Chandrapur Anchaleshwar Temple, Maharashtra

Address

Chandrapur Anchaleshwar Temple, Maharashtra

Chandrapur – Jatpura Gate Rd,

Near Gond fort,

Maharashtra 442403

Moolavar

Anchaleshwar

Introduction

Achaleshwar Mahadeva temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva located just outside the Gond fort in Chandrapur town, Chandrapur district, Maharashtra state, India. The temple is dedicated to Achaleshwar Mahadeva in the form of Lingam. The sacred bull Nandi is seen in near the entrance facing the sanctum sanctorum.

Puranic Significance

According to legend, one day, when King Khandkya Ballal Shah was hunting north-west of Ballarpur, then the capital of the Gond dynasty, he grew thirsty and rode up to the dry bed of the Jharpat river, looking for water. He discovered some water in a hole, and after quenching his thirst, he washed his face, hands and feet. That night, the king slept more soundly than he had in many years. The next morning, his wife, Queen Hiratani, was in for a surprise. She noticed that parts of his body that had been touched by the water were devoid of tumors that had been there previously. Both king and queen proceeded to Jharpat, to the site where the king had quenched his thirst. They found the hole in the ground that the king had stumbled upon, and on clearing away the grass and mud, they saw five footprints of a cow in the solid rock, each filled with an unfailing supply of water. Inquiries revealed that was the resting place of the great God Achaleshwar, ‘The Immovable One’. Anchaleshwar temple Queen Hiratani decided that they should build a temple above the healing waters, and the king sent his officers to collect skilled artisans for the project. The temple was later renovated by Queen Hirai (1704-1719) in limestone and she added panels of stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata on the outer walls of the shrine. Panels on Anchaleshwar temple More than 500 years later, Anchaleshwar Temple still stands in memory of King Khandkya Ballal Shah’s restoration to health and happiness.