{"id":19440,"date":"2013-07-15T10:00:57","date_gmt":"2013-07-15T04:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bharatestates.com\/blog\/?p=19440"},"modified":"2020-06-15T03:57:17","modified_gmt":"2020-06-14T22:27:17","slug":"banganga-flowing-through-the-sacred-culture-of-ancient-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bharatestates.com\/blog\/banganga-flowing-through-the-sacred-culture-of-ancient-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Banganga \u2013 Flowing through the Sacred Culture of Ancient India"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"banganga\"Mumbai city has many ancient structures to its heritage list. Banganga is one of them. It is a sacred water tank and thus it is also known as Banganga Tank. One of the holiest sites of Mumbai the Banganga Tank is located in the complex off Walkeshwar Temple in Malabar Hill in Mumbai. Being one of the most important tourists\u2019 sites this place is one of the survived ancient monuments situated amidst the concrete jungle of Mumbai city. If you go dip into the history of the place you come to know that this tank was initially built by a minister of Silhara Dynasty in the twelfth century in the year 1127 AD. It is said that Silhara dynasty ruled Mumbai from ninth to thirteenth century. When Portuguese entered India they tried to destroy all its heritage structures and unfortunately they also destroyed the temple and the Banganga Tank.Later on in the year 1715 the tank was recreated by the donation given by a rich humanitarian and businessman of city named Rama Kamath. The water of the tank is sweet as it is fed by spring and even though it is situated close to sea line no salty taste is developed even after centuries. The water of the tank is considered as holy as the water off River Ganges and said to have magical healing powers.There is a legend attached to the Banganga Tank and it says that while on exile lord Rama stayed at this place as he was on his way to save his beloved wife Sita who was kidnapped by Ravana, the king of Lanka. He felt thirsty and to satisfy his thirst he shot an arrow on the ground from where the water emerged and he drank that water. This water is said to be a subsidiary of River Ganga that flows thousands of miles away from this place. This water never disappeared since then and thus the tank got its name Banganga which means emergence of Ganga due to a shot of arrow. The Walkeshwar temple here is also said to be attached to a legend that says while waiting for his brother Laxaman who went to bring Shivalinga Lord Rama created a Shivalinga of sand and installed here. Thus the temple of Shiva named Walkeshwar which was originally Valluka Ishwar means god made of sand.Currently Banganga Tank is having water in an oval shaped tank. It has steps on all four sides that go down to water. You can see two ancient pillars at the entry to Banganga Tank. Here oil lamps were lighted in ancient times. The water of the tank is still sweet and considered holy by people. The entire complex which includes the Banganga tank, Walkeshwar temple and the Parshuram temple is under the ownership of Goud Saraswat Temple Trust. The Shri Kashi Math and Shri Kaivalya (Kawle) Math are also situated in the same Banganga Complex. The place houses the Samadhis of past heads of Math.At the Banganga a two day festival known as Banganga Music and Cultural Festival every year in the month of February by Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC). Many professional musicians perform during the fest. The tank is cleaned properly and well decorated for the festival.Timings<\/strong>It is open for visit all through the day.Close by places of attractions<\/strong><\/p>\n