Kol.Mahalaxmi, Audhumber, Narasobawadi Darshan

Audumbar is known for the shrine of Dattatraya held in high reverence. It is said to have been built in honour of Nar-sirhha Sarasvati who was a great saint and who is supposed to be the incarnation of Dattatraya. His greatness has been extolled in Guru Charitra written by Sarasvati Gangadhar. Narsimha was born of a poor Brahman couple, Madhava and Amba, in about 1304.

After his thread ceremony he left on a holy pilgrimage and on its completion came to Audumbar on the banks of the Krushna to engross himself secretly in religious mortification during the Caturmasa. At this time it so happened that a Brahman’s son who was dull−witted, overcome with shame at the remarks passed by the people in this regard, went to Bhuvanesvari temple on the opposite bank of the Krushna and prayed for three days and nights without taking any food. But the goddess remained unmoved by his severe penance upon which he cut off his tongue and laid it at Her feet. Taking pity the goddess advised him to go to Audumbar and pray Narsirhha. The boy taking the command went to Narsirhha and falling at his feet received the blessings of the sage. The identity of the saint having been known, thousands of people began to flock to the place for darshan.
At the end of Chaturmasa, when the sage prepared to leave, the people requested him to stay. He only left his padukas under audumbar tree over which a small shrine was erected by a devotee from Poona who also built a dharmashala.
The outer mandap is of very recent construction. The shrine is situated at a lovely spot on the banks of the Krushna and in turn commands a splendid view of the river. There is some striking scenery around. It is associated with the visits of Eknath Maharaj and Janardan Swami, the noted saints of Maharastra and that of Brahmanand Svami who came from the Girnar Mountain, built a math in 1826 and finally took his samadhi.
A splendid ghat has. Been constructed on the river by the temple−side. It was built by the disciples of Sahajanand Maharaj, a follower of Brahmanand Swami at the orders of their guru. So potent are supposed to be the divine powers of the deity that if persons possessed by spirits are kept in the premises for a few days they are completely cured. On the opposite bank is the shrine of Bhuvanesvari. The idol is of black flint-stone and is exquisitely sculptured. This place is overgrown with audumbar trees and hence the name.
Audumber with similar respect as that of other places of Lord Dattatreya like Ganagapur and Narsoba Wadi.

Overview Of The Temple
The Place Where Swamy Left His Padukas For His Devotees.
This is a glory of place where people are blessed by knowledge and are freed from their troubles. This place is 0vergrown with audumbar trees .
As per vision from Lord Dattatreya to Sage Bramhanand of Girnar, he discovered and renowned this divine holy place Audumber where Datta Avatar Nrusinha Saraswati performed Chaturmas Anushtan (Four holy months).
The identity of Nrusimha Saraswathi having been known, thousands of people began to flock to the place for darsan. At the end of Chaturmasa, when the sage prepared to leave, the people requested him to stay.
The outer mandap is of very recent construction. The shrine is situated at a lovely spot on the banks of the Krishna. Devotees can have darshan of Nijaroopa darshan of swamy padukas in the mandir in morning hours. Rudrabhisheka will be performed to padukas at about 7 to 8 a.m. and the padukas will be covered with alankara after abhisheka.
Original Padukas Of Oudumbar Kshetra

Padukas covered with silver kavacha
Paduka Darshan With Alankara In Main Temple
ACCOMODATION:

The Building bhakta nivas near the Temple provides accommodation to piligrims and Pujaris of the temple are also providing accommodation at their residence.

A View Of Bhakta Nivas
As the Audumbar place is very small village, many devotees are staying at Sangli city which is one hour journey to Oudumbar kshetra. AC and Non AC deluxe lodges and many hotels are also available at Sangli to have best stay.
A splendid ghat has been constructed on the river by the temple-side so that they can take a dip in the holy waters of the river Krishna..

Krishna Ghat Near To Temple
For the convenience of the piligrims to visit the other bank of the river
A small boat is also available which is called AVADHOOTA NAUKA.

Maa Bhuvaneswari devi Temple is situated on the other bank of Krishna river where a poor Brahmin boy was blessed. The story goes as follows in adhyaya 17 of Shree Gurucharitra.. . Narasimha was born in a poor Brahman couple, Madhava and Amba, in about 1304. Even After his thread ceremony he could not reciete any of his lessons and so faced a lot of insult from his elders and teachers.
So he left his home and came to Audumbar on the bank of the Krishna and prayed Maa Bhuvaneswari for three days and nights without taking any food.
But the goddess remained unmoved by his severe penance upon which he cut off his tongue and laid it at her feet. Taking pity the goddess advised him to go to Audumbar and pray Narsimha Saraswathy swamy. The boy taking the command and went to Sri guru and falling at his feet. He received the blessings of the Swamy and became a scholar. Blessings from Sree guru at Oudumbar kshetra

Narsobawadi This is located in Maharashtra. Shri Nrusinha Sarasvati lived here for twelve years. The confluence of the two rivers Krushna and Panchaganga occurs here. This is the place which inspired Tembeswami.

Nrusinhawadi commonly known as Narsobawadi or Narsobachi Wadi is a small town in Shirol Tahasil in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. Narsobawadi gets its name from the presence of ‘Shri Nrusinha Saraswati’, the Purna Avatar of Lord Dattatreya.
With much archaeological value, this became a major pilgrim spot for many Shri Dattatreya devotees. Also, there is a confluence of the two rivers Panchganga and Krishna.
Nrusinhawadi is famous for the Hindu temple of Shri Nrusinha Saraswati (Marathi: नृसिंह सरस्वती) (1378–1458) located on the banks of the river Krushna.
Shri Dattatreya in his Nrusinha Saraswati incarnation is believed to have lived here for as long as 12 years. (Ref. Shri Gurucharitra). The life story of Shri Nrusinha Saraswati, his philosophy and related stories are described in Shri Guru Charitra. There are no images or idols here which show his presence. But there are two padukas or slippers which immortalize his great avatar.
Temple’s Daily Schedule:
05.00 Kakad Aarti and Paduka Puja
08.00 to 12.00 Rudrabhishek
12.30 to 13.30 Maha Puja, Aarti
15.00 to 16.00 Pavamana Sookta Parayan
19.30 Dhoop Aarti
20.00 Palkhi
22.00 Shej Aarti
(after the Shej Aarti the temple is closed for devotees)
Vasudevanand Saraswati Maharaj, also known as Tembe Swami, a saint of recent times who is regarded as an incarnation of Dattatreya stayed here for 12 years. The room where Maharaj stayed is near the famous Datta temple which has the padukas of Dattatreya.
Festivals celebrated in Temple
1.Datta Jayanti
2.Narasimha Jayanti is celebrated in the Hindu calendar Pushya month
3.Gopal Kala Utsav is celebrated from Magha Poornima to Phalguna Panchami.
4.Sripada Srivallabha Jayanthi is celebrated in Badrapada Masa on Ganesha Chaturthi Day
5.Dakshin dwar Sohla in which Krishna river water flows from North gate to South gate through temple

Ambabai Temple (also known as Mahalaxmi Mandir) is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, who resides here as Supreme Mother Mahalakshmi and is worshipped by locals as Ambabai. Goddess Mahalakshmi is the consort of Lord Vishnu and it is customary among Hindus to visit Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, Kolhapur Mahalakshmi Temple and Padmavathi Temple as a yatra (pilgrimage). It is believed that visiting these temples as a pilgrimage helps achieve moksha (salvation).

Description

Shri Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur.
The temple of the goddess Mahalakshmi was built by Karnadeva in 634 CE Chalukya reign.Mounted on a stone platform, the murti of the crowned goddess is made of gemstone and weighs about 40 kilograms. The image of Mahalakshmi carved in black stone is 3 feet in height. The Shri Yantra is carved on one of the walls in the temple. A stone lion (the vahana of the goddess), stands behind the statue. The crown contains a five headed snake. Further, she holds a Matulinga fruit, mace, shield and a pānapātra (drinking bowl). In Lakshmi Sahasranama of Skanda Purana, Goddess Lakshmi is praised as “Om Karaveera Nivasiniye Namaha” means “Glory to the Goddess who lives in Karaveera” and as “Om Sesha Vasuki Samsevyaa Namaha” means “Glory to Goddess who is served by Adi Sesha and Vasuki”. They are the 119th and 698th names of Lakshmi in Lakshmi Sahasranama. This is also the description mentioned in the Rahasya of Devi Mahatmya.Professor Prabhakar Malshe says, “The name of Karaveera is still locally used to denote the city of Kolhapur”. Unlike most Hindu sacred images, which face north or east, the deity faces west (Pashchim). There is a small open window on the western wall, through which the light of the setting sun falls on the face of the image for three days around the 21st of each March and September.There are a number of other shrines in the courtyard to the Navagrahas, Surya, Mahishasuramardini, Vitthal-Rukmini, Shiva, Vishnu, Bhavani and others. Some of these images date back to the 11th century, while some are of recent origin. Also located in the courtyard is the temple tank “Manikarnika Kund”, on whose bank is another shrine to Visweshwar Mahadev.

History

The temple belongs architecturally to the Chalukya empire and was first built in the 7th century.The temple is referred to in multiple Puranas. There is evidence to show that the Konkan king Kamadeo, Chalukyas, Shilahara, Yadavas of Devagiri dynasties visited this city. Adi Shankaracharya also visited. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj ruled this area and they also visited the temple regularly.

The central icon of the goddess

In 109 CE, Karnadeo cut off the jungle and brought the temple to light. The existence goes back to the 8th century, according to Bhandarkar and Khare.[who?] Itihāsa Chakra indicates that the temple dates back to Mahājanapadā times. In the 8th century, the temple sank down due to an earthquake. In the 9th century, Gandavadix (King) extended the temple by building Mahakali Mandir. During 1178–1209, in the reign of Raja Jaysing and Sindhava, South gate and Atibaleshwar Temple were built. In 1218, Yadav king Tolum built Mahadwar and offered jewels to Devi. Further, Shilaharas built Maha Sarasvati Mandir. He being a Jain, got 64 idols carved. It is possible that a new idol called Padmavati was installed at that time.Historian Paul Dundas in his book The Jains mentions that Mahalaxmi temple Kolhapur was a Jain temple. Sheshashayee Vishnu which is an octagonal structure closer to the eastern gate has a panel of 60 Jain Tirthankaras carvings.Jains worshipped the idol in the temple as Padmalaya or the abode of Padma or Padmavati, an epithet of Goddess Lakshmi. Further, in Chalukya times, Ganapati before the temple was installed. In the 13th century, Shankaracharya built Nagar Khana and Office, Deepmalas.

Later during the time of Maratha Empire, the temple was repaired. Though many invasions over this part of India have caused some damages of the beautiful idols which are all around the temple.

During Mughal reign, the worshippers had hidden the idol for protection. During(Chhatrapati Sambhaji II’s Reign, Narhar Bhat Shastree had a dream by goddess Mahalakshmi informing him of her location, which he told to Chhatrapati.[citation needed]. Believing Sangavakar’s dream, Chhatrapati Sambhaji started a search. This idol was found in a house in Kapila Teertha Market in the city. According to Chhatrapati Sambhaji’s letter dated 8 November 1723, Sindhoji Hindurao Ghorpade of Panhala installed the idol again on 26 September 1712 (Monday, Ashwin Vijaya Dashami). The number of devotees grew, and in due course of time, the Devi became the Deity of Maharashtra. The deity began to denude due to Abhishekas. So the then Shankaracharya of Sankeshwar got it repaired. After Vajralep and sacrifices, it was again installed by Shahajee Raje of Kolhapur in 1954. There are 5 main temples and 7 Deepamalas now. Around are 35 temples of various sizes and 20 shops. There are 5 Hemad-style tops and a Garud Mandap. Sheshashayee Vishnu which is an octagonal structure closer to the eastern gate has a panel of 60 Jain Tirthankaras carvings.

Shri Yantra

The Shri Yantra is carved on one of the walls of the temple. Shri Yantra is entirely covered with glass and visible to devotees, offering Haldi, kumkum, and flowers.