Walkeshwar Temple

The Baan Ganga Temple, also called the Walkeshwar Temple, is a temple devoted to Lord Shiva that is situated in the South Mumbai precinct of Mumbai, India, close to the Malabar Hill neighborhood. Situated near the temple is the Banganga Tank, and it is the highest point in the city.

History of Walkeshwar Temple

Lakshman Prabhu, a Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu minister in the court of the Silhara dynasty Kings who ruled Thane and the islands of Mumbai between 810 and 1240 AD, constructed the temple and the accompanying freshwater Banganga Tank in 1127 AD. 

In the sixteenth century, when the Portuguese ruled Mumbai, they destroyed the temple. Thanks to the generosity of Gaud Saraswat Brahmin Rama Kamat, a philanthropist and businessman from Mumbai who was known as 'Kamati' in British records, it was rebuilt in 1715.

Around the Banganga Tank, numerous smaller temples have emerged and the main temple has undergone extensive reconstruction. By 1860, there were 50 Dharamshala, and ten to twenty other temples surrounding the temple, and the temple was drawing larger crowds.

The Gaud Saraswat Brahmin Temple Trust still owns the temple and a large portion of the complex's land.

Eight Sanskrit verses that tell the temple's history are inscribed on the temple.

Legend of Walkeshwar Temple in Mumbai

According to legend, the Hindu god Rama stopped there while pursuing the demon king Ravana, who had abducted his wife, Sita, on his journey from Ayodhya to Lanka. After that, Lord Rama was told to worship the Shiva lingam, and it is believed that weary of waiting for his brother Lakshman to bring an idol, he built the first linga out of sand.

The name comes from the Sanskrit term for a sand idol, Valuka Iswar, which is an Avatar of Shiva.

As the tale goes on, Rama shoots an arrow and brings the Ganges over here because he is thirsty and there is only seawater nearby. Thus, Bana Ganges (arrow in Sanskrit). Though it is close to the sea, the water that fills the tank comes from an underground spring there.

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Walkeshwar Temple in Mumbai