Pakistan is a paradigm example of a failed state that has undergone an extremely dangerous form of radical Islamisation.
Temples of Maharashtra
Maharashtra is an ancient land with rich culture and traditions. This state
has many famous temples that are visited by innumerable devotees every year.
Maharashtra also owns two of the ancient rock cut temples dedicated to Lord
Shiva. These famous temples are the Elephanta Cave Temple and the Kailashanatha
Temple at Ellora.
Famous Lord Ganesha is the most respected and worshiped gods in Maharashtra.
There are eight shrines dedicated to him, which are located around Pune. These
shrines are collectively known as the Ashta Vinayak temples. The Mahalakshmi
temples at Kolhapur and Mumbai are also famous. The city of Nashik in
Maharashtra is a renowned Hindu pilgrimage center, where many famous temples are
located like the Kalaram Temple, Kapaleshwar temple, Muktidham Temple etc.
Elephanta Caves
The famous Elephanta Caves are major tourist attraction in this region. The
Elephanta island is located 10 km away from the Gateway of India at Mumbai.
There are rock cut temples in these caves dating back to the 5th century BC.
The island was named by Portuguese after the statue of an elephant near the
landing area of the island. The temples on this island are dedicated to Lord
Shiva Mahadeva. These temples are rich in sculptural content.
Kailash Temple
The Kailasha Temple is situated near the village of Ellora about 30-kms from
Aurangabad. This famous temple is famous for its amazing architecture. This is
the largest excavation out of 34 excavations at Ellora, which took almost a
century. The Kailash temple is carved out of one piece of rock. It is considered
as the world's largest monolithic structure and also the most extensive rock-cut
projects ever undertaken. This temple is the venue of Ellora festival organized
by MTDC in the month of December. The Ellora festival is a celebration of music
and dance and is attended by a large number of people.
Girijaatmaja Vinayak
This temple is situated on the beautiful Lekhan Hills, located along the
Kukdi River. These hills are situated on the Pune -Nashik highway about 150-km
from Pune. In Ganesh Puran (a festival) this place is called as Jirnapur or
Lekhan Parbat. The Girijaatmaja Vinayak is one of the Astha Vinayak shrines of
Maharashtra. This is the only Ashtavinayak temple to be situated on a mountain
and set in a Buddhist cave-temple. The Girijatmaj Vinayak refers to the Ganesh
as the son of Parvati. Girija is another name for Parvati and Atamaj means son.
Siddhivinayak Temple
Siddhi Vinayak temple is located at Prabhadevi in Mumbai, Maharashtra. This
famous temple is devoted to Ganesha, the elephant-headed God of Good Fortune.
The Siddhi Vinayak temple is one of the Ashtavinayak Temples and it dates back
to the 18th Century. The highlight of temple is the right side tilted trunk of
the elephant headed God, Ganesha, which is usually tilted towards the left.
Varadvinayak Temple
The Varadvinayak temple is located in the Mahad village of Raigarh district
in Maharastra. This temple is dedicated to Varadvinayk (Ganapati or Ganesha). It
is considered to be one of the Astha Vinayak shrines of Maharashtra. It is
believed that Ganesh as Varad Vinayak fulfills all desires of the devotees. This
region was known as Bhadrak or Madhak in ancient times. A unique feature of this
famous temple is a lamp that is burning constantly since 1892 AD. There is
Gomukh on the northern side of the temple. It is a visage of a cow from which
the holy water flows. There is also a holy pond on the west of the temple.
Mumbadevi Temple
Mumbadevi Temple is located at Bhuleshwar in Mumbai. The temple is devoted to
city's patron Goddess Mumbadevi and is almost 6 centuries old. She is regarded
as Mumbai's resident deity. The city of Mumbai is named after the Goddess
Mumbadevi because the Mumbadevi temple was once located on the site the present
Victoria Terminus in the central island which was called Mumbai.
Mahalakshmi Temple
The Mahalaxmi Temple is located at the northern foot of the Malabar Hill in
Mumbai. The temple is oldest temple in Mumbai dedicated to Mahakali, Mahalakshmi
and Mahasaraswati. The famous Mahalaksmi temple has many idols of Hindu gods
here and is visited by many devotees every year. One of the festivals celebrated
here is the Navaratri festival, when innumerable devotees throng the temple to
offer coconut, flowers and sweets to the goddesses.
Other Temples
Apart from these important temple, Maharashtra has many more famous temples,
present almost in every part of the state. Some of these temples are Balalji
Temple, Vrajeshwari Temple, Kapaleshwar Temple, Dattatreya temple, Muktidham
Temple, Jain Temple and the Fire Temple, etc.
