We spend our entire life in the hustle and bustle of the city. Roaming through the streets, with a huge laptop bag burdened on our shoulders, crazy tunes in our ears, we wear the mask of ignorance towards the surroundings. Subsequently, we start to forget that there is an element of surprise in our bag of emotions. Engrossed in the urge of making wealth, the real wealth of the city goes unnoticed! The heritage that was once a founding stone of every region seems to have been left idle to stand the test of time. Some of the unknown temples of Pune hold the secrets of this ancient heritage and this is our effort to uncover them.

Hiding in the urbanized complexion of Pune, there are few exotic and marvellous temples that take us back to the Peshwai era. When we had our first call with Poornima, she was sounding all excited to take us on a unique journey! The call was similar to finding a lost treasure in a ship of pirates. Honestly, Poornima was all charged up to present her exhaustive research on the lost glory of Pune’s temples. We readily agreed because who would want to miss an exciting story? Travelling is a story more than its destination and with Poornima, we went on this amazing virtual tour of exploring the unknown temples of Pune.

Shree Trishund Ganpati Temple

Poornima went on to explain the uniqueness of this temple. The Ganpati idol in this temple had three trunks (the etymology of the name – trishund – three shund). The vehicle of Trishund Ganpati is not a mouse, but a peacock! Have you ever seen a rhinoceros roaming in the jungles of Pune? Maybe not you, but the people who carved out this temple had seen one!

The carvings contain a frame featuring a rhinoceros figure held tightly by a British officer depicting the win of the Royal Army over Bengal and Assam. No, this is not another Ancient Aliens episode, but a staggering fact! Poornima had a word with the locals. The told her that a famous dage Bimjigiri Gosavi converted the Lord Shiva into a Ganpati temple. Sage Gosavi went into an intense state of meditation under this temple. There is a secret pond under the temple where the sage sat for spiritual attainment. Every Guru Pourinma, this pond is opened for visitors.

Location: Plot No, 397, Maharana Pratap Rd, 
Kasba Peth, Pune, Maharashtra 411011

Nageshwara Temple

“Nageshwara Temple is so old that it dates back to around the 14th or 16th century!” Poornima was narrating a story about the installation of this ancient temple of Pune. “There is an extremely funny story behind this process. Initially, this was supposed to be a Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi temple. The enthusiastic devotees brought these idols from the rich quarries of Karnataka. But the weird part is people left the idol of Goddess Laxmi on the way because it was too heavy. Consequently, the devotees brought only Vishnu’s idol!”

A short giggle ran through our faces. Among the many old temples of Maharashtra, Nageshwara Temple is one of the many celebrated ones. Built in the 16th century, the founder of this temple is still unknown. If you are looking for an authentic heritage walk in Pune, Nageshwara temple should be on your bucket list of unknown temples of Pune

Location: Somwar Peth, Pune, Maharashtra 411011

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Omkareshwara Temple

In the hustle and bustle of the Shaniwar Peth, stands an architectural marvel. The grandeur of Omkareshwara Temple often goes unnoticed by the people. Being a Lord Shiva temple, it has readily found its place along the banks of a local river – Mutha. The chief architects designed different entrances of this temple in a strategic way to tackle the monsoon floods. Thus when it rains, water accumulates only in the courtyard & the shrine but not in the sanctum. The strategic construction of Omkareshwara Temple sets it apart as one of the unique temples of Maharashtra. 

“ The Shiva lingam is used as a measurement of the annual rainfall in the region! Unless the water touches the lingam, it is considered as low rainfall.

– Locals around Omkarareshwara Temple

Location: Balgandharva Bridge, 233 Near, Chandrashekhar Govind Aapte Rd, Shaniwar Peth, Pune, Maharashtra 411030

Shaikh Salla Mosque

How did Pune get its unique name? It was after the temple of Puneyshwara – another additiong in the list of unknown temples of Pune. The glory of this pretty old temple lies idle beneath the Shaikh Salla Mosque. During the reign of Islamic rulers in India, Muslim ascetics came down to the Deccan plateau from Delhi to establish a firm command over the region. Consequently, they ravaged the existing temples of Puneshwara and Narayaneshwara and raised twin mosques over there. Poornima and her team visited the mosque and saw the old columns and pillars of the Punyeshwara temple intact and in a good shape.

Location: 1002, Veer Santaji Ghorpade Rd, Kasba Peth, Pune, Maharashtra 411011

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Tambdi Jogeshwari Temple

Talk about exploring the oldest, unknown temples of Pune, and Poornima will never fail to bring up Tambdi Jogeshwari. It was the totem or Gram Devata of Pune as considered by the locals. In 1636 when Shivaji Maharaj and Mata Jijabai (the pioneers of the mighty Maratha kingdom) arrived in Pune, they restored the temple and gave it a ravishing look! According to the research that Poornima did, it was clear that even Peshwas had a unique bond with this temple. The royal family often sought the blessings in this temple before venturing on a new mission.

“You would be surprised to know that even the swadeshi movement took its first few steps in this temple itself!”

– Poornima.

Location: 33/A, Budhwar Peth Rd, Budhwar Peth, Pune, Maharashtra 411002

Vetal Temple

Typically described as the ‘Ghost Temple’, the Vetal Temple is something that will leave you with sleepless nights! But for Poornima it was another opportunity to explore one of the unknown temples of Pune hidden under urbanized perceptions. According to Hindu mythology, people consider Vetal as the King of Ghosts and he regularly worship for protection against ghosts. Should we worship a negative spirit or not is still a prevailing debate amongst the intellectuals, but in Pune, people readily show their utmost devotion towards the King of Ghosts.

“The god is a red block about three feet high and three feet round. The top is roughly made into the shape of a man’s face with large eyes and a black moustache. It is thickly crusted with red lead that gives it a dreadful look!”

– Poornima

Location: 170, Lallubhai Damodardas Rd, Guruwar Peth, Pune, Maharashtra 411002

Dulya Maruti Temple

“Okay, so the story goes like this – people saw the idol of Lord Maruti swaying in grief when Abdali’s forces overpowered the Maratha army in the battle of Panipat.”

– Poornima in conversation with the locals

The word Dulya means rocking. And since that day, this temple got its name as ‘Dulya Maruti Temple’. Built in 1680, this one of the many unknown temples of Pune that brings the memories of medieval India. The temple is in three compartments, the two shrines joined by a central audience hall or sabhamandap. Each has one entrance door and paved platforms all round for the circuit or pradakshina.

Location: 260, Laxmi Rd, Raje Wadi, New Nana Peth, Ganesh Peth, Pune, Maharashtra 411002

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Khunya Murlidhar Temple

Well, yes, it is Murlidhar – Lord Krishna. But why Khunya? The literal meaning of this term is a murder! How can something as pure as Lord Krishna become a murder? The state politics became the reason for this regretful name! Poornima narrated us the disgusting story of the then politics between the British-backed Maratha king Bajirao II and a prominent family – Gadre.

A Jaipur artist – Bakhatram created stunning idols of Krishna & Radha for the Gadre family. But it caught King Bajirao II’s attention. He dreamt of having it in Shaniwar Wada. Realizing this, Gadre decided to conduct a consecration ceremony of the deity and install it. He had anticipated that Bajirao II might wedge in between and thus he ordered an army of 200 Arab soldiers to protect a temple. The blood of internal conflicts fell on the auspicious abode Murlidhar – more than 60 people lost their lives in his courtyard. Thus the name ‘Khunya’

Location: 1235, Bhopatkar Rd, Perugate, Sadashiv Peth, Pune, Maharashtra 411030

Untade Maruti Temple

The camel cavalry of the ancient guardians of Raste path raised a temple of Lord Maruti. It is believed that a camelry force that camped here, established Sri Maruti here for worship. Today it has become Untade Maruti Unt [उंट] in Marathi means camel. Over the time many devotees of Sri Maruti had contributed their might and had developed the mandir. Today, a committee of local devotees manage this temple. The Lord’s left hand is resting on the left knee of the Lord and showing ‘Apana Mudra’. With His right hand with ‘Abhaya Mudra’ Lord is giving ‘Abhaya’, don’t be afraid – I am here to protect you. Lords’ tail is resting near His left feet with a small curve.

Location: Mudaliar Rd, Porwal Metallica, Somwar Peth, Pune, Maharashtra 411011

At the end, Poornima stated a staggering fact –

“Pune had always been the center of Maratha empire politics but what exactly is the history of Pune? What was Pune like before the rise of Shivaji Maharaj and the Bijapur empire? The Satavahana, Rashtrakuta dynasties that prevailed in some parts of Deccan, did they bring any glory to the city or was it just a connecting town between Bhor and Junnar? The answers are not in the books, nowhere documented, but lost with time! The Oxford of the East literally has no ancient history!”

These unknown temples of Pune are the few pieces of evidence that talk about the glorious past of this state. And if not preserved, even these temples might get lost in the greed of urbanization!