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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 an image of the Sheshnag - the serpent of Vishnu. In Her four
hands, the deity of Mahalakshmi holds objects of symbolic value. The
lower right hand holds a mhalunga (a citrus fruit), in the upper right,
a large mace (kaumodaki) with its head touching the ground, in the upper
left a shield (khetaka), and in the lower left, a bowl (panpatra).
Unlike most Hindu sacred images, which face north or east, the image of
this deity looks 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-Rakhmai, Shiva, Vishnu, Tulja 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 a shrine to Visweshwar Mahadev.
Worship Structure: Five worship services are offered each day. The
first one is at 5 am, and it involves the waking of the deity with a
Kakada - torch, to the accompaniment of hymns. The second worship
service at 8 am involves the offering of the Shodashopachara pooja
consisting of 16 elements. The afternoon and evening services and the
Shejaarati pooja constitute the three other services.
Special Events: A festival image of the deity is taken out in procession
around the temple courtyard each Friday, and on full moon days.
Getting There
Kolhapur is very well-connected with most of the cities in Maharashtra by a
good network of roads and railway. Maharashtra State Transport Corporation (MSTC)
has regular services on routes to major cities in India with semi luxury and
regular buses.
The Kolhapur Railway Station
known as Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj Terminus is well linked with the major
cities of the state as well as the adjoining states including Mumbai, Pune,
Bangalore, New Delhi and Ahmedabad.
Kolhapur Airport
is about 9 kilometers away from the city center and currently there are no
scheduled airlines operating at this Airport. The nearest domestic
airport is Belgaum
Airport, located at Belgaum, Karnataka, 120 km away from Kolhapur
Central Bus Stand.
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