Mahur
Encyclopedia
- Please see MahurMahurMahur or Mahurgad is a religious place in Maharashtra, India. Mahur is said to be the birth place of Hindu Goddess Renuka, mother of Lord Parshuram. The three and half Shakti Peethas of Maharashtra are Tuljapur enshrining Bhavani, Kolhapur enshrining Mahalakshmi, Mahur enshrining Mahamaya, and...
for other uses.
Mahur or Mahurgad is a religious place in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Mahur is said to be the birth place of Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
Goddess Renuka, mother of Lord Parshuram. The three and half Shakti Peethas
Shakti Peethas
The Shakti Pithas are places of worship consecrated to the goddess Shakti or Parvati or Sati or Durga, the female principal of Hinduism and the main deity of the Shakta sect...
of Maharashtra are Tuljapur
Tuljapur
Tuljapur is a city and a municipal council in Osmanabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative seat of Tuljapur taluka.The town is home to a famous temple, Tulja Bhavani Temple, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Bhavani...
enshrining Bhavani
Bhavani
Bhavani is a ferocious aspect of the Hindu goddess Parvati. Bhavani means "giver of life", the power of nature or the source of creative energy. In addition to her ferocious aspect, she is also known as Karunaswaroopini, "filled with mercy"....
, Kolhapur enshrining Mahalakshmi, Mahur
Mahur
Mahur or Mahurgad is a religious place in Maharashtra, India. Mahur is said to be the birth place of Hindu Goddess Renuka, mother of Lord Parshuram. The three and half Shakti Peethas of Maharashtra are Tuljapur enshrining Bhavani, Kolhapur enshrining Mahalakshmi, Mahur enshrining Mahamaya, and...
enshrining Mahamaya, and Renuka and Saptshringi enshrining Jagadamba. Other Shakti temples in the state are those at Ambe Jogai and Aundh.
There are many temples in Mahur like Anusaya Temple, Kalika Temple. The most important one is the temple of Renuka Devi, which has a special place in the Hindu mythology
Hindu mythology
Hindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...
. A big fair is held here every year on the occasion of Vijayadashami
Vijayadashami
Vijayadashami also known as Dasara, is one of the most important festivals celebrated in various forms, across India, Nepal and Bangladesh...
.
Mahur is also said to be birth place of God Dattatreya
Dattatreya
Dattatreya or Datta is a Hindu deity encompassing the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, collectively known as Trimurti. The name Dattatreya can be divided into two words - "Datta" and "Atreya" referring to the sage Atri, his physical father.Various Hindu sects worship him differently...
. Dattatreya was born to Goddess Anusaya. There is an ancient temple of Dattatreya
Dattatreya
Dattatreya or Datta is a Hindu deity encompassing the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, collectively known as Trimurti. The name Dattatreya can be divided into two words - "Datta" and "Atreya" referring to the sage Atri, his physical father.Various Hindu sects worship him differently...
. Every Year on Datta Pornima Thousands of people visit Mahur.
History
Mahur finds mention in the ancient, Devi Bhagawatam as Matripura, where it is mention as one of the famous pilgrimages, further in Devi Gita which the final and most important chapter of the text, it is mentioned as one the important places of ShaktiShakti
Shakti from Sanskrit shak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism. Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes...
worship, "Devi
Devi
Devī is the Sanskrit word for Goddess, used mostly in Hinduism, its related masculine term is deva. Devi is synonymous with Shakti, the female aspect of the divine, as conceptualized by the Shakta tradition of Hinduism. She is the female counterpart without whom the male aspect, which represents...
spoke:...I am now telling something out of My affection to My Bhaktas...Matripura in the Sahyadri mountain; here the Devi Renuka dwells..."...
And in respect of Muslims It is famous for the Dargah of Baba SonaPir, who is also konwn as Mohar-e-Rasool (Stamp of Prophet). In every 5th of the month a Urs has been conducted in Dargaah. Many people comes from different parts of country to celebrate this occasion.
Geography
All three important temples "Renuka Temple", "Dattatreya Temple" and "Anusaya Temple" are built on three mountain ranges. Mahur is surrounded by jungles rich with trees and wild life. You can see the teakwood trees everywhere. Peacocks, deerDeer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, black bears, panthers
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
are very common in the jungle.
On one of the mountains is the ancient "Mahurgad Fort" constructed in the 12th century. Mahur was one of important fort in ancient Berar
Berar Sultanate
-Berar in Ancient History:Subah Berar and Gondwana the Vidarbha region known as Gulshan-e-Berar in medieval period since Khilji dynasty to mughal period according Aine-Akbari and Alimgeer Namah report the berar is hole Fourteen sarkar...
history. Even it becomes separate province in 1478 during Bahmani Sultanate
Bahmani Sultanate
The Bahmani Sultanate was a Muslim state of the Deccan in southern India and one of the great medieval Indian kingdoms...
. It was a one of the Sarkar
Sarkar (country subdivision)
Sarkar is an historic administrative unit, used mostly in the Muslim states of the South Asia. It was a territorial division of a Suba or province. A Sarkar was further divided into territorial divisions for the administrative purpose which were called Mahallas or Parganas. The Mahallas or...
(then district) with 20 parganas (towns) in Berar Subah
Berar Subah
-Origin of name:According to the Ain-i-Akbari, the original name of Berar was Waradatat .-History:Before the Mughal occupation, Berar was part of the Nizam Shahi sultanate of Ahmadnagar. It was ceded to the emperor Akbar by Chand Bibi in 1596, unable to stand against the imperial forces led by...
(state) in Akbar's rule.
Attractions
The main attaractions in Mahur are:-Renuka Temple, Dattatreya
Dattatreya
Dattatreya or Datta is a Hindu deity encompassing the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, collectively known as Trimurti. The name Dattatreya can be divided into two words - "Datta" and "Atreya" referring to the sage Atri, his physical father.Various Hindu sects worship him differently...
Temple, Anusaya Temple, Devdeveshwar Temple, Parshuram Temple, Sarvatirtha, Matru-Tirtha,Bhanutirth, Hati darvaza,Bal samudra, Pandav Leni, Mahurgad Fort, Mahakali
Mahakali
Mahakali , literally translated as Great Kali, is a Hindu Goddess, considered to be the consort of Shiva the God of consciousness, and as the basis of Reality and existence...
Temple (In the fort), "Mahur Museum", Sonapir Dargah, Shaikh Farid Water fall, Palace of Raje Udaram. (Raje Udaram Deshmukh and later his brave wife RaiBagan(Royal Tigress) were the last rulers of Mahur.)
People who visit Mahur Also Visit "Unkeshwar" (50 km from Mahur; 15 km from Kinwat), which has natural sources of hot water. This sulphur rich water is supposed to have medicinal value.
Devdeveshwar Temple
Devdeveshwari mandir belongs to [Mahanbhav Panth], Basically called a Nidra sthan (sleeping place) of Jagat Guru Shree Dattatreya Prabhu, it is situated at elevated outskirt of mahur town, 2 km from mahur bus stand.
Daily Shree Dattatreya Prabhu will take nitya snan (daily bath) at meruwada talao (Tank) in Mahur, Bhiksha (the meal served to a sadhu or Indian Monk)at Kolhapur, Bhojan (Lunch) at Panchaleshwar and get back to sleep in Devdeveshwar mandir Mahur (Nidra sthan of God Dattatreya Prabhu) Jagat Guru Shree Dattatreya swami is a chiranjiv avtar (Immortal) so it is believed that even today Shree Dattatreya swami comes to sleep here.
Travel Facilities
There are Maharashtra state transport buses that go from Nanded, Kinwat or Pusad to Mahur. Kinwat and Nanded are on the rail network and trains from Mumbai make a stop here. There are also daily flights from Mumbai to Nanded.Nagpur also has bus and taxi transport going to Mahur.
External links
- Mahur, in Nanded MaharashtraMaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
Govt. Official website. - Mahur Fort The Official Website of MaharashtraMaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
Tourism. - Mahur map