...

. Velneshwar is reputed for its rock-free beach which facilitates the ease of swimming. There is an old

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

temple near Velneshwar which is frequently visited by pilgrims. The village follows

Smarta Tradition The ''Smarta'' tradition ( sa, स्मार्त), also called Smartism, is a movement in Hinduism that developed and expanded with the Puranas genre of literature. It reflects a synthesis of four philosophical strands, namely Mimamsa, A ...

and the people of the village worship Lord

Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...

, Lord

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

, Lord

Surya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...

and Goddess

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around co ...

. This village is considered to be the root of the

Gokhale Gokhale is an Indian surname found in the Chitpawan community native to the western state of Maharashtra. People * Anupama Gokhale, Indian chess player * Ashok B. Gokhale, Indian diplomat * Bapu Gokhale, Maratha general *Chandrakant Gokhale, Yester ...

, Raste (Gokhale), Gadgil, Govande, Savarkar, Tulpule, Velankar, Ghag families (now residing at Nayashi, Dahivali & some other villages in Ratnagiri district) and has their family shrine. Many people who had roots from this village were involved in India's struggle for freedom and have gone on to be one of the greatest individuals in the nation. {{commonscat Villages in Ratnagiri district Beaches of Maharashtra