Hyderabad: You might have heard of Pink City Jaipur. But do you know that there is a temple in Maharashtra decked in pink Gulal by devotees all through the year?
The famous ‘Jyotiba Devasthan (Temple), popularly known as ‘Wadi Ratnagiri’ near Kolhapur in Maharashtra State is visited by lakhs of devotees from across the country including Telangana State.
Situated on the picturesque Jyotiba Mountain range, about 18km northwest of Kolhapur city, this Hemadpanthi-style temple is a group of three temples located at an elevation of about 3100 feet above sea level.
The temple is 545km from Hyderabad and takes about 10 hours to reach through the Mumbai Highway.
Lord Jyotiba (Dattatreya) is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Shiva. The temple is renowned as one of the 12 jyotirlingas.
Legend states that three Gods took the form of Jyotiba to help goddess Mahalaxmi liberate the region from the tyranny of Raktabhoj Rakshasa and Ratnasur, the demon. Jyotiba founded his kingdom on this mountain.
The original Kedareshwar temple was built by Navji Saya. In 1730, Ranoji Shinde built the present temple in its place. The second temple of Kedareshwar was constructed by Daulat Rao Shinde in 1808 and the third temple of Ramling including its dome was constructed circa 1780 by Malji Nilam Panhalkar.
Jyotiba temple is also called Kedarnath and Wadi Ratnagiri.
Every Chaitra Poornima a huge fair is held when lakhs of devotees from across Maharashtra and other parts of the country come with tall (Sasan) sticks.
Due to the scattering of ‘Gulal’ inside the temple and across the mountain range on the way to the temple during festivities, the whole area turns pink.
Sunday is sacred to Jyotiba. Lord Jyotiba receives Gulal as an offering from the pilgrims, who also sprinkle it across the temple turning it into a “Pink temple.”
Marriages performed at the temple are considered auspicious and one can also see newly married couples coming from far and wide to offer prayers at the temple.
On the full moon day of Chaitra (April), the temple’s main festival attracts lakhs of devotees. The devotees chant the name of Shree Jyotiba in a single hymn of ‘Chan G Bhal’.
The festival is unique as devotees sprinkle Gulal (pink colour) and give away coconut and coins.
On this day, Shree’s Government Maha Abhishekam takes place in the early morning at 5 to 6 am and Mahapuja at 7 to 8 am followed by other pujas culminating in a huge procession.
Sasan Kathi means a thirty to seventy feet reed with tuft and flags on top.
In the evening, the formal worship of the festive idol of Shree Jyotiba is done where the Jyotiba sits on a palanquin and heads toward Yamai Temple.
As Goddess Yamai is the sister of Shree Jyotiba so on the same day after sunset Goddess Yamai gets married to Jamadagni. This wedding ceremony is held in the Yamai Temple.
On this occasion, Shree Jyotiba takes gifts sitting in the palanquin for Goddess Yamai and they return to the temple after finishing the ceremony. At this time various religious rituals are performed with attractive fireworks. It takes a month to finish this festival of Chitra Pournima.
Temple opens at 4 am and closes at 11 am. Devotees can participate in day-long rituals to God. But there is always a rush, especially during weekends.
Despite being a famous temple, there are neither proper arrangements for devotees nor space for car, or vehicle parking. Vehicles are parked on the serpentine main road or by lanes near the temple.
