Pune is a not only culturally rich but religiously as well. It has many worship places that are not just temples of God but holy shrine for devotees of city. These places are of immense importance among the population. Chaturshringee temple is one of these holy places. It is the worship place of goddess Devi Chaturshringee. This temple is situated on a high hill in the midst of city surrounded by greenery. The place is located off Senapati Bapat Road. A grand entrance where you see a scale model of the temple can be seen from the main road only. There are more than 100 steps one needs to climb to reach the top. The pathway is really beautiful and you can find proper sitting areas on adequate distance of your climb. From the top you get spectacular views of Pune city.The Chaturshringee temple has got its name after the hill where it is situated. Actually there are four peaks of this hill and that is why the chatur word is used that means four. A mountain with four peaks is called Chaturshringee. The temple which is managed by the Chaturshringee Devasthan Trustees is 90 feet high while 125 feet wide. It is said that this temple was built during the time period of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Though this Hindu temple is quite simple but we cannot deny the fact that it is a strong symbol of faith of its devotees. Apart from the idol of Chaturshringee Devi there are idols of goddess Durga and Shri Ganesh as well in the temple. You can see the miniature of Ashtavinayak Ganesha that includes eight different idols of Lord Ganesh. The small temples are scattered on all four hills.There is a mythological story attached with this temple. Once there was a rich merchant in Pune. He was a firm devotee of goddess Chaturshringee (Ambareshwari). Goddess Chaturshringee is also known as goddess Ambarashwari. When he was young he used to visit all the shrine of goddess at different places but later on when he grew old he found it difficult to visit these holy places of his goddess. He was very upset for his not being able to visit the temples. One night he had a dream in which goddess Ambareshwari appeared. He was so moved with this kind gesture of his goddess that he decided to build a temple dedicated to goddess Ambareshwari that later on became the Chaturshringee temple.In another version of this story it is said that the idol of Chaturshringee goddess was discovered by this rich trader who had a dream of goddess Ambareshwari (Chaturshringee). Later the trader decided to build the temple of the goddess and now it is in front of all of us in the form of Chaturshringee temple on S.B. Road. No matter which version of the story is true, it seems to be the reward of honest devotion to the almighty and the temple is the symbol of devotion of a faithful devotee.There are some other reincarnation of goddess Chaturshringee like Mahakali, Mahalakshmi, Mahasarsvathi and Ambareshwari. All of these goddesses are worshipped in city. On the occasion of Navratra festival that usually happens in the month of October the temple is beautifully decorated and lit up. On the bottom of the hills there is a fair held every year during Navratra festival. Thousands of devotees come to get blessings of the Chaturshringee Goddess during the festival time from all over the country.You need not to wait till Navratri festival as you can visit this devotional holy shrine at any time of year. It gives you a feeling of faithfulness. When you climb the steps you feel like you are making some efforts to get blessings of Chaturshringee Goddess.Ruchi Mahajan