Bhuleshwar temple is an ancient temple devoted to Lord Shiva in Malshiras, Maharashtra. It is about 55 km away from Pune. It is offbeat template built on the top of a small hillock. The temple is said to have been built around 1230 A.D. by the Yadava ruler King Krishnadevray.
Bhuleshwar has a mythological & historical significance. Originally, it was a fort which was called as 'Mangalgadh', may be build to keep a watch on things going on around.
There is clear evidence for the reconstruction of the temple in a later period. It is said that the Mughal rulers destroyed parts of the temple, and the Marathas rebuilt it in the 17th century.
Bhuleshwar Temple near Pune
This is my second visit to the temple, I visited it in June 2019. This time it was our sudden plan to visit the temple. We started our journey around 2pm from Pune and reached the destination around around 4pm.
We followed below route -
Pune - Hadapsar - Loni Kalbhor - Urali Kanchan - Yavat (Right turn to Bhuleshwar) - Bhuleshwar Temple
Entrance
Heavy Brass Bell at entrance
My eyes were shined after seeing the first glimpse of grand and magnificent structure of the temple.
Bhuleshwar Shiva Temple is known for its exotic architecture. It is rich with sculptures, carvings, & idols, there is intricate carvings on the walls and ceilings. Every sculpture in this exquisitely decorated monument tells a story.
Pillar
Black Basalt rock has been used for temple construction. The original temple vividly displays these temple sections with its own artistic features. It creates a calming ambience inside, even during the hot summers.
Entrance to the main temple
The Shivalinga is in the center of the sanctum sanctorum, guarded by the majestic Nandi Bull.
The temple also houses idols of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Vishnu. Bhuleshwar Temple has an idol of Ganesha, too, in female attire. It’s known as Ganeshwari, Lambodari or Ganeshyani.
Window
Carvings at Pradakshina Path
Bhuleshwar temple is one of the most beautiful temples in Maharashtra. You can visit Mayureshwar Wildlife Sanctuary which is 25km from Bhuleshwar, we missed it due to lack of time.
While returning we came from Saswad and reached home around 7.30pm.
It was Sunday
morning when I came to the balcony, and the weather was overcast which was so perfect
for travel. I quickly came inside and asked Kiran, shall we go somewhere? He
gave me a look like what's this now! But I managed to convince him, and we decided
to leave in an hour. I quickly searched for location and thought to drive
through Pabe Ghat as its near to Pune, we left home around 9am.
Pabe Ghat point is
35 km from Pune, it is situated near Panshet. We get beautiful view from the top which is surrounded by
mountains and greenery.
Panshet Dam seen from Ghat road
At Donaje Phata, once
you take right to follow road to Velhe village and drive few kms further you
can see amazing scenery & natural beauty. It’s perfectly green now. The
cloudy weather gives the perfect landscape and photography feel.
The road
unwinds through beautiful countryside with lush green scenery, paddy fields
and amazing landscapes.
ही वाट दूर जाते...सह्याद्रीच्या कुशीत ⛰️ ⛰️
Ghat road is very narrow,
the climb is very steep, so you need to ride a very carefully, but the route is
scenic, a lovely ride up the ghat and the climate is awesome in monsoon. Once
you reach at the top you can see the breathtaking view of mountains and near by
villages. It is surrounded by three forts - Sinhagad fort, Torna fort and
Rajgad fort. There is one point from where you can see these three forts at
single place.
After spending 30-40 minutes at the top, we descended and headed towards our return journey.
Pabe and all the
surrounding locations are excellent getaway spots for a weekend. A great treat
for photography.
Sinhagad Fort
The best place for
picnic, very calm and quiet. One can feel the melodious chirping of birds.
Take a moment to stop and listen to the birds singing today!!
Awesome location
with zero crowd to spend some quality time. Must visit during monsoon
season. It’s a good short drive option especially during monsoons.
My Travel Buddies
After eating Misal at Shivar Garden near Donaje Phata, we were back home around 2 pm.
Nilkantheshwar, a lord Shiva temple is on the hill between Khadakwasla and
Panshet dam. This temple was built by Sarje Mama. It is an ideal place to
experience nature and mythology.
Lord Shiva drinking poison (Halahala)
We were planning a day trip for Diwali holidays to nearby location and the
main purpose was to show Aaravya a new place and a small break from the
daily routine. To fulfill this purpose, we decided to go to Nilkantheshwar
on the day of Bhaubeej i.e. 6th November, we were accompanied by my
sister-in-law and her husband.
Travelers for trip
After starting our journey at 8.30 am we reached the destination at 10.00
am, distance traveled was around 45 km.
Please refer the below route as it shows another Nilkantheshwar temple
near Donje and you may mislead. Road is little narrow but good in
condition except few rough patches.
Route to Nilkantheshwar
As it was morning, the weather was very pleasant. I can imagine how
beautiful the scenery and nature would be in the rainy season. The temple
was located almost a km from parking and was a climb uphill. After 45 mins
of puffing we reached at the top of hill. You may get your fitness tested
here!! The road is very steep so you should wear shoes and carry napkin
and water bottles.
The view of the surroundings were simply wonderful, the shades of coloures
grey, brown, blue and green were awesome.
Way to Nilkantheshwar temple
We were tired of climbing and needed something cold to drink. An old lady
was selling lemonade and buttermilk, so we quickly satisfied ourselves
with a glass with buttermilk and lemonade. This was the only stall we saw
there. Though the climb was a bit laborious, we enjoyed it meticulously.
Once you enter the temple, you are greeted by a huge sleeping
Hanuman.
Sleeping Hanuman
After reaching the top we saw numerous statues from Indian mythology which
include statues from Ramayana, Mahabharat, Deshavatar etc. On the left
beyond the statues there is a valley below, and the view of
Panshet-Varasgaon dam from there is breath-taking which will stay in your
mind for a very long time.
Panshet-Varasgaon Dam view
You can easily spend 2 hours on the top seeing each and every statue and
trying to recollect the story behind the same. You have to walk little
long to see all those statues and are no roofs for many statues, there are
very few trees in the yard so no option to stay in the shade after walking
so keep an umbrella or avoid visiting the place in summer.
Draupadi Vasraharan
Pandavas, Shakuni and Duryodhana
Lakshamana cuts off the nose of Shurpanakha
The waking of Kumbhakarna
Bheem and Bakasur
Shri Gurudev Datta PC - Sachin Tambekar
After the darshan of Lord Shiva, we saw sabha mandap, idols and the
surrounding area, just as we were leaving, we smelled hot kanda bhajji and
our footsteps automatically turned to that only shack there. My son
Aaravya ate sabudana khichdi which was very soft and tastier than Kanda
bhaji. After having a cup of tea, we started to descend and reached our
vehicle within 25 mins.
There is a temple of Someshwar but as very tired so we did not go there
and headed straight towards Panshet Dam. On the way we had lunch at MTDC's
restaurant, meals were served within few minutes and taste was okay,
except bhakri…bhakri was not made properly.
Heroes at MTDC
After the lunch we went for boating in Panshet, enjoyed boating and a long
session of photography, we set off in 1 hour. On the way back to Pune, our
intention was to have quick stop at Khadakwasla, but seeing the crowd
there, we canceled the plan and reached home around 5.30 in the evening.
