 Pilgrimage tourism in Wardha district is full of visits to the many temples located here. The nature of pilgrimage tourism here is rather secular as apart from temples, there are also places of Buddhist and Muslim worship that may be visited by the tourists. The Buddhist Stupas draw a number of tourists both from home and abroad. The district abounds in cultural heritage as there are a number of places here which try to protect and propagate the ancient Indian traditions. An example of this would be the Laxmi Narayan temple where books on the Veda, Upanishad etc are sold in Hindi.
The various places of pilgrimage tourism in Wardha district are discussed below. Kelzer There is a Varad Vinayak's (Lord Ganesha) temple at Kelzer which is also known as one of the Ganesh temples from Ashtavinayaka in the Vidarbha region. The sculpture of Lord Ganesha found here belongs to the ancient period of the Aryas. Gitai Mandir This is the mandir where Vinoba's Gitai became eternal. Vinoba Bhave translated the Bhagavad Gita in his book 'Gitai'. In order to do this, a number of polished stones were brought from different places and arranged vertically in the shape of a cow. The 18 Shlokas (sections) of the Gita are engraved on it. This temple is quite unlike other commonly seen temples. It has no ceiling or walls. Beside the mandir, a permanent exhibition is arranged in Shanti Kuti in memory of Mahatma Gandhi and Jamnalal Bajaj. Dhaga This forest village is situated on the hills of the Satpura mountain range near the Dham River. Near about 3 kms away from this place, a temple of Lord Shiva is surrounded by caves. A huge fair is arranged here on the festival of Mahashivaratri. It is a much frequented tourist place in Wardha district. Laxmi Narayana Mandir This is a temple of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi. It is big temple built in the year 1905. The inner side of the temple is constructed with marble. Near the temple a medical shop has opened which provide free medicine to the poor people. A number of books of the Sansrit, Prakrit, and Vedas, Upanishads etc in the Hindi language are available in the temple library. Kapshi This village is situated on the bank of the Wardha River in the Hinganghat Tahasil about 34 Kms away from Wardha. Saint Nanaji Maharaj had built a beautiful temple of Laxmi Narayan in year 1890. The sculpture of the god is made from black stones which are 91 cms in height. Koteshwar It is in Deoli Tehsil, 40 Kms away from Wardha. It is believed that rishi Vashishta had arranged a Koti yadnya here. This place is on the north bank of the river Wardha on which there is a 'Hemadpanthi' temple of Lord Shiva. This place is a rather important pilgrimage spot for the tourists, much like Kashi. Pardi This place is situated on the bank of the Vena River in Hinganghat Taluka and it is 28 kms away from Wardha. A huge fair is held at the old temple of Lord Murlidhar in memory of Sant Nagaji Maharaj. Mandgaon Mandgaon in Samudrapur Tahasil is 31 kms away from the North-East side of Wardha. It is situated at the confluence of three rivers, namely the Vena, Wardha and Yashoda river. It is believed that the name Mandgaon has come from Sant Mando who had stayed here for a long time. The places of worship that can be visited here are the temple of Murlidhar, the tomb of a Muslim sage, and the holy place of Sant Brahmapure. The villagers celebrate the festivals of Ekadashi, Gokul Ashtami, Ramnavami etc. Mahakali This is a holy place of the Goddesses Mahakali situated in Arvi Tahasil 35 kms from Wardha city. The Mahakali Dam has been developed on the river Dham. The temple is built along the bottom side of the dam. Vishwa Shanti Stupa In 1935, Fuji Guruji from Japan came to Wardha and met Mahatma Gandhi. He expressed his desire to set up the Stupas in India. Gandhiji agreed to this, and subsequently the Shanti Stupas were built at eight different places in India. One of these stupas is found at Wardha, and is called the Vishwa Shanti Stupa. It was constructed with the help of Japan in the year 1995. On the stupa, details of the life and history of Lord Buddha are given. Hue en sang Dhamma camp centre and Stupa In the premises of the Dam across the Bor river, this Dhamma camp centre and Stupa is established near Bor water storage in Selu Tahasil on a hilly area. Taiwan and England have helped in the construction of this Dhamma. A camp is held here every year which is visited by many visitors from home and abroad. The architecture of the Stupa has been rather remarkably done, and the many statutes of Lord Buddha can be seen here in various expressions. Girad Girad is 59Kms away from Wardha and it is in Samudrapur Tahasil. Found here is the tomb of Shaikh Farid Baba, a famous saint of the Muslims. Located on the bank of a lake close to the saint's tomb is a temple of Lord Rama. On the occasion of Ramnavami, a huge festival is held here. Communal harmony can be seen at its peak here when the ten day festival of Muharram is celebrated here. Thus discussed are the various places of pilgrimage tourism in the district of Wardha. (Last Updated on : 27-10-2014) |
| More Articles in Wardha District (6) | |
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
