The temple which lend its name to one of the oldest neighbourhood of Mumbai - Bhuleshwar

Bhuleshwar Mahadev temple: Though labyrinth lanes of Bhuleshwar are known for markets selling everything that household needs, The area is a sea of crowd on weekdays but amidst these chaos and camouflaged among the zillion shops are over 100 temples of different gods and goddess which have been worshipped for more than centuries old and some even older, And weekends are the best days to explore them.

After having explored most of the temples around Bhuleshwar Khabutar khana (Bhuleshwar Heritage walk), My last stop was the temple in this precinct which is over 600 years old - Bhuleshwar Mahadev temple that gave the name to the area, Legend has it that Shiva Linga in the temple is believed to be have appeared on its own. The Bhuleshwar temple complex has multiple temples and shrines within its compound and it shares space with flower market and smaller shops in the market place. The entrance of the temple once had a beautiful nagarkhana - (The place where musicians would play music) on the top made of wood but now in semi ruined state and covered in plastic to prevent the rain water seeping in. The only other temple which has nagarkhana is Shrinathji Haveli located close by and is known as Mota Mandir. 

The story goes that Lord Shiva while roaming the shores of the coastline created by Sage Parshuram got so mesmerised and lost that he decided to stay in Bhuleshwar itself. There was once a fisherman named Bhola who got a dream in which Lord Shiva informed him that he is stuck at a place and asked him to remove him. Bhola took spade, intestinal and started digging at the same spot. His spade hit a Shivling which was buried in the ground and it started bleeding.Worried and fearful he informed the temple priest who bathe the Shivling with milk and prayed after which the bleeding stopped. That same Shivling is today present in the Bhuleshwar Mahadev temple.

On closer look, one can notice a dent on the Shivling which is where the spade had hit the Shivling.

Today the temple is managed by GSB temple trust and is replete with ornate wood carvings. It depicts Gujarati and Konkani style of architecture. The temple stands interspersed with chaotic cluster of shops. It is said that there were two ponds in front of the temple where devotees would wash their feet before entering the temple, Those two ponds today has been filled and flower market stands on it. 

As one enters the temple compound, There is a temple dedicated to Vishnu with what looks like Ramayana carved on the sanctum entrance door.

Next in line is the main temple of Bhuleshwar Mahadev, The sanctum entrance is gold painted and beautifully carved, Two male figures holding a musical instrument can be seen at the top.

There is a shrine of Goddess Sitladevi, Goddess Kali and one Badiyaar dev in the prayer hall.

The temple priest - an old man with a smiling face narrate the story of Bhuleshwar and asked me to take a closer look at the bump on the Shivling. He also suggested to visit other temples in the compound when I informed him of my first visit and was on a heritage walk.

Next to Bhuleshwar temple lies another small temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha which has been closed for restoration, 

A narrow lane behind the main temple leads me to another Shiva temple called "Rameshwar Mahadev temple". The entrance to the sanctum has two small monkeys sculpture shown as climbing the temple.

A very unique Vrindavan for Tulsi plant in the temple premises which is hollow from below and has a Gaumukh.

Moving further, amidst some closed shops lies a temple shrine dedicated to Mahakal,  An avtaar of Lord Shiva. Liquor is offered to this deity, I saw one person offering a small portion to the deity and then taking the remaining to be consumed as prasad.

Back to the main Shiva temple, I noticed a huge tree standing right opposite and at its base were many stone sculptures. There was Ganesha, Shiva Ling, Nandi, Nagas but few seems very unique and interesting.

One of them was that of male figure in standing pose like Lord Vithal of Pandharpur.

But the most interesting among them all was a stone steele of nine female figurines.

The priest informed me that this stone represents the nine young girls form of Goddess Durga and is worshipped during the Navratri festivals as Kanya Pujan. Worshipping the nine forms of Goddess Durga provides nine different blessings and is way of recognising the feminine power of girl child.

This post completes my Bhuleshwar Kabutar Khana precinct walk, The neighbourhood of Bhuleshwar, tucked in the heart of South Mumbai is a world in itself, a vibrant maze of temples and wadas and wadis (courtyard complexes), markets and animal shelters. I plan to stray in these winding and labyrinth lanes and explore more of history and heritage in coming days.