Patnadevi Temple

Getting there

• By train

  Chalisgaon Junction (station code CSN) is a Central Railway station under the Bhusawal division, in Chalisgaon town. Chalisgaon is about 330 km from Mumbai, and the temple lies 18 km southwest of the town.

• By road

  MSRTC buses run from Chalisgaon central bus station to Jalgaon, Dhule, Nashik, Aurangabad and Pune, with frequent direct services. Chalisgaon, in the Khandesh division, is about 100 km from Jalgaon, and the temple lies 18 km southwest of the town.

Why devotees come here

Patnadevi Temple is a shrine complex in Jalgaon district, 18 km southwest of Chalisgaon in Maharashtra. It holds the Chandika Devi Temple and the Hemadpanthi Mahadev Temple, set inside the Gautala Autramghat Sanctuary among the Sahyadri mountains.

Patnadevi is the shrine of Chandika Devi, whom many Hindu castes and tribes honour as their kul-devta, or family deity. In the Kuladharma Kulachara ritual, many devotees still carry rice for puja in remembrance of Bhagwati from Dhawaltirtha. Tradition says Bhaskaracharya wrote his famous magnum opus, Siddhanta Shiromani, here.

Patnadevi was once the capital of a province called Patna, or Vijjalgad, ruled by the Yadav kings. The shrine is in the Gautala Autramghat Sanctuary, among the high mountains of Sahyadri. The Mandlik kings of Yadav are credited with building the Chandika Devi Temple in 1128. The temple's significance is also dated to the 13th century, when the Yadava dynasty ruled the region, and historians believe the site was already revered then. Other accounts credit the Nikumbha rulers with commissioning the Chandika Devi Temple in the 11th century. The temple is built in the black-stone Hemadpanti style, and its carvings and sculptures are intricate.

Tips for your visit

• Pilgrims can bathe in Patna Kund.
• Visitors can take part in the daily puja ceremonies and rituals at the temple.

Questions people ask