After climbing around 250 to 300 steps, at a dead beat condition when you reach your destination at the peak, you automatically get a sense of achievement but after looking at the enthusiastic devotees, lively atmosphere and the divine shrine from outside you almost feel blissful even before entering the temple and all your weariness just gets vanished, this is what you experience when you visit the most popular shrine of Maharashtra, Khandoba temple at Jejuri. Situated on a small hill, this small temple has a great power due to which thousands of people come here to get blessings of this divine deity. It is said that Lord Khandoba grants all the wishes of his devotees who come here to take his blessings. This great deity is also kuldev (family god) of many Maharashtrians; hence you can see many families visiting this temple.
On the way to the shrine:The temple is usually crowded but during weekends and especially on Sundays, you can see this holy place to be jam-packed. While climbing up to the temple, on the way there are many small shops and food stalls where you can halt and refresh yourself or can even do little shopping of some spiritual things. While you climb the steps, you can see the fervent devotees yelling, ‘Yelkot Yelkot Jai Malhaar’ to hail the god. On the way to the shrine, you can even see many newlywed couples. It is very endearing to see when the husband lifts his wife and climbs few steps as a part of ritual. You can also take pleasure of the scenic views of Jejuri town while moving up towards the sacred place. With so many sights on the way, you eventually reach the temple without much exertion.
The grand entry:Once you enter the temple premises, everything appears very mystic. One of the most fascinating facts about this temple is the yellow color Holi. It seems like everybody here are playing Holi with yellow color of turmeric which is popularly known as ‘Bhandaara’. You can see devotees throwing the turmeric powder all over the temple, in fact the whole temple premises, temple and people here are drenched with the color yellow. So make sure that you completely avoid wearing white clothes here because when you leave the temple, you definitely are going to be colored. You can buy the turmeric packet on the way to the temple.
Darshan queue:There is generally a big queue for darshan where you need to wait for hours to just take a glimpse of Lord Khandoba but in India as we all know how most of the temple system works, by paying you can get quick darshan through VIP lines or special Darshan lines. Even these lines are huge but as they are fast moving, you can visit the god soon. They charge you around Rs. 50 for each visitor. When you stand in the queue, don’t panic when coconut pieces fall on you, it is the devotees who are throwing these pieces along with turmeric powder on the temple by making some wishes.Upsetting site:One of the off-putting elements of this temple is the so called saints who are present inside the temple just to rob the innocent devotees in the name of god. If a devotee is willing to offer something on his own then its fine but forcing him to pay mandatorily by giving some fake blessings and asking him to repeat some mantras which can’t even be heard in the crowd is just insane. So if you happen to visit the temple just be aware of these sham people.Even though the temple is small, it is extremely enchanting and heavenly; the surrounding picturesque view is revitalizing and delighting and also amazing for clicking pictures.How to reach here:The place is easily accessible by public transport services. It is just 38 kms away from Pune and from Solapur it is 60 kms.Best time to visit:During Dussera here you can witness a jatra which is awe-inspiring. Winter season is the best time to visit as you can climb up to the temple easily without worrying about the heat.займ на карту без отказов круглосуточновзять кредит онлайн