Kanifnath Temple via Bopdev Ghat

      Since I am not a very big fan of getting wet in the rains every time I go out, I decided to go somewhere nearby for my blog. So, I went to the Kanifnath Temple in Bopgaon via Bopdev Ghat. The ghat is about 5kms from Katraj and the temple is 21kms. I left my house at about 11:30 AM. The Katraj-Kondhwa road had its share of traffic, then I took a right turn from Khadi Machine Chowk to commence to Bopdev Ghat. 

Bopdev Ghat

       Bopdev Ghat has many hotels and Sinhagad and Trinity College at its foot & as I went up I got a complete view of the city. Its all green during monsoon, but it was just the beginning of monsoon so there was still all dried up grass or hay on the mountains.

view of the city from the ghat

       I then reached Bopgaon and after going further on my left I saw the entrance gate or the 'kamaan' as called in Marathi of the temple. Then I had to ride for almost 15 minutes to reach to the foot of the hill on which the temple is located. The road up the hill is a bit on the rough side. I then reached the parking area.

stairs to go up to the temple

      Right opposite to the parking is the view of Saswad and the surrounding area from the hill, on one side of the parking is a Dutta Mandir, then there is an open space with a small canteen and flower vendors. To the other side are 100+ steps that take us up to the Kanifnath Temple. After climbing up the stairs on the left hand side are statues of a huge elephant and a few saints, which is a part of some story. Then I entered the temple. Now the temple is such that there is an open space where worshippers can worship, but, the main idol of the deity is inside the 'gabhara' and only men are allowed to go in. They have to wrap a orange (bhagva) cloth and crawl in from a tiny space. The orange cloth or 'bhagvi lungi' to be precise is available with the trust office in the temple premises. Many devotees claim of their wishes coming true here.

devotees have to crawl in the small space like this

       In the temple premises are other temples dedicated to Vitthal Rakhumai, Hanuman, Kal Bhairav, Mahadev & Kaleshwari. The temple also serves food to its devotees from 12 PM. I worshipped all the deities and started my journey back home.

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