Temple

Located in the town Vajreshwari, 75 km away from Mumbai, the Shree Vajreshwari Yogini Devi Mandir is a famous temple dedicated to the goddess Vajreshwari. Earlier the town was known as Vadvali and renamed to Vajreshwari in the honour of the presiding deity of the temple. The original temple of Vajreshwari was at Gunj, five miles (8 km) north of Vadavli and was moved to Vadvali after its destruction by the Portuguese. In 1739, Chimaji Appa - the younger brother and military commander of Peshwa Baji Rao I ordered his Subhedar Shankar Keshav Phadke to build the Vajreshwari temple in honour of the Goddess to celebrate his victory against Portuguese.

Legend

According to the legends, thousands of years ago, a demon named Kalikala or Kalikut or Kali troubled the people in the region of Vadvali and waged a war against the devas. Distressed by the demon, the gods and sages headed by Vashishta performed the TriChandi yagna to please the Goddess. An aahuti (offering of ghee in yagna) was not granted to Indra. Enraged by this, Indra hurled his Vajra at the yagna and the terrified gods and sages prayed to the Goddess to save them. The Goddess appeared in all her glory at the site and not only swallowed the Vajra but also killed the demons. Rama requested the Goddess to stay in the region of Vadvali and be known as Vajreshwari. Thus, the Vajreshwari temple was established in this region. According to another legend, Indra and other devas went to goddess Parvati and requested her to help them to kill the demon Kalikala. Goddess Parvati assured them that she would come to their aid at the right time and ordered them to fight with the demon. In the battle, Kalikala swallowed or broke all weapons thrown at him. Finally, Indra threw the Vajra at the demon, which Kalikala broke into pieces. From the Vajra emerged the Goddess, who destroyed the demon. The devas extolled her as Vajreshwari and built a temple for the Goddess.

Architecture

The Nagarkhana in the main entrance gate was built by the Gaikwads, Maratha dynasty of Baroda. The temple is also surrounded by a stone wall like a fort. The fifty two stone steps leading to the temple and the Deepamala (a tower of lights) in front of the temple were built by Nanasaheb Chandavadakar, a moneylender from Nashik. The main shrine has three sections: the main inner sanctum (Garbha graha), another sanctum, and a pillared mandapa (assembly hall). The Grabha-griha houses six idols. The sanctum outside the Garbhagriha has idols of Ganesha, Bhairava, Hanuman and local deities like Moraba devi.

Darsan Info

Morning 05:30 AM To 09:00 PM

Darsan Dresscode

Wear traditional dress code on festival days and avoid shorts for men

Famous Festival

Vasanti Navaratra, Ashwin-Kolagiri pournima, Deepavali, Shri Dattajayanti, Holi, Hanuman Jayanti

Culture

The Mumbai culture is a blend of traditional festivals, food, music and theaters. It is the busiest cosmopolitan city of India holding its age-old culture. Marathi is the official language of the people of Mumbai.

Temple Rituals

Temple Opening and First Aarti Time : Morning 05:30 AM
    Second Ritual / Aarti of Goddess : 11:15 AM
    Naivedya timings : 11:30 AM to 12:00 PM
    Evening Ritual (Paadha Pooja) : 07:00 PM
    Evening Aarti : 08:15 PM
    Final Ritual and Temple Closed : 09:00 PM

Kindly note, During festive season ritual timings may change as required.

Additional Info