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Khandoba Temple, Jejuri

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Khandoba Temple
Khandoba Mandir of Jejuri
Religion
AffiliationHinduism
DistrictPune district
DeityKhandoba
Festivals
  • Chaitra purnima
  • Champashti cha utsav[1]
Ecclesiastical or organisational statusActive
Governing bodyShree Martand Dev Sansthan Temple Trust, Jejuri[2]
Location
LocationJejuri, Purandar taluka, Pune district, Maharashtra, India
StateMaharashtra
CountryIndia
Khandoba Temple, Jejuri is located in Maharashtra
Khandoba Temple, Jejuri
Khandoba Mandir in Maharashtra
Khandoba Temple, Jejuri is located in India
Khandoba Temple, Jejuri
Khandoba Temple, Jejuri (India)
Geographic coordinates18°16′20″N 74°09′37″E / 18.27222°N 74.16028°E / 18.27222; 74.16028
Architecture
StyleHemadpanthi[3]
FounderUnknown
Specifications
Temple(s)3
Monument(s)One
MaterialsStones and limestone
Elevation798 m (2,618 ft)
Website
https://www.khandoba.com

Khandoba temple of Jejuri is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Khandoba. It is located on a hill in the town of Jejuri, Maharashtra, India.[4][5] It is one of the most prominent Hindu pilgrimage places of Maharashtra.

Jejuri's Khandoba is a clan-deity of many herding (Dhangar), and farming families of the Maharashtra and Deccan region.[6]

History

The worship of Khandoba began in the 12th to 13th century. The Khandoba temple was rebuilt during the reign of the Peshwas.[7]

In 1737–1739, Chimaji Appa, brother of Peshwa Baji Rao I gifted Portuguese church bells from Vasai to the temple. He and his Maratha soldiers took the bells from Portuguese churches after defeating them in the Battle of Vasai (1737), as conquest memorabilia.[8]

Deity

Main article: Khandoba

The central deity Khandoba, also called Malhari-Martand, Mallukhana, and Khanderaya, is one of the most popular deities of Maharashtra.[9][10][11] Khandoba is regarded as a manifestation of the god Shiva.[6]

Khandoba is the Kuladevata (ancestral tutelary deity) of many peoples of Maharashtra.[12] The Dhangar tribe, herdsmen, shepherds, nomads, and farmers of Maharashtra worship Jejuri's Khandoba.[13]

Legends

According to legend, two rakshasa brothers Mani and Malla pleased the god Brahma with their austerities. By Brahma's boon, they became very powerful and started destruction on Earth, harassing people. Which then led God Shiva to arrive on earth in the avatar of Khandoba to destroy Mani and Malla. In a fierce battle, Khandoba killed one demon, and forgave the other when he promised to serve the common people.[3][10]

Jejuri village in foreground and Khandoba mandir on the hill in background at Jejuri during, somewhere between 1855 and 1862

Architecture

The temple is situated on a hill at an elevation of 718 m (2,356 ft).[citation needed] The temple can be approached by three flights of steps-the east, the west and the north. The northern steps lead to the main entrance of the temple.[14] The temple is accessed by climbing nearly 200 steps.[citation needed] The steps have around 18 arches, 350 Deep-stambha (lamp-pillars) and several shrines bordering it.[14] Around a third way up the steps split and rejoin 50 feet (15 m) higher. On one pathway going up, the pilgrims visit the shrine of Khandoba's minister, Hegadi Pradhan. The other pathway used by devotees going down has the temple of Banai, Khandoba's second wife.[14]

This temple looks like a hill fort,[6] and is known as Jejuri gad ( transl. Jejuri fort).[6] The eight-sided, 350 yards (320 m) round fort boundary with encloses a cloister courtyard, at the centre of which is the main temple shrine.[14]

In the courtyard, there is around brass-coated tortoise, 20 feet (6.1 m) in diameter.[14]

The temple is built in Hemadpanthi architecture style,[citation needed] consisting of an outer square hall and an inner sanctum. The sanctum includes a linga (an anionic symbol of Shiva), three pairs of Khandoba with his first wife Mhalsa.[14]

The temple also has a murti of Khandoba mounted on a horse in warrior form.[15] Khandoba is worshipped with turmeric, belfruit leaves, and by offering naivedhya made from onions and other vegetables.[13] The devotees offer flowers and turmeric to the deity.[3] Devotees throw turmeric in the air as an offering to the god; as a result of this the steps of the hill temple and premises have a yellow hue.[16]

It is 50 km (31 mi) from Pune.[17]

The temple is a Maharashtra state government protected site.[7]

Side view of this temple
Deepstambha at Khandoba Mandir, Jejuri.

Literature

  • Jejuri (poem) by Arun Kolatkar was based on this village and its deity.[18]
  • Peshwekalin Jejuricha Itihas (transl. History of Jejuri in Peshwa times) a book authored by Raj Memane about the history of Jejuri during Peshwa time.[19]

In media

See also

References

  1. ^ "सदानंदाचा उदो उदो.. लाखो गरीबांचा कैवारी खंडेराया का झाला एवढा लोकप्रिय? चंपाषष्ठीच्या निमित्ताने वाचा Special Report g". TV9 Marathi. December 9, 2021.
  2. ^ "New trustees appointed for Jejuri temple". punemirror.com. December 16, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "खंडोबा मंदिर का रहस्य, प्रचलित हैं कई हैरान करने वाली कहानियां". Amar Ujala.
  4. ^ Swami, V.N. (2020). Jilha Madhyawarti sahakari Bank online pariksha margadarshak [District middle co-op bank online examination guide] (in Marathi). Latur: Vidyabharti Publication.
  5. ^ "येळकोट येळकोट जय मल्हार! जेजुरी गडावर दररोज २० हजार भाविकांना मिळणार दर्शन". Lokmat. 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  6. ^ a b c d Devdutt Pattanaik (January 8, 2017). "Pilgrim nation: Jejuri: Shower of Turmeric". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  7. ^ a b "DNA SPECIAL: Centuries-old temples withered by vagaries of time to get new lease of life". DNA India. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  8. ^ "Why bells from Portuguese-era churches ring in temples across Maharashtra". Hindustan Times. 2018-12-22. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  9. ^ "Touch of tumeric". TheWeek. 2018-08-06. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  10. ^ a b "Champa Shashti today: All you need to know about this significant day". www.timesnownews.com. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  11. ^ "Jejuri Temple | Film Facilitation Office". ffo.gov.in. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  12. ^ "जेजुरी गडावर खंडोबाच्या दर्शनासाठी भाविकांची अलोट गर्दी; नियम व अटी बंधनकारक". Maharashtra Times (in Marathi). Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  13. ^ a b "Bhandara Festival: The Great Turmeric Festival Of Maharashtra You Must Know About". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  14. ^ a b c d e f "Jejuri". Maharashtra Gazetteer. 2006 [1885].
  15. ^ "यहां श्रद्धालु अपनी दांतों से उठाते हैं 42 किलो की तलवार, जानें मंदिर से जुड़ी 10 अनोखी बातें: Khandoba Temple in Pune is a boon for infertile parents". Patrika News (in Hindi). 2019-10-12. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  16. ^ Bhasin, Shivani (2017-09-02). "Yellow is the colour of inclusion". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  17. ^ "The Other India". The Indian Express. 2012-10-29. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  18. ^ Ramakrishnan, E. V. (1997). "Jejuri". In George, K. M. (ed.). Masterpieces of Indian Literature. Vol. 1. New Delhi: National Book Trust. pp. 228–230. ISBN 81-237-1978-7.
  19. ^ "Know the temple town of Jejuri during the reign of Peshwas". Hindustan Times. 2019-12-28. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  20. ^ "Pune: Sharad Pawar recalls how he cycled to Jejuri to watch Dilip Kumar shooting for Naya Daur". The Times of India. July 7, 2021.
  21. ^ "थायलंडमध्येही 'जय मल्हार'चा जयघोष". Maharashtra Times (in Marathi). Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  22. ^ "Actor's entry song shot at Jejuri". The Times of India. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
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