The Laxmi Narsimha Temple ( mr, श्री लक्ष्मी नृसिंह देवस्थान) is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

temple dedicated to Lord Narasimha, an

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

, located in western

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

district of the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

of Maharashtra. The temple is located at the confluence of

Bhima river The Bhima River (also known as Chandrabhaga River) is a major river in Western India and South India. It flows southeast for through Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana states, before entering the Krishna River. After the first sixty-five k ...

and

Nira river Nira is a river flowing through the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is a tributary of the Bhima river and flows through Pune and Solapur districts of Maharashtra. Karha is a tributary of Nira. This river originates in western ghats in pune dis ...

, at the south eastern tip of

Pune district Pune district (Marathi pronunciation: uɳeː is the most populous district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The district's population was 9,429,408 in the 2011 census, making it the fourth most populous district amongst India's 640 district ...

, in

Indapur Indapur is a town and a municipal council in Pune district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Indapur is known for Jahagir of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's father and grandfather. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's grandfather Malojiraje died in ba ...

taluka. Shri Narsimha of

Nira Narsingpur Nira Narsingpur is a village in Indapur taluka of Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 mi ...

is the family deity of many people from Maharashtra the prominent ones being the families of the previous Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri

Devendra Fadnavis Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis (Marathi pronunciation: ��ेवेंद्र फडणवीस born 22 July 1970) is an Indian politician serving as the 9th and current Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra since 30 June 2022. He served as ...

, Vinchurkar family, Argade family and the Mitragotri family.

Architecture and history

The Temple is located at the ghat at confluence of Bhima river and

. The construction of the ghat was completed in 1527. The current structure of the temple was built in 1787 with the help of Sardar Vitthal Shivdev Dani at a cost of about £45,000 (Rs. 4,50,000). The temple has been built in

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later ...

architectural style in black stone. It took approximately twenty years for the completion of construction of the temple. There are three main doors facing towards East, North and West. The western door is fortified like Shaniwar Wada and has thirty three steps leading up to the temple. There are two murtis of Shri

Narasimha Narasimha ( sa, नरसिंह, lit=man-lion, ), sometimes rendered Narasingha, is the fourth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is regarded to have incarnated in the form of a part-lion, part-man being to slay Hiranyakashipu, to end rel ...

in the main temple, one is made of sand and the other of black stone. Original

murti In the Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' ( sa, मूर्ति, mūrti, ) is a devotional image such as a statue, or "idol" (a common and non-pejorative term in Indian English), of a deity or saint. In Hindu temples, it is a symbolic icon. T ...

was replaced by a duplicate one due to the fear of Aurangzeb. There is a big bell located near the west door. This bell was originally a church bell located at the Portuguese church of

Vasai Vasai (Konkani and Marathi pronunciation: �əsəi formerly and alternatively Mahratti; ''Bajipur'', English: Bassein; Portuguese: Baçaim), is a historical place and City near Mumbai (Bombay)'s western suburbs, located in Palghar district ...

. In the year 1739, Bajirao Peshwa's younger brother

Chimaji Appa Chimaji Balaji Bhat was born in a Chitpavan caste family in 1707 and died in 1740, commonly referred to as Appa or Bhau, was the son of Balaji Vishwanath Bhat and the younger brother of Bajirao Peshwa of Maratha Empire. He was an able military ...

captured

from the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the ...

and took the four church bells to

. One of the bells was brought to the temple by Diwan Sadashiv Mankeshwar who was the inamdar of Tembhurni village. There are several small temples located in the complex. They are of Shri Laxmi, Bhakt Prahlad,

Ganesh Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu ...

, Shri Dattatreya, Bhimashankar, Vitthal

Rukmini Rukmini ( sa, रुक्मिणी, , ) is a Hindu goddess and the first queen and chief wife of Krishna. In Vaishnava tradition, she is described as Krishna's principal queen in Dvaraka, as well as the chief of his wives. She is an in ...

, Raghavendra Tirtha, Shakambhari, Kashi Vishweshwar,

Bhairava Bhairava (Sanskrit: भैरव ) or Kala Bhairava is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshiped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva associated with annihilation. In Trika system ''Bhaira ...

and Rameshwar.

Festivals

Vaisakha Vaisakha; hi, बैसाख, Baisākh; pa, ਵਿਸਾਖ/وساکھ , te, వైశాఖ, kn, ವೈಶಾಖ, Vaiśākha; ml, വൈശാഖം, Vaiśākham; mr, वैशाख, Vaiśākh; ta, வைகாசி, Vaikāci; ne, � ...

Navratri is the biggest festival celebrated at the temple. The festival starts on the sixth day of the month of

and ends on fourteenth day which is

Jayanti. A procession of Shri Narasimha's

paduka ''Paduka'' is an ancient form of footwear in India, consisting of a sole with a post and knob which is positioned between the big and second toe. It has been historically worn in South Asia and Southeast Asia. ''Paduka'' exist in a variety of f ...

is taken out on the fifteenth day followed by

Dahi Handi Dahi Handi (also known as Gopal Kala or Utlotsavam) is an entertainment and competitive event associated with Krishna Janmashtami, the Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Krishna. During the event, which takes place during August or Septemb ...

on the next day. The festival is marked by Pravachan, Bhajan, Kirtan and Indian classical music concerts.

Similar Temples: Pimpalkhunte (पिंपळखुंटे)

References

{{Hindu temples in Maharashtra Narasimha temples Purana temples of Vishnu Hindu temples in Pune district