Skip to main content

Toka Siddeshwar Mahadeva Temple: An Abode of Vishnu, Shiva and Devi


Toka(Newasa Taluk, Ahilyanagar district): The Siddeshwar Mahadeva Temple at Toka village in Newasa Taluk of Ahilyanagar(formerly Ahmednagar) district in Maharashtra state is unique from several considerations. It is an abode of Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti(Devi).


At the confluence of Pravara and Godavari: This pilgrimage centre is located in a picturesque region, on the Ahilyanagar-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar highway and at the confluence of Pravara and the mighty Godavari Rivers. Pravara joins Godavari at this point. The three independent temples are built with black basalt stone, and in typical Hemadpanti style of architecture. All the temples have intricately carved sculpture, showcasing instances of Ramayana, Mahabharat epics, Puranas, Surasundari, and Vyala-Sharabha.


Less frequented place: Rushikesh Maruti Adsure, a young friend of Mahatma Phule Krushi Vidyapeeth Rahuri, before taking us to this interesting place, drove to Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga, Bhadra Maruti temple, and Devgad Datta Mandir. On the way, he gave a vivid picture of the historical significance attached to this shrine. At the same time, he had also assured us that there will be hardly any people, no queue, no harassment from the pedlars, no one to pester you for a hurried darshan, nor any restrictions on taking photos. On reaching the venue, the experience was literally the same way, he had briefed!


Originally built by Rama: According to the local legend, the Shivling was originally installed by Lord Rama. However, the main temple is attributed to be built during the regime of Peshwas, and built by the King Vishnu Mahadeva Gadre in 1767. It is also a strange coincidence that there are three different temples of his names, like Vishnu, Mahadeva(Shiva), and Gadre. Goddess Durga is also known as Gadre Mata locally.


An abode of Vishnu and Shiva: Due to the rare combination of both traditions, the shrine is a pilgrimage centre for both, the Vaishnavaites, and the Shaivaites, apart from Goddess Durga, a manifestation of warrior form of Parvati. 


A simple Nagara-style shikhara: Earlier, one could find an board giving details about the background of the temple, before entering the temple. These days, even the board giving a description of the shrine has gone missing! According to the Devanagari inscription, the main temple resembles a simple Nagara-style shikhara with miniature garbhagriha, antarala, mandapa and mukhamandapa kakshasana.  



  • The Vi

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When Punjab Chief Minister's Son Was Paraded On Underwear

Year, 1959, Place Amritsar. Some Indian Army Officers & their wives went to the Railway Station to see off one of their colleagues. Some goons made lewd remarks against the women & tried to molest them. The Army Officers chased the goons who took shelter in a nearby Cinema Theatre. The matter was reported to Commanding Officer Col Jyothi Mohan Sen. On learning about the incident, the Col ordered the Cinema Hall to be surrounded by troops. All the goons were dragged out, the leader of the goons was so heady and drunk with power; he was none other than the son of Chief Minister of Punjab, Pratap Singh Kairon, a close associate of the then PM, Jawahar Lal Nehru. All the goons were stripped to their underwear, paraded in the streets of Amritsar & later interned in the Cantonment. The next day, the Chief Minister became furious & tried to release his son from Indian Army's incarceration. Do you know what happened? His vehicle was not allowed to go into the Cantonment a...
7 comments
Read more

Countries with Surplus Budgets

*By Dr. Devan A budget surplus is one of the clearest signals of fiscal discipline, economic prudence, and long-term stability in governance. While many nations run chronic deficits, there remain countries that stand apart, demonstrating to the world that living within one’s means is not only possible but advantageous. A budget surplus occurs when a government’s revenues exceed its expenditures over a fiscal period. This provides room for investment in infrastructure, health, education, and sovereign wealth funds, while also acting as a shield against future economic downturns. In this essay, I will explore which countries currently maintain budget surpluses, why they succeed in doing so, what structural characteristics enable this, and what lessons deficit-ridden nations may derive from their example. Defining the Budget Surplus A government raises money primarily through taxes, duties, royalties, and state-owned enterprise dividends. Against this revenue, it spends on public wages, d...
Post a Comment
Read more

World-renowned Cartoonist BG Gujjarappa says: My Best is Yet to Come

Many people are in the fond practice of complaining every now and then that they hardly get any time to pursue their passions. Maybe, they could be genuine in their own ways, but never ever in the case of the veteran artist, political cartoonist, caricaturist, children’s illustrator, and also into multimedia, Banagere Gangaiah Gujjarappa. Perhaps BG Gujjarappa or Gujjar as he is popularly well-known is a household name to readers of Newspapers, Tabloids, Periodicals, and a variety of books for several decades. Hemavathi connection: Sexagenarian BG Gujjarappa (03 June 1955), belongs to Doddabanagere village in the hitherto drought-prone Sira Taluk of Tumakuru district. Doddabanagere also happens to be the last village of Sira Taluk bordering Hemavathi village, an artist’s paradise in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. The Siddeshwara Temple is renowned for the four famous Shiva shrines as Lord Shiva appears in the human form, like in seated yoga posture, deep in meditation etc. q...
5 comments
Read more