We visited Chafal on last Saturday. Chafal is a Village in Patan Taluka in Satara District of Maharashtra. It is said that the village got its name Chafal because of the temple named Chafeshwar Mahadev in the village. This place has a great importance in the life work of Samarth Ramdas. Samarth Ramdas built many temples of Maruti from Mahabaleshwar to Karad. Chafal's Maruti is one of the eleven Maruti.
History of Chafal -
Samarth built Chafal's Ram temple in 1569 with the help of his disciples and villagers. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj also made a donation for this Ram temple. According to the vision given by Prabhu Sriram, he took out the idol of Rama from Doha of Angpur, which is close to Chafal, and installed it in this temple. Rama of Panchavati thus came to the valley of the Krishna, and Chafal became the chief monastery of the Samartha sect. Chaphal has a Ram temple founded by Samarth Ramdas Swami and two Maruti temples. Das Maruti's temple here is in front of Shriram temple and Veer Maruti's temple is behind Shriram temple.
 |
| Shriram Mandir, Chafal |
We started our journey from Pune at 6:00 AM and reached Chafal at around 9:30 AM. The drive was smooth, with a breakfast halt at Hotel Sriram, Shirwal. After a refreshing meal, we continued towards Chafal through the beautiful countryside of Satara district.
This was my second visit to Chafal, the first being in 2008. Since it was an ordinary weekend, the temple premises were relatively peaceful. A group of women visiting the famous Eleven Maruti Temples was the only noticeable crowd.
Be cautious with bags, prasad, and personal belongings, as there are plenty of monkeys around the temple premises.
 |
| Veer Maruti |
 |
| Shriram Mandir |
This Shriram is standing with both hands folded. As there should be an idol of humble Hanumanta in front of Sri Rama, Samartha built a beautiful stone temple and installed Das Maruti in it. This idol is about 6 feet tall. This idol has a very humble expression on the face, eyes resting on the feet of Lord Sri Rama in front. Rama Navami and Hanuman Jayanti celebrated on grade scale.
Ram mandir Chafal temple timings -
Opens at - 5 am to 12:30 pm and 1.30 pm to 9.00 pm
Temple remain closed between 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm
During our visit, we learned that Khadicha Maruti at Shinganwadi is located barely ten minutes away from Chafal, so we decided to explore it as well. The drive was delightful.
The countryside was covered with greenery, agricultural fields, and rolling landscapes. To our surprise, we even spotted a few peacocks during the journey.
The temple itself is situated on a small hillock and offers a peaceful, almost secluded atmosphere. Unlike many crowded pilgrimage destinations, this place allows visitors to spend quiet moments in reflection and prayer.
 |
| Khadicha Maruti, Shinganwadi |
After visiting Khadicha Maruti, we stopped at the place traditionally associated with the first meeting between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Samarth Ramdas Swami.
For followers of Maratha history, this location carries immense symbolic significance, representing the meeting of spiritual wisdom and visionary leadership.
Our next destination was Talbid, a historic village near Karad. Talbid is renowned as the birthplace of Sarsenapati Hambirrao Mohite, who served as the third Commander-in-Chief of the Maratha Army during the reign of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Located approximately 3 km from the Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway after crossing Tasawade Toll Plaza, the village lies at the foothills of Vasantgad Fort. There are state transport as well as auto, jeeps to reach village.
 |
| Sarsenapati Hambirrao Mohite Samadhi, Talbid |
 |
| Canon |
We left for Pune around 1:00 PM and began our return journey towards Pune.
By then, hunger had certainly caught up with us, so we stopped at Hotel Sadguru Pure Veg, Wele for lunch. The restaurant turned out to be an excellent find. Food was very good, it is very clean and hygienic place may be because it was recently started restaurant. After a satisfying meal, we continued our drive and reached Pune at around 5:00 PM.
No comments:
Post a Comment