A place to
worship 'Adi Shakti', located opposite the Saras Baug, this is the
Mahalakshmi Temple.
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| Mahalakshmi Temple
The temple is a symbol
of prosperity, wealth & strength. The Mahalakshmi Temple was a work of
service towards the society by Shri Bansilalji. Shri Bansilal was
born in Moribeda, Pali district in Rajasthan. He belonged to a poor family
but believed that hard work, determination & intense desire for success can
surely help overcome the sufferings suffered while being in a poor family.
Bansilal worked hard enough, not only to overcome poverty, but was also able to
get his family to Pune from Rajasthan. Day by day he became more responsible
towards the society and turned towards the service for the society.
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| inside the temple |
Bansilal's wife Smt. Sushila Devi who was an
invaluable partner in all of Bansilal's endevours and was also an avid reader
of holy books, wished to build a temple opposite Saras Baug, instead of having
a residence there. Bansilal wished for the same. And thus began the
construction of the Mahalakshmi Temple.
However, in December 1977,
Shri Bansilal took his last breath. The work of the temple was still
incomplete. Sushila Devi not drowning herself into grief and despair gave all
her support to her son Rajkumar Agarwal for the completion of the temple. It
took a total of 12 years to complete the work of the temple.
The temple is located on the
main road and has idols of Goddess Saraswati- The goddess of learning, Goddess
Lakshmi- The goddess of wealth & Goddess Mahakali- The goddess of strength.
All the three idols are 6 feet tall and and carved with pristine marble. The
summit of the temple is 55 feet tall & 24 feet wide and the length of the
temple roof is 54 feet long. It has all been carved in the Dravidian style of
architecture. The pillars and walls inside have also been carved with intricate
patterns that enhance the beauty of the temple. Images of saints
like Shri Basaveshwara, Shri Tulsidas, Shri Tukaram Maharaj, Shri Jalaram,
Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Shri Kabir Das, Shri Sur Das, Shri Ramdas, Shri Guru
Nanak, Shri Ramakrishna, Shri Narasi Mehta, Sant Shri Mirabai have been
carved on the temple walls.
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| the roof
The carvings of the temple was
done under the guidance of Hemraj Sompura of Sumerpurand and
others. Artisans for carving the temple arrived from the Kala Kendra
at Jaipur. On 15th February 1984, the deities of the three Goddesses were
consecrated and declared open for public worship by the hands of Teertha
Swaroop Swami Shri Ghanshyamji Acharya.
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The temple is mostly crowded
during Diwali festival, when end number of devotees come to offer their prays.
It is beautifully decorated. A few years ago, the idol of goddess Lakshmi was
dressed up in a saree made of pure gold, which weighed around
9 kgs, cost about 15 crores and was made in Kanchipuram. Other sarees of the
goddesses are also put to public sale by the management.
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| idol of Goddess Lakshmi in the gold saree |
some of the information was extracted from- http://mahalaxmimandirpune.org/
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