Mahurye Ekaveerika Devi - Nanded

Mahurye Ekaveerika Devi  :-

 
As per Sri Adi Shankarachrya's shaktipeethas shlok the 8th Shakti peethas is 'Mahurye Ekaveerika'

Ekaveerika devi temple is in Mahur , Maharashtra. The deity here is called Ekaveerika mata. The temple is in Yavatmal district in Maharashtra. It is 50 km from Kinwat and 126 km from Nanded. Nagpur is 210 km by road from Mahur. Sati's Right shoulder has fallen here.

Mahur is famous for Renuka Devi temple and very few people are knowing about Ekaveerika devi temple and mostly they call Renuka devi temple as shakti peeth. It is said that Ekaveerika Devi is the elder sister of Renukadevi. Renuka devi temple is 800 years old.

one of the 18Shaktipeethas, it known as " Mahurye Ekaveerika" Ekaveera Mayura; or Ekaveera Mata, or Goddess Ekaveera Mata temple at Mahur, Nanded dist. Also called Mayura Kshetram or Matru Patanam.This temple 19/,23kms, from Mahur village, on the bank of Pen ganga (Pancha ganga river), in the fields. The temple has the' head' of the deity goddess .Near by hill and surroundings have numerous temples, viz. Renuka mata temple; parasurama temple;Dattreya Swami temple; Anasuya mata temple; Atri Maharishi Temple; Matru thirtha; Devdeveshwar mandir;Mahur Fort This place is also called Heure 2 19kms from Mahur. By and large this temple is more known as Ekaveera, locally, as i learnt from a bank manager of Nanded. Not as known as Ekavenika devi, localy, and mostly frquented by people from Andhra than mahara- stra.

 

About  Ekavenika devi  Temple:-

 Mahur is famous for Renuka Devi temple and very few people are knowing about Ekaveerika devi temple and mostly they call Renuka devi temple as shakti peeth. We find more rush at Renuka devi temple than Ekaveerika mata temple. It is said that Ekaveerika Devi is the elder sister of Renukadevi. Renuka devi temple is 800 years old.

Prasad being grinded Here pan patta and supari are grinded as paste and offered as prasad. There are many important temples and sightseeing places on the top of hill, and in the deep forest.

Ekaveera mata temple :-

 It is present on the bank of Pen Ganga river (Pancha Ganga river). It is about 30 to 40 minutes distance from Mahur. The temple is present in the fields of near by Village. The temple is very small. We will see only the head of Goddess here.

Goddess Renuka is associated with the Goddess Yellamma worship in Karnataka and parts of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Goddess Renuka is believed to be an incarnation of Goddess Durga and is popular in rural culture as the Mother Goddess and is worshipped as Amma, Yellamma, Duggavva, Dyaamavva and Marikamba. Her name and attributes changes from region to region.

Legend has it that Renuka was the wife of Sage Jamadagni and he suspected her of infidelity and ordered Parashurama to behead her. Lord Parashurama obeyed his father and when Sage Jamadagni wanted to reward his son, Lord Parashurama asked him to bring back his mother. Thus Renuka, the mother of Lord Parashurama, was brought back to life.


This story found numerous interpretations in rural culture and Renuka is believed to be an incarnation of Goddess Durga and in this incarnation she represented the fate of many rural women who were falsely accused of infidelity or other crimes.


Goddess Renuka performs the role of Mother Goddess and is responsible for the welfare of her devotees, for curing diseases and protecting the cattle. A large number of Goddesses worshipped in rural culture are forms of Goddess Durga. She is given different rural names and characteristics but her role remains the same that of the Mother Goddess


Story of Ekaveerika Devi:-

Renuka was the daughter of the king Renu of Kubaj country and the wife of the sage Jamadagni. When the king Sahastrarjuna paid a visit to Jamadagni in his abode, he was taken by surprise by the hospitality of the sage. When asked about the same, the sage told him that it is all because of the Kamadhenu, i.e., cow that fulfils the desires of the owner given to him by Indra, the king of the Gods.

                                                                                                           


Thinking that if the Kamadhenu was in his possession he would be able to maintain his vast army easily, the king Sahastrarjuna tried to seize the Kamadhenu from the sage by farce when his request to hand over the Kamadhenu to him was turned down by the sage. In the scuffle that ensued the sage died and his wife Renuka was injured due to 21 wounds she had received at the hands of the king. At this juncture many soldiers appeared on the scene from the body of the Kamadhenu by divine magic and farced the king to retreat.


On coming to know of the above incident Parasuram, the son of Jamadagni who rushed there vowed to defeat and punish the king 21 times. His mother asked him to cremate his father. He carried his father and mother to Mahur and cremated his father there. His mother became a sati.

The religious rites were conducted on this occasion by the God Sri Dattatreya himself. However, after everything was over Parasuram was stricken by grief and at this time a voice from the heavens told him that his mother would came out from the earth but he should not look behind. Being eager to see his mother, Parasuram just saw behind far a fraction of a second to find the mother's face aver the earth. The upper facet is the present upper facet of the Renukadevi.


Renukadevi is adorned with various gold ornaments such as the golden flowers to be used as earrings, gold garlands (putal mal candrahar, jaymal, etc.), nose-ring (nath), etc.

Other places:-

 Parasurama temple:-

 Lord Parasurama (incarnation of Lord Vishnu) temple is also present on the same hill. There is a holy pond here, called Parasurama kund.

Dattatreya Swami temple :-

 Jagadguru Dattareya swami temple is present on another hill.

Anasuya mata temple :-

 Anasuya mata is the mother of Dattatreya swami. Her temple is present on the third hill.

Atri Maharshi temple :-
 Atri maharshi is the father of Dattatreya swamy. This temple is also present beside Anasuya mata temple.

Matru tirtha :-
 Matru tirha is a very holy pond described in Guru Charitra. Lord Parsurama did ceremony of his father, Jamadagni, in this place. People will take a holy dip in this pond and get rid off their sins.

Devdeveshwar mandir :-
 This is the sleeping place of Dattatreya swami. Daily Guru Dattatreya swami will take bath at Varanasi in Ganga river, Bhiksha (Lunch) in Kolhapur and sleep in Mahur. This temple is present in Mahur town.

Chinta mani Ganesh temple:-

 20 km from Yavatmal at Kalam ,Chinta mani Ganesh temple is there. It is one of the eight Ganesh temples in Vidarbha and it is the only temple where deity faces south.

The temple is 20 feet below the ground level and it is said that every 12 years the temple is submersed in water comes out of the well.

Route:-
 
By Air :- Nearest Airport is Nagpur, 200 kms

By Road :- Mumbai - Ahmednagar - Paithan - Jalan - Washim - Pusad - Mahur, 717 kms. Mahurgad - Kinwat, 50 kms.

By Rail :- The nearest railway station is Kinwat which is 50 KM away, but Nanded which is 126 KM. is the more convenient railway station on South Central railway.