Palasnath Temple

Getting there

• By train

  Some trains stop at Bhigwan, including Chennai Mail (11027) and Hyderabad Express (17031).

• By road

  State transport buses bound for Solapur take about 3.5 hours from Pune to Bhigwan, and you can also drive. Palasdev is about 120 km from Pune.

On the way

• Take the Pune-Solapur road and turn off a short way from Bhigwan toward Palasdev village.
• From the village, the road turns unpaved and runs down to the Ujani river bed.
• A short boat ride across the water reaches the temple when it rises out of the reservoir.

Why devotees come here

Palasnath Temple stands at Palasdev village on the Bhima river, near Bhigwan on the Pune-Solapur road. It is a very old Shiva temple, valued as a Prati Kashi. When the Ujani dam's water drops, the temple rises out of the reservoir, and it goes under again when the dam refills.

The temple is a very old Shiva temple, and it is mentioned in history. It is valued as a Prati Kashi, a second Kashi. The courtyard holds sati stones, hero stones, a broken horse, an idol of Maruti and the remains of a lamp tower.

The temple is probably from the Yadava period, and its brick spires still survive. Palasdev is a village that was rebuilt on the Bhima river bank after the old village was submerged by the Ujani dam reservoir. After about four months of dead storage, the refilled dam covered the old temple again, along with a landlord's old mansion and a British-era structure called Pachpul.

On the mound opposite stands another temple with an empty sanctum, and Ramayana scenes are carved on the rock walls around it. Another temple stands beside the Palasnath shrine, and its deity is unidentified.

Tips for your visit

• Check the water level before you set out, since the temple rises out of the water only when the reservoir is low.
• Visit the mound opposite the temple to see the empty sanctum and the Ramayana carvings on its rock walls.

Questions people ask