Padmalaya is a village in

Erandol Erandol is a town and a taluka in Jalgaon district in the Indian state of Maharashtra state. It is situated on the banks of the Anjani River. Folklore Erandol was known as "Ek Chakra Nagari" in the time of the Pandavas. Later, the town's nam ...

taluka of Jalgaon district, Maharashtra, India. It lies 10 km from Erandol and 31.5 km from the district headquarters of Jalgaon. The village is known for the

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 ...

temple. A pond is located near this temple.

Etymology

Padmalaya is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsSanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

. The name is derived from a large lotus pond that is believed to have existed adjacent to a local temple dedicated to

. A pond named ''Bhimkund'' located few kilometres south of this temple is also a tourist attraction.

Culture

Padmalay temple is a pilgrimage place. Anjani river flows around 1 km from Padmalaya. Padmalaya is among the two and half Ganapati ''peeths'' of India. The temple is also revered as among half Ganapati ''peeths''. The temple has two Ganapati ''murtis'', both are '' Swayambhu'' murtis, One idol is known as Aamod and another one is known as Pramod. This stone temple is built in

Hemadpanthi Hemadpanti Sculpture (also spelled as Hemadpanthi) is an architectural style, named after its founder, the prime minister Hemadpant (1259-1274 CE) of the court of Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri. Architectural elements This building style was formed d ...

architectural style. The padukas of ''Shree Govind Maharaj'' are located in front of the temple. A huge bell weighing 440 kg is next to the padukas.

Legends

Legend states that Bhima had a battle with

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 when ...

Bakasura and killed him. After the fight Bhim was thirsty, so he slammed his feet on the ground to form a small pond. The pond, called

Bhimkund Bhimkund (also known as Neelkund) is a natural water tank and a holy place in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located near Bajna village in Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh. It is 77 km away from Chhatarpur by road in the Bundelkhand region ...

, and is near the temple. Per

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

, Pandavas used to bath in Bhimkund during their exile.

References

External links

* {{Hindu temples in Maharashtra Hindu temples in Maharashtra Tourist attractions in Jalgaon district Former populated places in India Tourist attractions in Maharashtra