Mahur, Maharashtra

For other uses, see Mahur (disambiguation).

here the Devi Renuka or Matapur Niwasini

Jagdamba Devi dwells...[4]

Mahur or Mahurgad is a town and religious place in

Nanded district of Maharashtra, India.[1] Mahur is the
birthplace of Hindu God Dattatreya.[2] Atri Rishi and Sati
Anasuya lived here. Bramha, Vishnu and Shiva once got
a news about Anasuya that there is no one more pious and
pure as her. To test her piousness they arrived under the
garb of asking Alm (bhiksha). When she brought it, they
asked to serve them while being naked, she realised by
her power that she is under a test. She made them a three
headed child & fed them. This became Dattatreya, the
unied God.

Raje Udaram Deshmukh and later his brave wife RaiBagan (Royal Tigress) Pandita Sawitribai Deshmukh were
the rulers of Mahur. RaiBagan was an honorary name
given by Aurangzeb to Sawitribai Deshmukh after the
death of her husband. Sawitribai Deshmukh fought along
the side of Aurangzeb against Shivaji.

For Muslims it is famous for the Dargah of Baba SonaPir, who is also known as Mohar-e-Rasool (Stamp of
Prophet). In every fth of the month a Urs has been conducted in Dargaah. Many people come from dierent
There are three mountains in Mahur. The rst one & parts of country to celebrate this occasion.
most known is of Renuka Dewi, who is mother of the god
Parshuram. Other two are called Datt Shikhar and Atri
Anasuya Shikar. Mahur has a sacred temple to Renuka, 2 The Renuka Devi Temple as a
which is considered one of the three and half Shakti
Shakti Peeth
Peethas (temples) in the state. A big fair is held here every year on the occasion of Vijayadashami.
Main articles: Daksha Yaga and Shakti Peethas
When Sahasrarjun attacked Renuka, while somewhere in
The temple is considered as a revered shrine for the
todays Telangana, for he wanted to grab the Kamdhenu
cow. When she refused to him that saying asking gift of
your own choice by the guest visitor is uncalled. He attacked her & injured her. She dies in this & when Parshuram knew about it, he went berserk. Then the elderly
people pacied him & asked him to do the last rites in
Mahur under Dattatreyas guidance. Then he was told by
him that she will appear on rst mountain for you to worship. This became the Renuka temple. The matru tirth
is the one which is where today stands a lake, is antyeshti
sthan.
There are many other temples in Mahur like Jamdagni
Temple, Parshuram Temple, Kalika temple, Devdevshwar Temple, and also the Caves called Pandav Leni.
Shiva carrying the corpse of Sati Devi

History

Shaktism sect, because of the above told mythology and

also because the Shrine is a Shakti Peetha. It is believed
that Renuka, (the wife of Sage Jamadagni) was decapitated by her own son Parashurama and her head fell here.
Renuka was later given rebirth as a boon by Sage Jamadagni to his son Parashurama. The temple is considered as a Shakti Peetha because of the mythology of Daksha yaga and Satis self immolation.[5][6][7]

Mahur nds mention in the ancient Devi Bhagawatam as

Matripura or Matapur, where it is mention as one of
the famous pilgrimages.[3] In Devi Gita the nal and most
important chapter of the text, it is mentioned as one the
important places of Shakti worship:
"Devi spoke:... I am now telling something
out of My aection to My Bhaktas... Matripura or Matapur in the Sahyadri mountain;

Shakti Peethas are Durga or Adiparashakti shrines that

are believes to have enshrined with the presence of Shakti
due to the falling of body parts of the corpse of Sati Devi,
1

REFERENCES

when Lord Shiva carried it and wandered. There are 51 The name Unkeshwar is because of Lord Unkeshwar
Shakti Peeth linking to the 51 alphabets in Sanskrit. The (MAHADEV i.e. Shiva) temple and Aashram complex.
Shakti of Mahur is addressed as Renuka Devi. Most
of the Shakti Peetha is associated with a Kalabhairava
shrine.
4.1 Devdeveshwar Temple
Devdeveshwari mandir belongs to Mahanbhav Panth, basically called a nidra sthan (sleeping place) of Jagat Guru
Shree Dattatreya Prabhu. It is at elevated outskirt of
Mahur town, 2 km from Mahur bus stand.
Daily Shree Dattatreya Prabhu will take nitya snan (daily
bath) at meruwada talao (tank) in Mahur, bhiksha (the
meal served to a sadhu or Indian monk) at Kolhapur,
bhojan (lunch) at Panchaleshwar and get back to sleep in
Devdeveshwar mandir Mahur (nidra sthan of God Dattatreya Prabhu). Jagat Guru Shree Dattatreya swami is a
chiranjiv avtar (Immortal) so it is believed that even today
Shree Dattatreya swami comes to sleep here.
Ashwin Navratra Puja of Renuka Devi at a devotees home

Geography

All three important temples Renuka Temple, Dattatreya Temple and Anusaya Temple are built on three
mountain ranges. Mahur is surrounded by jungles rich
with trees and wild life. There is teakwood trees everywhere. Peafowl, deer, black bears, panthers are very
common in the jungle.
On one of the mountains is the ancient Mahurgad Fort
constructed in the 12th century. Mahur was an important fort in ancient Berar history. It became a separate
province in 1478 during the Bahmani Sultanate. It was
one of the Sarkars (then district) with 20 parganas (towns)
in Berar Subah (state) in Akbar's rule.

5 Travel facilities and Pilgrimage

Amenities
There are Maharashtra state transport buses that go from
Nagpur, Amrawati, Akola, Nanded, Kinwat, Yavatmal
and Pusad to Mahur. Although the District of mahur
is Naded, for all practical purposes it is unwise to go to
Nanded for going to Mahur. For people from Mumbai it
is better to reach Shegaon ( a religious place for Gajanan
Maharaj) by train & take a Bus or taxi from there. For
Pune visitors, take a train Pune -Amravati & get down at
Washim. From there its about 80 km by road (one can
take a bus or taxi from Washim.
Hadgaon also has bus and taxi transport going to Mahur.
The only way to approach Mahur is by Road. There
are frequent buses (State-run ST buses as well as private
buses) from Yavatmal and Pusad.

Accommodation facilities are available in Mahur city (7

km from the temple). All types of accommodation facilities are available like lodges, hotels, government rest
4 Attractions
houses. For more luxurious options, at a distance of about
70 km, Yavatmal is the best option. Foods served by local
The main attractions in Mahur are Matapur Niwasini
hotels, Dhabas (roadside eateries for the travelers) are of
Shri Jagdamba Devi Temple or Renuka Devi Temgood quality and served fresh.
ple, Dattatreya Temple, Anusaya Temple, Devdeveshwar Temple, Parshuram Temple, Sarvatirtha, Matru- On auspicious occasions like Navaratris, Datta Pournima;
Tirtha, Bhanutirth, Hati darvaza, Bal samudra, Pandav Mahapuja is organised which is followed by Mahaprasad
Leni, Mahurgad Fort, Mahakali Temple (In the fort), (Feast for the Pilgrims).
Mahur Museum, Sonapir Dargah, Shaikh Farid Water fall
(Wazara), Palace of Raje Udaram. Raje Udaram Deshmukh and later his brave wife RaiBagan (Royal Tigress)
6 References
were the rulers of Mahur.
People who visit Mahur also visit Unkeshwar Hot Spring
(90 km from Pusad; 50 km from Mahur; 15 km from
Kinwat), which has natural sources of hot water. This
sulphur-rich water is supposed to have medicinal value.

[1] https://www.maharashtratourism.gov.in/treasures/
temple/mahurgad
[2] http://www.sreedattavaibhavam.org/mahurgud/

[3] Devi Bhagawatam, Ninth Book, chapter XXXIV: On the

description of the various hells, p. 939 Devi Bhagawatam,
tr. by Swami Vijnanananda, (1921-22).
[4] Devi Gita, chapter XXXVIII: The Vow and the Sacred
Places of the Devi Devi Gita (Song of the Goddess), excerpt from the Srimad Devi Bhagawatam, translated by
Swami Vijnanananda (Hari Prasanna Chatterji), 1921.
O King of Mountains! Still I am now telling something
out of My aection to My Bhaktas. Hear. There is a
great place of pilgrimage named Kolhapura in the southern country. Here the Devi Laksmi always dwells. The
second place is Matripura or Matapur in the Sahyadr
mountain; here the Dev Renuka dwells. Verses: 3-10.
[5] (Translator), F. Max Muller (June 1, 2004). The
Upanishads, Vol I. Kessinger Publishing, LLC. ISBN
1419186418.
[6] (Translator), F. Max Muller (July 26, 2004). The Upanishads Part II: The Sacred Books of the East Part Fifteen.
Kessinger Publishing, LLC. ISBN 1417930160.
[7] Kottiyoor Devaswam Temple Administration Portal.
http://kottiyoordevaswom.com/. Kottiyoor Devaswam.
Retrieved 20 July 2013. External link in |work= (help)

www.srtmun.ac.in

External links
Mahur, in Nanded Maharashtra Govt. Ocial website.
Mahur Fort The Ocial Website of Maharashtra
Tourism.
Mahur map

8 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1

Text

Mahur, Maharashtra Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahur%2C_Maharashtra?oldid=731763663 Contributors: AxelBoldt,

Berek, Utcursch, Tabletop, Bhadani, Nihiltres, Welsh, NeilN, SmackBot, Chris the speller, Shivap, Nskulkarni, Vishal1976, AndrewHowse,
Cydebot, NorthernThunder, P.K.Niyogi, Whyagainwiki, Ekabhishek, Jllm06, Faizhaider, Tinucherian, The Anomebot2, Dharmadhyaksha, JaGa, R'n'B, Neutron Jack, Naniwako, KylieTastic, Redtigerxyz, Vdhillon, Niceguyedc, DragonBot, SchreiberBike, Stepheng3, Jayantkonde, Belasd, Apparition11, Dthomsen8, Bhupeshdeshmukh, Addbot, Thaejas, Ashok deshmukh, Tassedethe, Ulric1313, DynamoDegsy,
LilHelpa, Kylelyk1, FrescoBot, Just a guy from the KP, Raama, Nrendra, Tatiraju.rishabh, Gy2708, RaptureBot, MALLUS, Yogid77, ClueBot NG, PhnomPencil, Mogism, Ilango adikal chera, Ramachandra Goswami, Satish-ansingkar, Mahajandeepakv, Human3015, Sumedh
Tayade, Ankush 89 and Anonymous: 38

8.2

Images

File:Amriteshwar_temple.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Amriteshwar_temple.jpg License: CC

BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: www.win7wallpapers.com
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Fibonacci
File:Dakshayani.jpg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Dakshayani.jpg License:
Public domain
Contributors: Shiva Carrying Sati on His Trident Original artist: Unknown<a href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718'
title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img
alt='wikidata:Q4233718'
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//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Locator_Dot.gif' width='24' height='24' data-le-width='8' data-le-height='8' /></a>
Original artist: Petr Dlouh
File:North.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/North.svg License: Public domain Contributors: DarkEvil.
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File:Photograph_of_Renuka_Devi.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/Photograph_of_Renuka_Devi.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors:
from my mobile camera
Original artist:
Yogid77
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8.3

Content license

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