Tulja bhavani temple at tuljapur, solapur – the temple is devoted to goddess bhavani. the temple is worshipped by many royal families of Maharashtra. even Shivaji Maharaj used to come to this temple and worship ma. it is believed that maa gave him a sword – ‘the Bhawani sword’ for success in his expeditions. no wonder, how adverse was the situation… shiva ji maharaj always used to win the battle. it seems he has the protection of bhavani ma who is worshipped by warriors as she gives courage to fight.
in this temple complex, the temple trust sells the maa sarees as prasad. these are those sarees which devotees offer to maa and the priest had put the sarees on maa idol. while doing parikrama you will see many small temples of yamai devi, jejuri khandoba and few more temples.
the temple is situated around 45 km from solapur in tuljapur in osmanabad district. swami samarth ashram is 40 km from solapur in akkalkot (opposite direction to bhavani ma temple). two more temple you should visit in solapur is siddheshwar temple and ravensiddheshwar temple. parli vaijnath jyotirlinga is around 178 km from solapur. so from solapur go to tulja bhavani temple, then proceed to visit nanded gurudwara and then proceed to renuka ma temple in mahur. if you take little diverion in between then you can visit parli vaijnath jyotirlinga.
Tulja Bhavani Temple (Marathi: श्री क्षेत्र तुळजा भवानी देवस्थान) is a Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Bhavani (goddess Parvati), also referred to as Durga and Sati. It is located in Tuljapur in Dharashiv district of Maharashtra, India, and is considered as one of the 51 Shakti Pithas. It is situated 45 km from Solapur. The temple was built in 12th century CE by Maratha Mahamandaleshwara Māradadeva of the Kadamb dynasty. The management and priestly rights of the temple are held by the Palikar Bhope clan, the descendants of Māradadeva. Goddess Tulja Bhavani is known by the names Tulaja, Turaja, Tvarita, Durga, Parvati, Tripura Sundari ,Bhagawati,Amba (Mother of the Vedas) and Jagadambaa (Mother of the Universe) in different regions.
Background
Tulja Bhavani is a form of goddess Parvati, who is worshipped in Maharashtra, Gujarat and also by people of Telangana, Northern Karnataka, and Nepal.[2] “Bhavani” literally translates to “giver of life”, meaning the power of nature or the source of creative energy. She is considered to be a mother who provides to her devotees and also plays the role of dispensing justice by killing Asuras.[citation needed]
Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha kingdom, was reputed to frequently visit this temple to seek blessings.[citation needed] The history of the temple dates back to the days of ‘ Skanda Purana ‘ as it finds a mention in that holy script. According to the epic story, there was a sage “Kardam” and his consort “Anubhuthi’ with an infant, in this area. After his death his wife “Anubhuthi” performed a penance for goddess in the name of Bhavani on the banks of the river “Mandakini” to look after her child. There was a demon (Rakshasa) by name “Kukur” who tortured her. Then Goddess Bhavani rescued Anubhuthi and killed the demon. The goddess on the prayer of her pet devotee settled on the hill of “Bala Ghat”. Since then the Mother Goddess came to be called as Bhavani of Tuljapur or Tulja Bhavani.[citation needed]
Mother Goddess Bhavani temple is the place where Chhatrapati Shivaji was blessed by Matha Bhavani.[citation needed] It is situated at Tuljapur as such it is popularly known as Tulja Bhavani Temple in many districts of Maharashtra. It is one of the 51 Shakti Peetas attributed to Goddess Parvati. The second among the ‘Shaktipeetas’ is Goddess Bhavani at Tuljapur. Bhavani is one who gives life and source of original power.
