BaneshwarBaneshwar
The word "Baneshwar" is coined with a very literal sense where "Ban" means Forest and Ishwar stands for God. So when the God resides within a forest, the place can be rightly named as Baneshwar. This name is given to the Baneshwar temple which is located in the midst of a dense green patch. The place looked appeared to be quite interesting and appealing when our college group was looking for a place to hang out and have a nice day out as it was our supposedly "last trip" of our "university days". None had any objection as it was just about 45 kms away from Pune. We all gathered at our main gate of University of Pune, and we moved ahead in one of our classmate's car towards the winding road of Baneshwar. That was our first visit to Baneshwar. The place called me again and again, and I visited two more times with my family and friends. In all the trips Baneshwar was equally inviting and attractive in its own special ways.
Legend
Baneshwar temple architecture is from the
medieval period
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
. The temple was constructed in 1749 by
Balaji Baji Rao
Balaji Baji Rao (8 December 1720 – 23 June 1761), often referred to as Nana Saheb I, was the 8th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. He was appointed as Peshwa in 1740 upon the death of his father, Peshwa Bajirao I.
During his tenure, the Chhatra ...
, son of Peshwa Bajirao I.The total cost of construction was 11,426
Rupees
Rupee (, ) is the common name for the currencies of
India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Afr ...
, 8
Aane, 6
Paise.
The temple hosts an important bell which was captured by Chimaji Appa after defeating the
Portuguese in the battle of Bassien in 1739.
The bell has the year 1683 and a
Cross
A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...
on it, which depicts that the bell belonged to a church and was transported as a token of victory. Same kind of 4 more Portuguese bells can be found at
Bhimashankar Temple
Bhimashankar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to ''Shiva'' situated in its eponymous village, Bhimashankar, in Pune district of Maharashtra. It is a key pilgrimage centre and contains one of the 12 ''Jyotirlingas''. The temple's Shiva lingam ...
, Omkareshwar temple- Pune, Shiva temple(
Menavali-Wai) and Ramling temple(Shirur) too.
Surroundings
Baneshwar is a conserve forest area and wildlife sanctuary where a variety of birds, flowers, plants can be seen. Baneshwar is worth visiting for jungle lovers and trekkers as well as for pilgrims.
This temple is very famous in Pune and people from all around come to visit this temple. The
Red-eared slider
The red-eared slider or red-eared terrapin (''Trachemys scripta elegans'') is a subspecies of the pond slider (''Trachemys scripta''), a semiaquatic turtle belonging to the Family (biology), family Emydidae. Native to the southern United States ...
and soft shell turtle can be seen in the holy pond in the temple.
There is a scenic waterfall behind the premises of the Mandir.
Transportation
Baneshwar is approximately 37 km from Pune and 200 km from Mumbai. From Pune Government
MSRTC
The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation abbreviated as (MSRTC, or simply ST), is the state-run bus service of Maharashtra, India, which serves routes to towns and cities within Maharashtra as well as to its adjoining states. It also of ...
buses are available at a regular frequency.
Visit period
The best time to visit is between August and February. Though any time of the year is good to visit, it is better to avoid visiting during summer. Similarly during monsoon unless one likes trekking, it is better to avoid. That leaves the best period to seven months between August and February.
References
Gallery
File:Baneshwar 11.JPG, Baneshwar Temple Entrance
File:Baneshwar Entrance.JPG, Baneshwar Temple Entrance
File:Baneshwar 12.JPG, Bell at Baneshwar Temple
File:Baneshwar Waterfall.jpg, Baneshwar Waterfall
File:Baneshwar 03.JPG, Baneshwar Temple
File:Baneshwar Jungle.jpg, Baneshwar Jungle around the temple
File:Baneshwar Garden.JPG, Baneshwar Garden
File:Baneshwar 08.JPG, Baneshwar Temple Entrance
External links
{{Hindu temples in Maharashtra
Shiva temples in Maharashtra
Hindu temples in Pune district
Hindu pilgrimage sites in India