Ancient Palasnath Temple near Pune

Palasnath Temple is located in the backwater of Ujjani Dam, which is 120 km from Pune. Ujjani Dam is a dam built on Bhima River near Ujjani village of Madha Tehshil in Solapur district of Maharashtra.  The temple is submerged in Ujjani dam backwater and it can be visited only during summer or in case of heavy drought. 

Ancient Palasnath(Palasdeo) Temple

How to reach Palasnath Temple from Pune?

Drive through Solapur Highway - Cross Bhigwan - After a few kms, there is Palasdev village arch on left - Take a left in Village - Follow the road and park your vehicle. You may have to take a small boat ride to cross the backwater and Boats are available when the temple is accessible.

Drive through Solapur Highway - Cross Bhigwan - Cross Dalaj (both No. 1 and No. 2) -  Reach to Kalewadi No. 1 and take left  - drive through backwater towards temple. 

This route is preferred during May when there is no water  in the dam in this area. But before driving through this area please check if it is completely dry. 

The temple is dedicated to lord Shiva as Palasnath and it is situated near Palasdeo village. The temple has 1000-year-old history and its a masterpiece of architectural style. This ancient structure created in a Hemadpanthi style in 11th century, was built by Chalukya Kings.  The temple has beautiful stone carvings and temple structure is very similar to Kopeshwar temple at Khidrapur, Sangameshwar temple and Bhuleshwar temple near Pune.  

The temple is west facing and there is Lord Hanuman idol kept at the entrance of main temple (Garbhgruh - inner room where the idol is kept).

Lord Hanuman

Way to enter Mandap

Palasnath Temple

There is no Shivpindi(Shivlinga idol) in the temple, it was relocated in the village and new temple was built there during Ujjani Dam construction. 

Entrance of Garbhgruh

Garbhgruh

As per the pillar structure, temple was built under Yadav era. 

Pillar

Pillars

Carving on the pillar

You can see the beautiful carving on the walls.

Carving on the wall

Ceiling

Due to the water of the dam, the temple has been damaged a lot but still this temple in the water looks very attractive. If you look closely, you can see that the temple has been renovated during different times, during any of the renovation the 'Sharbh Shilp' sculpture made in limestone is placed there. 

The kalasa of the temple is also seen to have been renovated and newly built and so looks different than base temple. 

Sharbh Shilp

Kalas

Palasnath temple is known for its serene ambiance and intricate carvings. This temple is also mentioned in Dnyaneshwari, is a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita written by the Sant Dnyaneshwar in 1290. 

The backwaters of Ujjain Dam is also famous for bird watching, it is home to various migratory birds such as the Greater Flamingo, Eurasian Spoonbill, Bar Headed Goose, Collared Pratincole, and the Osprey, bird of prey. Bhigwan is also home to the many birds, one can find more than 230 species of birds here.

We took blessing of Siddhivinayak from Siddhetek village.  It is third Ganapati from Ashtavinayak. After darshan we had lunch at Siddhivinayk hotel, its a small shack in which they serve you maharatrian thali which includes Pithale, Bhakri, Batata Rassa, Thecha, Pickle and Dal Rice at Rs.150. Food was very tasty. There are many such hotel close to bank of Bhima river, and all of those nearly serve same menu.

We reached home around 5pm. 

Maharashtrian Veg Thali

A perfect weekend gateway for nature lovers - Baneshwar, Pune

Baneshwar is a temple of Shiva located in the village of Nasarapur about 35 km southwest of Pune. It is a pleasant and calm place amidst a jungle. The temple was constructed in 1749 by Balaji Baji Rao, son of Peshwa Bajirao I. Baneshwar was recently declared as a small bird sanctuary hosting a decent amount of rare birds with many Malabar grey hornbills seen. The place is a conserved forest area and wildlife sanctuary where a variety of birds, flowers, plants can be seen. Baneshwar is worth visiting for forest lovers and trekkers as well as for pilgrims.

I wanted to visit Baneshwar after seeing the photos of the waterfall, stream and greenery there and had been thinking of taking a short trip for the coming weekend. I decided to go on Saturday because Sunday is a bit crowded. 

We left from Pune at 7am in the morning as planned and reached Baneshwar around 8.30 am straight away. Due to the rain, the place was very green and the weather was very pleasant. Ample of parking space available in the dense shadow of tall trees. We entered the temple after washing our feet. There were a couple of shops for selling puja items and few eateries items too. But better to carry your food as there were very limited options available for snacks and no good hotel around. 

The idol of Baneshwar is very beautiful and the temple architecture is old –fashioned with lots of place available at surrounding for a pradakshina/walk.  The temple has Shivling, Hanuman temple, Ganapati Temple, Nandi the bull and the Laxmi temple. There is a huge bell hanging at the entrance, which has some history to it, that it was captured by Chimaji Appa after defeating Portuguese in the battle. In the temple, there was a holy pond in which few fishes and softshell turtles can be seen.  You can spend some quiet, silent relaxed time there.

Baneshwar Temple

After taking blessings from Lord Shiva we went to botanical garden there. The botanical garden in the temple premises that has bamboo groves, exotic trees and river beds. After wandering around the garden for a while, went to play slides near the parking where kids can play. Just behind the temple, dense trees make a pleasant forest to roam around and spend relaxed time there.  There was a scenic waterfall amidst a forest, there was not much water in the waterfall as we visited a little early.  You can enjoy that waterfall but be careful of the potholes which are naturally created there. Just be careful while playing in the water when it is fully flooded as it could be risky.

We walked around the whole area and enjoyed watching flora and fauna there and sat on the bench and chatted. Didn't want to come back from there but then remembered the lunch as we all were hungry. So left at 1 pm and had revel in South Indian cuisine at Vitthal Kamat and reached home at 4.30 pm.

Weekend trip to Pawna Dam, Pune

Pawna Dam is one of the explored spots around Pune. It’s an ideal getaway for a tranquil one-day outing. It is located about 60km from Pune and 15km from Kamshet.

Over the weekend we met our friends and after an hour of chat, we decided to go to Pawna Dam. The travellers were me, Kiran, Abhijit and Snehal and we went by bike.

After leaving around 10am from Pune we reached the destination in two hours, had only 1 pit stop for tea. We were amazed by seeing the great view amidst greenery and hills around the lake. The place is a very calm, divine and astounding natural landscape which you will love to explore. We played in the water for a while and watched the beautiful panorama around us. We took a boat ride and it was a lot of fun, a round to the lake is very thrilling, we clicked lots of photos.

Amazing view of Pawna Lake

You can also visit forts like Tung, Lohgad and Tikona from the place.

Tung Fort from Pawna Lake

Tung Fort 

There are many ducks you can see.

 

There are no trees or shade to protect you from the sun at the dam or surrounding area. Thus, it is advisable to avoid visiting in the hot summer. The best time to visit is the rainy season when the surrounding area will be covered in lush greenery and the lake will be full. When the water is released from the dam, the view will be breathtaking!

Watching the sunset on the horizon is certainly an exhilarating experience; I wanted to stay till evening but as we were decided to leave and left around 3pm. After having lunch at Bhajansing’s Dhaba, we reached home at 6.30pm.

It was a short, unplanned but cool trip due to the beautiful scenery at the place, our minds refreshed completely.