Holding the head of the slain Mahishasura and weapons in her outstretched eight hands, stands the imposing deity of Goddess Bhavani, the 'kuldevi' for the martial clans of Maharashtra. Her abode, Tulja Bhavani temple, built in 12th century is among the Shaktipeeths. It is the family deity of the Bhosale Royal family, the Yadavs and of many other families belonging to different castes. Chhatrapati Shivaji is said to have been an ardent devotee and always religiously visited  the temple. It is believed that the Goddess gifted him a sword - 'the Bhavani sword' , a blessing for his victory.

Location Maharashtra, Osmanabad, Mumbai

Legend

Many legends are associated with the origin of the Tulja Bhavani temple. The main legend mentions the story of sage Kardam's wife Anubuti, who after her husband's demise performed a penance at the banks of river Mandakini. While performing the worship, the demon Kukur tried to distract her. The Goddess came to the defence of Anubuti and vanquished the demon. From that day onwards, Goddess Bhavani came to be known as Tulja Bhavani.

Another legend states that troubled by the havoc caused by demon Matanga, the gods approached Goddess Bhavani for her help. She took the form of destroyer and killed the demon.

A third legend states that Goddess Bhavani slayed demon, Mahisha who was  disguised as a buffalo. She then took sanctuary on the Yamunachala hill where the temple is located today.

This temple is part of famous Sade Theen Shakthipeet Darshan Yatra.

Architecture

The main entrance of the shrine is named after Sardar Nimbalkar while the other two after the parents of Shivaji. At the Sardar Nimbalkar entrance, there is a temple dedicated to Markandeya Rishi. The main temple is reached after descending a series of stairs. There is 'yagna kund' (Holy Fire pit) in front of the temple. In the Gomukh Theerth on the right side and  Kallol Theerth on the left side, devotees can take a holy dip before entering the sanctum. A temple of Siddhivinayak and goddess Annapurna are also present in the main complex.The idol of Goddess Tulja Bhawani is believed to be 'swayambhu'(self-existing)

Pic courtesy: "Tuljabhavani Mandir Mahadwar (Main entrance gate)" by Anjali Sajan - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org

Culture

Tuljapur town and the temple is closely associated to the Bhonsale clan to which Chattrapati Shivaji belonged to and hence an important cultural location in the Maratha history. The town welcomes a huge number of people during the navratri festival, when the Tulja fair is also held.

Darsan Info

Tulja Bhavani Temple timings - 5.00 AM to 9:30 PM

Dharam darshan where you can go inside the Garbha griha takes a longer time compared to Mukh darshan where you see the idol from around 30 feet. Avoid people who ask money to give you quick darshan of the deity.

Darsan Dresscode

Devotees are advised to wear clean and conservative clothing while visiting Tulja Bhavani Temple. According to local beliefs, married women are supposed to enter the temple wearing green bangles.

Famous Festival

April - Gudi Padva (Mar/April)

October - Navrathri, Vijayadashami

Temple Rituals

Temple priests perform rituals like Puja, Abhishek, aarti etc at Tulja Bhavani. During every Aarti,  musical instruments such as tal, dimdi and zanj are played.

Special Rituals

Before the Puja starts, the large drums in the drum house (Nagarkhana) of Tulja Bhavani temple are played loudly. It is a call to prayers for the devotees.

Additional Info

 

Eateries near Tulja Bhavani -

Jagadhamaba devi veg restaurant

Hotel Samadhan

   

Supermarket : Available