Ganga Devsthanam near Asangaon

pranavganesh

In 2002, while travelling from Nashik to Mumbai hitch hiking ..... i was stuck at a place called Tansa on my second night and wanted to spend night somewhere out there... I was directed to a small cluster of temple called Ganga Devsthanam (or something like that)... i stayed there for a night and the whole atmosphere was mesmerizing.....the next day I walked 3-4 kms to come to Asangaon and continued my journey...

That night passed by me.... and i pledged that i will definitely be going there again..... as i very tense those days due to some personal problems and the effect of visiting that place was very very soothing...... but i couldnt ever go back....

with time i moved to new delhi and then out of india...

In January 2007, I am coming back to India...with Mumbai being my first stop....

I will try to visit there.....and try to find this place again.....

Can anyone tell me the exact coordinates of the place, how to get there and the history of the place....or any other details about this cluster of temple, why is it named Ganga Devsthan.... and any other place worth seeing nearby

Regards

steven_ber

Do a google search for Tansa Lake and you'll find lots of info.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en...e+Search&meta=

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Train information.

pranavganesh

Thanks steven ... i tried this option.... but nothing on ganga devsthanam....
It is not on the tourist circuit.... its a local temple at best....

If no reply comes I will still go there and find out the place.... but just wondered if some wandering soul has seen the surreal place which i stumbled upon

steven_ber

Find the official Maharashtra state website, then the Thane district, then look for local election results (they break down into very small regions), or schools or something similar.

I've used both options successfully over the years to find small places.

steven_ber

This is the best on-line map you'll find, by far the most detailed, though it's a little old.

It's a HUGE map though, so I hope your on a fast connection.

Start looking a third of the way down the right hand side of the map, the red road is the one between Nasik and Mumbai.

pranavganesh

Thanks Steven.... it s a huge map and though i could not find the exact place but have got a few clues by positioning the Highway and river Bhatsai.... will let you know about the place when i visit in January

Thanks and Regards

AvidTrekker

I dont know about Ganga devasthaanam.

Asangaon is a very easy to reach place. Go there by local train from CST. Ask around. Some local will surely guide you if its within 4 km of Asangaon.

Shouldn't be a problem at all...

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SANJAY_DEL

Mahuli Temple

Its the highest point in the Thane district. The forest surrounding Mahuli has been declared as a sanctuary. Once Shahaji Raje, father of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, had this fortress under his belt.

The nearest railway station to Mahuli is Asangaon. One can catch either Asangaon or Kasara Local from Mumbai CST, which could also be caught at Kalyan Junction. 4 Km. walk from Asangaon station will take you to the base temple in 11/2 hours. 3 hours trek will take you to the summit.

himadventures

SOURCE: http://www.shivajipark.com/ganpati/temples.html

Shri Mahaganapati (Titwala) : By propitating Ganesh Idol, Consecrated by sage Kanva, Devi Shakuntala & king Dushyant came together after a long period of disagreement. Shakuntala & king Dushyant god married here only. Idol from Mahabharat period was vanished, while constructing lake peshwa saradar Ramchandra Mehendale got the present idol. The Madhavrao Peshwe consecrated this idol. If Mahaganapati is worshipped regularly marriages of desired people can be fixed easily. If Mahaganpati is propitlated properly, conflicts between husband & wife come to end. Those who desires to have son, will get son. In Mahaganpati’s temple, there is sanctum of Lord Shivshankar towards right. In the right hand corner of the sanctum, padukas of great Ganesh devotees late Shri Vengaonkar Joshi are consecrated. Devotes should take darshan of these padukas. Since Mahaganapatis idol was worshipped properly & scientifically by sages in ancient times, today also idol looks alive. Ther is a temple of Vithoba - Rukmini near Mahaganpati’s temple. One iron tube is sent out of sanctum of this temple. It is said that sound of Bhajans (holy songs in praise of God) going on in the temple of Pandharpur can be heard from this tube. You can also visit nearly places like satis memorial, jaypal maharaj’s Samadhi, shiv temple in vasundry village. Lodging & boarding arrangements are availabe with ancestral poojary Shri Govindrao Joshi. Private hotels & lodges are not available in Titwala. Titwala is a third railway station from Kalyan on Mumbai-Nashik railway line. Titwala, Asangaon, Kasara locals are available from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus of Mumbai.

himadventures

Maharshtra remote has many hidden treasures about which lesser is known and wrriten about. Once you started venturing into remote of this wonderful region...you will be falling in love with it.

I personaly have seen many caves and temples along with old carvings in hidden caves which smell badly of bat droppings...and I will beleive that out there..lot of hidden caves are there which are going to shock us like AJANTA and ELLORA.

pranavganesh

You are right HIMADVENTURES

On caves (the fabulous three are)
1. Panhelkazi Caves near Dapoli are fabulous, reach Khed by train and then take a bus to Dapoli and after that try finding some way to reach Panhelkazi
2. There are few caves on the hill near the Bhimashankar near Karjat.... nobody seems to go there ....i trekked there .....it is a bit difficult trek because of lack of any clear path but after reaching the place the effect is both magical and eerie. locals have a story associated with this place...of some prostitute who worshipped Shiva in these caves, but i think its a buddhist cave
3. Below the Shivneri are few Buddhist caves......on the back side of the fort....try doing a trek from the back side of the fort, see the caves and then climb up to the fort by a rope.....the climb is steep cliff

I will rate as three most beautiful hidden gems of Maharashtra when it comes to cave

pranavganesh

By the way I finally pinned down this place Ganga Devsthan with the help from Wikimap...

One needs to go to Asangaon railway station and take an auto to Shahapur village....at the outskirts of the village is this place called Ganga Devasthan....

There are two temples....one Vitthal and one Shiva.....and this place is near a seasonal rivulet....so might be a great place to visit in Monsoons

I can vouch for it ....go there for some spiritual therapy.....its offbeat to the core......and a serene place....

Will definitely go back in future

pranavganesh

That night in Ganga Devasthan: Part One- Reaching there.

Chances are that no one has ever heard of Ganga Devasthan. Not even the most wandering soul or the one with the most compelling wander lust in the weary eyes. I do not blame them, for that is what this place was meant to be- a serene spot tucked away in a small village hamlet, meant only for the small community that lived there, and kept hidden from the onslaught of tourism as a commercial than a therapeutic activity.


This gem would have kept itself hiding from me, if just for the purpose of traveling on a shoestring and spending the night somewhere somehow, I would not had tried something very different. And when I did, I was rewarded by the most surreal and serene night in my life. One that I still remember in my dreams, one that still beckons me.


Bombay gets its supplies of water from Vihar Lake, close to where I used to stay six years ago, in Indian Institute of Technology campus. The Vihar Lake incidentally gets its water from a lake called Tansa in the north-eastern suburbs of Bombay. This place is surrounded by a wild life sanctuary of the same name.


So one fine day, I decided, after having my lunch, to venture there and see the place… It was almost 2 pm in the evening and I was aware that there would not be any coming back, the same day- given the distance; and therefore decided to stuff my pocket with three hundred rupee notes, for a just in case scenario.


To reach Tansa, one needs to go to Atgaon Railway station on the Central line of the Mumbai suburban railway system. Atgaon is the third last station on the Kalyan- Kasara segment, and most of the local trains end either at Kalyan or further ahead but much before Atgaon, at Titwala. Therefore one needs to wait for almost an hour for taking a train to Kasara and alight two stations before Kasara at Atgaon.


Atgaon, by itself, is a typical rural suburb of Bombay- with hardly anything to write about. Nothing noticeable occured, even during the journey, or if it did , then I have forgotten- time takes toll- it happened 5 years ago. However, I am not able to forget the Khadavali railway station somehow, which falls on the way to Atgaon. Khadavali, again had hardly anything special but was on the banks of a river; and from the train I could see the far 'ghats' of that river that beckoned me and I replied "I will come", smilingly.


Once at Atgaon, one can get Tata-Sumos or Trax for Tansa and beyond. Atgaon, is not all that unknown, actually it is the starting point for Mahuli temple trek, which sits atop a hill and dominates the sky-line of the area. But my destination was even more off beat, for nobody had ever seen a person going towards Tansa for a visit. And how off beat it was, I realized only after reaching the place.


By the time, I reached Tansa, it was already past six and Sun had started setting. And it was getting dark, so when I alighted the Trax, I alighted alone… for no one was heading for Tansa and were actually heading towards villages beyond it… I was standing amidst a jungle without a soul to company. The Trax owner told me to go towards the lake, to the Forest Rest House. He told me, that it is the only place in the vicinity that is inhabited.


After a ten minute walk, I reached the Rest house- it was locked. I shouted for the Rest House keeper and hearing my voice, he came over. He was surprised to see a person who wanted to visit the place. Tansa apparently was out of bounds for everybody, due to security concerns. And to visit it, one required permit from BMC or some such place in Bombay. I felt dejected; all my efforts were going in vain. However to salvage a little, I peeped through the fence and had a glimpse of the lake- huge, serene and calm. And then realized that I have to spend my night somewhere. I asked the Rest House keeper, if I could stay in the Rest House- and realized that I needed permission from DFO's office in Thane, to do that. I knew, if I had greased the palms of the keeper, I could have managed to stay there, but decided against it.


I decided to head back to Atgaon Station and find some lodge or hotel to stay in the night. I could have taken a train back to my Kanjurmarg and head towards my hostel, but that was the last thing I wanted to do. Venturing out, and returning back without any experience- for the lack of courage, is unpardonable in the realms of traveling. But at 7 in the night, it was difficult to find a vehicle heading back to Atgaon. After a while and with some help of the RH keeper, I found a motor cycle owner heading towards Atgaon and willing to take me there.


I struck a conversation with this man, and realized that there was absolutely no hotel and no lodge in Atgaon. He said that he was heading to a place beyond Atgaon, called Shahapur…and there are a few hotels over there. And offered to take me over there.


In Shahapur, it turned out, there was only one hotel. And it was priced more than I could have afforded… I was bargaining for the price, when this Motorcycle man, sensed my predicament and told me about Ganga Devasthan.


That night in Ganga Devasthan: Part Two- Was it maktub.

Ganga Devasthan is a small cluster of temple about two kilometers from the Shahapur Village, on the bank of a rivulet called Ganga for the matter of faith. It has two main temples, one devoted to Lord Shiva and other to Lord Vitthal. This place is well revered by people of Shahapur village and nearby Atgaon and Asangaon and lies south of Mumbai-Agra highway.


The motorcycle owner told me that it was an 'Ekadashi' night and there will be night long prayers in the Vitthal temple and therefore it would not be very difficult for me to spend a night over there. He said that I can have food (actually prasad) and shelter for the night.


Initially, I was a bit skeptical- for the simple reason that I will be using a temple premises for my selfish need, but then something deep within me told me that it’s a divine call.


We Hindus believe in the concept of divine call, it is said that the divine shrines beckon a person and not everybody can go to those shrines- how so much one tries. I subscribe to the belief; I have this urge of visiting 12 Jyotirlingas, spread all over India. And I have visited by now, quite a few of them, located far and wide- in Rameshwaram, in Aurangabad, in Somnath to name just a few- and still till date I have not been able to visit the one closest to the place I spent 25 years of my life- Baba Vishwanath in Varanasi.


It was almost 9 at night, when I started walking towards Ganga Devasthan- bidding adieu to Shahapur. The road to Devasthan was pitch dark, and a distance I could see the lights of the Devasthan, showing me the path and calling me towards it. There was something magical in those twenty minutes of walk, even after the five years went by, I distinctly remember that my feelings of loneliness, fear and homelessness gradually changed to an indescribable emotion- suddenly I was one with the entire surrounding, there was no fear, there was no past and no future.


I remember those days I was at the cross-roads in my career and my life- unable to decide which way to go- unable to understand which way I am drifting, both professionally and personally. And all of a sudden, that stress was gone- as if it never existed. It was something divine, something similar to what happened to me when I visited Somnath- when I intended to visit Diu, for a couple of carefree night with booze, took a wrong bus, reached Veeraval, cursed myself and just to salvage the trip of mine visited Somnath temple. Before visiting Somnath, I was an atheist- contemplating adoption of Buddhism as faith, and after the visit and a series of coincidences (or were they) that followed, I became a believer.


After those twenty minutes of walk, I was close enough to the temple to hear some Marathi bhajans (devotional songs) being sung by the people over there. No blaring loudspeakers, no remixes, simple voices companied by the rhythm of a 'dholak' and melody of a 'manjira'. I knew- I am at the right place at the right time. As the Alchemist told Santiago, that wandering shepherd boy- "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it..."- it actually did for me, I wanted to sleep at peace, to decide, to feel loved by God and all universe conspired. It was maktub (the destiny). It was half past nine; six hours ago I was lying in my hostel at IIT wondering whether I will be able to get any good summer placement at the end of the first year of my MBA- having been kicked out of Wipro and PWC, the flagship recruiters; and now I was 50 kilometers away from the hurly-burly, far from the battles to be lost and won, far from a deteriorated myself.


There were some hundred people gathered over there, from Shahapur and other nearby villages. I wondered if they will object me being there. I entered the sanctum sanctorum of the Vitthal temple- it was strange because normally I always go to Shiva temple first, at any place- but today I was just following the beckon. The moment I faced Lord Vitthal, a strange feeling ran down my spine- for never had I seen, eyes more powerful and so intense- I knew everything will be going to be alright. I felt numb and peaceful.


That night in Ganga Devasthan: Part Three – And then the night.

Vaishnavas, the follower of Lord Vishnu and the biggest sect aamong the Hindus- observe Ekadashi by fasting on that day. Ekadashi is the eleventh day of the Hindu month, that falls after the full or new moon. I had seen my mother and grandmother observing Ekadashi, during my child hood but I had no inkling of the importance of the day.

The Ekadashi function in Ganga Devasthan was a local function and therefore any one new was easily distinguishable. So was I.

I paid my obeisance to Lord Vitthal and then to Lord Shiva, whose temple was a few meters away from that. It was ten by now, and I had already started feeling intense hunger pangs. I looked at the faces of devotees, wondering that many or all of them have fasted for the entire day and yet they look so contented. Faith moves the world, some one said.

Once I was at Panchmarhi, with a friend of mine- and we were trekking towards Mahadev temple located on a hill top and chatting along. I was talking to him about the state of affairs in India and wondering as to how India survives despite so many dysfunctionalities. And then my friend pointed out in a direction and said –'this is how'. I looked in the direction in which he pointed, and there was a man without legs crawling with the help of his hands and moving towards the temple, whose trek had made us gasp our breaths. Such is the power of faith.

After a while of pondering, I decided that I will just lie somewhere and try to spend my night over there… I found a bench bang in front of the Vitthal Temple, played my bag on it and lie over there. From a distance, I could see the proceedings of the night, the devotees who sang and danced, in Marathi- though incomprehensible yet sweet. I wished to be a part of them and yet for some reason, kept away- lest I may not disturb them.

And then all of a sudden, an old man patted my back and asked me something in Marathi. I was able to comprehend that he was asking me as to why I am not joining them in praying the Lord. Was it a divine gesture, I wondered.

In few minutes, I joined the devotees and started dancing and enjoying with them. It was a unique experience in social, in anthropological and spiritual sense- some years ago; while in Pune- I had food with some Warkaris, and interacted with them…. Today I was reminded of something similar.

Words about Warkaris- Warkaris belong to Vaishnavite groups and follow the Bhakti tradition. In the month of July and August, they walk towards Lord Vitthal temple in Pandharpur- and all along the way people help them, by organizing shelters, food and guiding them. On one such occasion in Pune, I saw a group of Warkaris from a village near Karjat having their food and entered into a conversation with them. They invited me to have food with them; sitting on the road side… the whole interaction was unique. I promised myself that one day I will do the entire Warkari trek to Pandharpur; I still await that day.

Today at Ganga Devasthan I was reminded of that interaction, though this time I was not a passive viewer, learning about them by observation but by participation. And it was ethereal to say the least.

After an hour or so, all the devotees sat down in a queue and started having food, I was their prime attractions- they started questioning me about a lot of things in life in broken Hindi and I tried answering them in simple Hindi punctuated with words of Marathi that I had learnt during my stay in Bombay.

The food was simply superb, straight from the houses of rural Maharashtra; No amount and I repeat, no amount of money could have bought such a tasty food; India is different- because of non-prevalence of eating out as an activity, the best food of Indian cuisine is served not in the best of restaurants but in Indian homes. This is a best kept secret. In other countries I am told that due to prevalence of eating out, the food found in restaurant is superlative to what is found in houses (of course I am talking about the traditional communal cuisines than the fast food)

The old man, it turned out was the head priest of the Lord Vitthal temple. After the festivities were over, he sat down with me and spoke for half an hour, asked me what my programme for the morning is- I told him that I would like to leave the place early morning and go to my hostel or Khadavali. Then he prepared a bed for me in the temple courtyard and said that he will wake me up at 4:30 in the morning.

I had one of the most refreshing sleeps of my life. In the morning, the priest woke me up with a warm cup of Chaha (Marathi tea) and some food. I was overwhelmed, after having my breakfast- paid my obeisance to Lord Vitthal and touched the priest's feet and left the place.

That day I went to Khadavali, to keep my promise of yesterday. And made another promise that I will come again to this place… I am yet to keep that promise.

Sadanand Kamath

A well written travelogue which kept me in suspense until the last paragraph. I admire your interest in such off-beat places. Keep it up.
In my next visit to Nashik, I will try to take a break at Shahapur and visit Ganga Devasthan.

By the way, the nearest railway station for Shahapur is Asangaon on Central Railway and not Atgaon.

Sadanand

shahronakm

Nice travelogue. As usual your travelogue's are excellent.

Ronak.