NB Viewpoint | Remains of historic Punyeshwar-Narayneshwar Temple found on the hindside of Pune's Badi Sheikh Darga
Historically, the Punyeshwar Mahadev Mandir was a Shiva temple along the bank of the river Mutha.
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"The Punyeshwar temple is linked with the sole identity of 'Pune', as Pune city is named after Punyeshwar temple"
Pune, Apr 7: The remains of Narayneshwar-Punyeshwar Temple have been found on the hindside of Badi Sheikh Darga, in Pune. The claimswere made by various organizations of Pune. Reportedly, the temple remains were found while Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) workers were cleaning the area.
According to report, one of the remains found is reportedly of a samadhi on which the 'AUM' symbol is inscribed. The dates of 1700 and 1800's are found inscribed on it. It is notable that over the period of time, various historians and organizations have already claimed that Narayneshwar and Punyeshwar Temple premises are preoccupied by the Choti and Badi Sheik Darga.
Besides, even political entities have taken up the issue earlier. The Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS), has consistently campaigned to free Narayneshwar and Punyeshwar Temples. BJP in the recent bypolls of Kasabapeth also promised to free these temples. MNS leader Ajay Shinde sahred with media, "I have grown up in this area when I was 15-16, idol was worshipped and on the upper area, the Darga was situated. There was no such construction which can be seen right now. I don't claim that recent evidence belongs to Narayneshwar Temple only, that experts will find out."
— Ajay Shinde (@AjayShi44911805) March 25, 2023
The Punyeshwar temple is linked with the sole identity of 'Pune', as Pune city is named after Punyeshwar temple. Historically, the Punyeshwar Mahadev Mandir was a Shiva temple along the bank of the river Mutha. As per historic records, long with Punyeshwar there existed another temple named Narayaneshwar.
Also read: Miscreants vandalizes Lord Ganesha’s ancient idol in search of hidden treasure in Andhra Pradesh
However, in the late thirteenth century Punyeshwar temple was brought down, to convert the sacred place into a dargah. It is now renowned as Dhakta (Choti) Sheikh Salla Dargah, whereas the Narayaneshwar was also later converted into Senior (Badi) Sheikh Salla dargah.
The issue is not a recent one but a long pending one, since a wall along the river collapsed in 2006 land exposed the old artefacts of Punyeshwar temple under the dargah. It is to be noted that the temple is one of the earliest named temples, after Pataleshwar cave temple.
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