The state of Maharashtra has many temples that are very rich in their traditions and cultural values that have been in practice since many years. Few of the famous temples that are located in different parts of Maharashtra are the rock-cut temples, the famous Elephanta caves and the temple in Ellora named Kailashnatha Temple. These temples are the major attractions for the tourists who visit the state of Maharashtra. It is considered that the visit to state is incomplete if these temples are not visited during the stay. Though the people in the state worship all the God and Goddess yet they most importantly are the followers of Lord Ganesha and this is the reason almost the entire state has many temples that have been devoted to Lord Ganesha.

The city of Pune has a total of eight temples that are devoted to Lord Ganesha and hence the name given to these temples is “Ashta Vinayak” and is religiously visited by the sacred devotees. The most famous temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha is located in the city of Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra. Temples in Kolhapur and Mumbai are the most famous and majorly worshipped temple in Mumbai is known as Mahalakshmi temple. The pilgrim city of the state of Maharashtra is the city of Nasik that has major number temples that are part of Maharashtra and few of them to be named are Kalaram Temple, Muktidham Temple, Kapaleshwar Temple etc.

The Kumbh Mela is organized after every twelve years in city of Nasik that is considered very auspicious by the Hindu community which they consider more sacred by taking dip in the holy River. A temple in Ellora that is devoted to Lord Shiva is the Grisheshwar temple and has a Jyotirling and is part of three of the major temples in Maharashtra that are dedicated to Lord Shiva. The two other Jyotirlinga temples are the Bhimshankar temple and Trimbakeshwar Temple located in Pune and Nasik respectively.

The other temple that is famous in the state of Maharashtra that experiences uncountable devotees visiting the temple is the Bhavani Temple that is dedicated to Chatrapati Shivaji. The state of Maharashtra not only has the temples for Hindu community but also the other communities like the Jain Temple named Aagashi in Virar that celebrates the famous and joyful festival of Kartik Poornima.

The temples in Maharashtra are worshipped by the people of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist communities. The most visited Jain temple in the state of Maharashtra is the Babu Amichand Panalal Adishwarji temple. This temple is located in the city of Mumbai. The people of the Jain community are believed to be highly involved in the business but they are considered to be donating heavy amounts for maintaining the sacred places. The entrance of Babu Amichand Panalal Adishwarji Jain temple is adored with stone carved elephants. The basement of the temple has sanctums of many saints and deities and this also has an idol of Lord Ganesha. These temples belonging to Hindu and Jain community speaks about the rich association between the two communities. The temple that is dedicated to the Buddhist community is the Nipponzan Myohoji temple which also the oldest temple of Buddhist community in Maharashtra. This temple was found in 1956. The temple is located in an area of 8840 sq. feet and the location of the temple is very serene and tranquil. The interiors of the temple are rich in architecture with a huge hall that has wooden drums that are very similar to Japanese and Thomas style. The chanting recited by the devotees in the temple is na-mu-myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo along with the beats of the drum. The hall stands on the support of 10 pillars that are carved fro the stone. The walls in the hall are adored by the paintings of the Vegetable. The paintings describing the life of Lord Budha can also be seen on the walls of the temple. The temple also has an idol if Lord Buddha that has been made from marble and is as high as 6.5 feet with Buddha seen in sitting pose in a room.

The state of Maharashtra also has uncountable numbers of Temples. The state of Maharashtra sees huge number of devotees visiting these temples each year. The list of most famous temples that can be seen in the state are the Amba Temple in Amravati, Bhavani Temple in Tuljapur near Sholapur, Chintamani Ganesh Temple in Theur near Pune, Ghat Shila Temple in Tuljapur, Kailash Temple at Ellora Caves located near Aurangabad, Ballal Vinayak Temple in Pali near Colaba, Chakreshwar Temple in Titte near Kolhapur, Ellora Caves at Elllora close to Aurangabad, Great Chaitya Cave at Kanheri Caves in Mumbai, Kalaheshwar Temple in Kale near Kolhapur, Moreshwar Ganesh Temple in Morgaon close to Pune, Pandu Lena Budhist Cave Temples in Pandu Lena very near to Nasik, Tryambakeshwar Temple in Nasik, Jain Temple in Mumbai, Karla Cave at Karla near Lonavla, Panchganga Temple at Mahabaleshwar located near Pune, Parvati Temple in Pune, Elephanta Caves close to Mumbai, Kala Rama Temple in Nasik etc.

Famous Temples of Maharashtra

Mumba Devi Temple

The Mumba Devi Temple that is located in the town of Bhuleshwar area in the city of Mumbai and is devoted to deity Mumba Devi also commonly known as patron deity in the city. The meaning of Mumba is Maha Amba. The construction of the temple was done in year 1737 at the location where in current times is the Victoria Terminus.

The temple was formed by fishermen named Koli and who had been believed to belong to the city of Mumbai for many years. With the passage of time, the temple was raised and a new temple was constructed at the same location in Bhuleshwar. In the current times, the temple houses a mesmerizing idol of Mumba Devi Ji that has a face in orange color with the idol wearing a crown in silver color. The other ornaments that the idol of the goddess wears are a nose stud and a necklace in golden color.

Shirdi Sai Baba Temple

The other place that holds an importance in the lives of devotees is the city of Shirdi that is considered a sacred place. The history of the place is linked with Sai Baba since it is believed that he has stayed at this place for maximum time period of his life and he took his last breath to leave for the holy abode at this place. The famous Shirdi temple that has a huge idol of Sai Baba is placed in the temple. The temple also houses the Samadhi of Sai Baba. The construction of the temple was done by Shreemant Gopal Rao who was a businessman located in city of Nagpur since he was Sai Baba’s greatest devotee.

Trimbakeshwar Temple

The city of Nasik has the famous Trimbakeshwar temple that is worshipped by many devotees. The temple is located 36 kms away from Nasik in a village named as Trimbak. This temple also houses a Jyotirlinga that is considered to be part of the twelve Jyotirlingas located in various parts of the country. This temple is devoted to Lord Shiva and few of the major pujas that are part of Hindu community are performed specifically in this temple and these pujas are Narayan Nagbali, Kalsarpa and Tripindi.

The architecture of the temple is very similar to Indo Aryan type that has beautiful statues of men and women, animals and specially yakshas. The temple is encircled with a stone wall known as colossal wall. The path leading to the temple comprises of a huge structure of a bull and on entering the temple one sees a statue of Nandi Bull that has been made out of marble. Lord Shiva sits on the Nandi bull and hence it is considered as the vehicle of Shiva. The location of the Jyotirlings is in the middle of the temple from where the Ganges River flows constantly for entire year.

Mahalaxmi Temple

Mumbai city is the city adorned with the Mahalaxmi temple that is devoted to the three deities Lakhsmi, Saraswathi and Kali. The location of the temple is in north of Malabar hills on Bhulabhai Desai Road.

The temple not only houses the idols of three deities but also has small idols of many of the other deities worshipped by the Hindus. The idols of the goddesses have been casted in gold. The idol is also adored with beautiful ornaments that have neck piece, bangles, nose rings etc. The goddess Mahalakshmi is seen sitting on a tiger and the dead demon lies under her foot.

Ghrishneshwar Temple

The other temple that is dedicated to Lord Shiva and also houses one of the twelve Jyotirlingas is the Ghrishneshwar temple that is located in close vicinity of the Buddhist caves that are part of Ellora. The construction of the temple was done during the reign of Queen Ahilyabai Holkar who had ruled the city of Indore.

The temple is also famous with the name of Ghushmeshwar. The history of the temple is linked to a woman named Kusuma who was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. During her daily prayers, she used to plunge the lingam of Shiva in water tank. She was the first wife of her husband while his second wife was jealous of the prestige that Kusuma got in the society for her prayers and hence murdered her.