Raigad Sri Jagadishwar Temple, Maharashtra

Address

Raigad Sri Jagadishwar Temple, Raigad Trail, Gherkilla Raigad, Raigad, Raigad Fort, Maharashtra 402305, India

Diety

Jagadishwar

Introduction

The Jagadishwar Temple is a Shiva Temple built by Shivaji, situated at 25 km north of Mahad. This temple depicts his devotion and belief in Hindu religion and it is said that he used to visit this temple every day. Despite of being a Hindu temple, the dome above this temple is a reflection of the Mughal architecture. The main deity of the temple is Jagadishwar. The premises of this temple consist of an idol of Jagadishwar in its interiors and an idol of Nandi in its exteriors, facing its entrance. However, now this temple is more in a decrepit state. Nearby attractions to this temple includes the Samadhi of Shivaji and his dog Statue.

Puranic Significance

Jagdishwar is a huge Shiva temple with a Nandi in the front. Temple area is protected by wall. On the outer wall of the temple on east side, there is a stone inscription which means – “This majestic building of Jagdishwar which brings happiness to all is built on the word of Shivaji Maharaj on the auspicious muhurtam in Hindu year of 1596. The Raigad Fort was seized by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and made it his capital in 1674 when he was crowned as the King of a Maratha Kingdom which later developed into the Maratha Empire, eventually covering much of western and central India. The fort rises 820 metres (2,700 ft) above the sea level and is located in the Sahyadri mountain range. The fort was looted and destroyed by the British after it was captured in 1818. This temple is quite old and famous in Lavasa.