Mahakali Temple Adivare

Getting there

• By road

  State transport buses run to Adivare from Ratnagiri. The route goes via Pavas, Gavkhadi, Purnagad and Kashele, about 34 km.

Why devotees come here

Mahakali Temple stands in Adivare village in Ratnagiri district, about 30 km from Rajapur town. Local people hold it as important as Kolhapur's Ambabai temple, and the whole complex is called Mahakali Panchayatan.

Legend says fishermen found a black-stone image of Mahakali in their net. As the dream instructed, they installed her in the central Vadapeth area of the village.

Tradition credits Adi Shankaracharya with establishing the deity in the fourteenth century. Records of visits by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Kanhoji Angre and Samarth Ramdas are said to survive. In the Shilahara period the village was a flourishing marketplace.

Local people say she answers vows, and the temple is the pride of the village, held as important as Kolhapur's Ambabai temple. Mahasaraswati is installed in front of Mahakali, and Mahalakshmi on the right side. The temple has a tiled roof, like other Konkan shrines, and its grounds are clean and beautiful. The Ratnagiri district tourism page lists the temple among the district's tourist places. Adivare lies in Rajapur taluka of Ratnagiri district, in the southern Konkan.

Festivals

• Ashwin Shuddha Pratipada to NavamiNavratri fair

  Celebrated every year at the temple. A nine-day fair draws devotees to Adivare.

• Tenth day of NavratriDussehra

  A palkhi procession and cultural and religious programmes are held alongside the daily events.

Tips for your visit

• Nearby are a hot water spring called Unhale and the ancient Dhootpapeshwar Temple.
• Rajapur town, about 30 km away, is known for its Ganga, a holy water source that appears every three years.

Questions people ask