Once in a while my friends and I go to places in and around Pune and make a whole day out of it. One such place we visited is the Bhuleshwar Temple in Malshiras, around 45 kilometers from Pune.
We went on bikes and reached there in about 3 hours.
The temple is situated on a hillock. Built around the 12th century by Krishnadevraya, this Shiva temple is historically significant as the carvings are exquisite and the architecture is one of a kind.
It was noon when we reached and the sun was upon us. We quickly hurried inside and it was pitch black. The stone was cool to the touch and the temperature dropped down drastically. It was hard to see but the modern light bulbs guided us further through the queue and near the garbhagriha. After paying our respects, we went further inside to exit through the back. This is where the light from the brightly lit circumambulatory passage spills into the dark interior and beckons you.
The stonework here is just stunning! To make a blank stone wall look so beautiful and so interesting that even the light plays hide and seek with it is amazing. Every corner is filled with statues, statuettes, and sculptures. The architectural style used here is known as Hemadpanti style. The horizontal trims and bands break off the verticality and make the structure more aesthetically pleasing.
The top of the temple has Islamic architectural work which was often used so that during the wars people would mistaken them for masjids and not burn the temples
We spent another hour or so taking pictures and looking at this beautiful place.
Once outside, everything felt very different. You could hear people again, and the wind. We roamed around the temple complex where we found some steps leading to underground shelters (or temples-not sure) which were abandoned. Next to the temple there is a peepal tree and we sat on the paar (platform around a tree) eating the prasad and some snacks we’d brought along, chilling in the summer breeze.
Overall, this was a successful outing!
Shreyasee Shinde 