Thread by @KindsoulRitzS

#Thread
Anyone visiting old Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra is likely to know about the Panchganga Temple, the temple where the waters of five rivers - Koyna, Krishna, Veena, Savitri and Gayatri come together. But right behind the parking for the Panchaganga temple, there is a

small well marked trail which takes you to another temple well worth exploring the Krishnabai temple.

The path takes you through the woodland to a clearing at the side of a hill, and what has to be one of the more dramatic temple settings.

The temple is dedicated to Shiva,

and consists of an arcades court which was possibly open originally but later roofed over, with a high stone wall at the rear.

Here is the supposed source of the Krishna river, with direct parallels with the nearby Panchaganga Temple in having that water pass through a stone

spout carved as a cow which falls into a cistern below. It’s an incredible atmospheric and beautiful setting, amplifies by the fact that seemingly few people make the short walk to visit the place. The views are spectacular, overlooking the the Krishna valley down below.

As for the age of this temple, that’s a hard one to figure out. Some sources attribute it to a ruler of Ratnagiri on the Konkan coast who built it as late as 1888, other sources claim origin going back to the Pandavas, (as is often the case at temple sites!).

The temple looks and feels as ancient and has no doubt experienced many alterations and additions over the centuries.

Source: @kevinstandage
#HarHarMahadev
#Temple
#Maharashtra
#mahableshwar