Shukachari is a hill place located in the hill ranges known as Mahadev Hills between

Atpadi Atpadi is an administrative town of the Atpadi Taluka of Sangli District in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Atpadi is located north-east of Sangli District and shares borders with the adjacent Solapur and Satara Districts. The town has a ta ...

and

Khanapur Khanapur officially known as Khanapura is a panchayat town in Belagavi district, Karnataka, India. It is about 26 km from Belagavi. The town is governed by the Khanapur Municipal Council. Khanapur is the headquarters for Khanapur taluk. T ...

Sangli district Sangli district (Marathi pronunciation: aːŋɡli is a district of Maharashtra state in India. Sangli city is the district headquarters. It is bordered by Satara district, Solapur district to the North, Karnataka state to South-East, by Kolh ...

, Maharashtra, India. As per ''Puran'' this place is believed to be the place of the epic sage Shukamuni or

Shuka Shuka ( sa, शुक , also Shukadeva ) is a rishi (sage) in Hinduism. He is the son of the sage Vyasa and the main narrator of the scripture ''Bhagavata Purana''. Most of the ''Bhagavata Purana'' consists of Shuka reciting the story to the k ...

, son of Vyas. This is a very popular place in Atpadi taluka, people come from all the places of taluka as well as from outside. This is famous for Big Stones & Dark Forest as well as a water source in between mountains.

History

As per tradition, this place is where ancient epic sage,

vanished in stones, hence becoming his last resting place. The place where Shuka believed to be merged into stones is a cave. Around the cave a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is built. The place Shukachari is surrounded by Mahadeva Hills and dense forests. There is a continuous flow of underground water called Ganga - Holy Water from GoMukh which is called Jivant Zhara by faith and has a great significance in ancient Indian history. Shukachari is a resting place for Tapashcharya called Deep Meditation. The architecture of Shukachari temple suggest it was built in the 14 to 16th centuries probably in the

Chalukya The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...

period. Shukachari is situated at

Taluka in

Sangli Sangli () is a city and the district headquarters of Sangli District in the state of Maharashtra, in western India. It is known as the Turmeric City of Maharashtra due to its production and trade of the spice. Sangli is situated on the banks o ...

District. A historical place called
Banurgad
o
Bhupalgad fort
which is situated 3 km from "Shukachari" in "Khanapur taluka" of Sangli district. A tomb of Bahirji Naik (Shivaji's Chief of Intelligence, Indian spy, military commander and an efficient soldier, and notable Ramoshi-Berad in the army of

Shivaji Maharaj Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adilsh ...

in the time of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the ...

) is situated at Banurgad/Bhupalgad fort in Khanapur taluka of Sangli district.

Saints from Shukachari

* Taponidhi Narayanagiri Maharaj * Taponidhi Krishnagiri Maharaj (Locally called as Taponidhi Kisangiri Maharaj)

Ways to Reach Shukachari & Banurgad/Bhupalgad

One can reach Karad by road and by rail. From Karad one has to reach Vita via Karad-Vita road(Approximately 42 km). From Vita reach taluka city Khanapur (approximately 22 km). From Khanapur city reach Palashi (approximately 12 km). Take Banurgad road near Palashi and reach Shukachari(approximately 2.5 km) and Banurgad (approximately 4 km). Vehicles can go up to Mahadeva temple at Banurgad/Bhupalgad fort.

Villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
Situated Near Shukachari

At - Kusbawade, Post - Palashi, Taluka - Khanapur, Dist - Sangli, pincode - 415307 At - Tadachiwadi(Shukhnagar), Taluka - Khanapur, Dist - Sangli, pincode - 415307. At - Banurgad/Bhupalgad, Taluka - Khanapur, Dist - Sangli, pincode - 415307. At - Palashi, Taluka - Khanapur, Dist - Sangli, pincode - 415307.

Location

Its location is the border of

Solapur Solapur () is a city located in the south-western region of the Indian state of Maharashtra, close to its border with Karnataka. Solapur is located on major highway, rail routes between Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad, with a branch lin ...

and

districts. This place is well connected by road from

, Vita, Maharashtra.

Festival