Kolhapur is a city located in the basin of river Panchganga and got its name after the demon Kolhasur who was slayed by Goddess Lakshmi. Kolhapur is widely famous for its footwear, jewellery and spicy cuisines. The Kolhapuri footwear is made up of leather and wood. Saaj is an antique type of Kolhapuri jewellery and the spicy cuisines are dominated by the Maharashtrian style of cooking. Other attractions of Kolhapur are the temples built in the area.
Kolhapur is a west Indian state of Maharashtra. It’s known for its temples, like the ancient Mahalakshmi Temple, a Hindu pilgrimage site. The Bhavani Mandap is an imposing old palace with a small museum displaying stuffed wild animals. Close by, Rankala Lake is surrounded by gardens. The hilltop Jyotiba Temple complex is on the city's outskirts.
Shri Ambabai Temple, Kolhapur.
Temple of the goddess Ambabai was built during Chalukya reign. Mounted on a stone platform, the murti of the crowned goddess is made of gemstone and weighs about 40 kilograms. The image of Mahalakshmi carved in black stone is 3 feet in height. The Shri Yantra is carved on one of the walls in the temple. A stone lion (the vahana of the goddess), stands behind the statue. The crown contains an image of the Sheshnag, the serpent of Vishnu.
In her four hands, the deity of Mahalakshmi holds objects of symbolic value. The lower right hand holds a mhalunga (a citrus fruit), in the upper right, a large mace (kaumodaki) the mace of Vishnu with its head touching the ground, in the upper left a shield and in the lower left, a bowl (panpatra). Unlike most Hindu sacred images, which face north or east, the deity faces West (Pashchim). There is a small open window on the western wall, through which the light of the setting sun falls on the face of the image for three days around the 21st of each March and September.
There are a number of other shrines in the courtyard to the Navagrahas, Surya, Mahishasuramardini, Vitthal-Rakhmai, Shiva, Vishnu, Tulja Bhavani and others. Some of these images date back to the 11th century, while some are of recent origin. Also located in the courtyard is the temple tank “Manikarnika Kund”, on whose bank is a shrine to Visweshwar Mahadev.
Kirnotsav (lit. festival of Sun Rays) is celebrated in the Mahalakshmi Temple at Kolhapur, when the rays of the sun fall directly on the deity at the time of sunset. It is said that the Sun god pays his homage to Mahalakshmi Ambabai for three days in a year. This will be on the occasion of “Rath Saptami”.
It is not surprising that even the rays of a setting sun pay homage to Goddess Mahalakshmi Ambabai as the life of human being revolves around illumination and prosperity. But it is the wonder of wise architects who built the temple of Mahalakshmi at Kolhapur that the rays of the setting Sun, bow at the feet of the Goddess through a window, for a while before vanishing. It is the architect's excellence, which was done more than 1000 years ago, and can still be observed. This special event is celebrated by thousands of people as Kiranotsav.
is a holy site of Hinduism near Wadi Ratnagiri in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra state in western India. The deity of the temple is known by the same name. An annual fair takes place on the full moon night of the Hindu months of Chaitra and Vaishakha.
On Chaitra Poornima of Hindu calendar, a big fair is held, when lacs of devotees come with tall (Sasan) sticks. Ninam padli, vihe, kolhapur chatrapati, himmat bahadur chavan, Gwalior shinde kival navajibaba are some sasankathis in this festival.due to scattering of ‘Gulal’ the whole mountain is turned pink. Being Sunday is day dedicated to Jyotiba, there is always rush over there.
Rankala
Prior to the 8th century this historical place was just a stone quarry. In the earthquake which took place sometime in the 9th century some natural structural change took place in the quarry. Water started accumulating in this quarry due to opening of an underground source. This accumulated water is today's famous Rankala Lake. This historic lake has a temple with very big Nandi. As per Hindu mythology Lord Shiva uses Nandi for traveling. It is believed that this idol of Nandi moves about a distance of a single wheat grain towards the lake and back about a distance of single rice grain daily. It is also said that when this idol reaches the lake the whole world will be destroyed. Sandhya Math was built on the banks of this lake. Towards the north side of this lake there is "Shalini Palace" and towards north-east "Padmaraje Garden" makes the scene of this lake enchanting. Recently for development of tourism, South-East bank the lake has been developed into a pathway, park and sit-outs. This historical lake has a temple nearby with a mammoth structure of Nandi, the chariot of Lord Shiva. Legend has it that a golden temple is submerged under the temple of Rankabhairav.
It is surrounded by chowpati, other gardens and pathway. The area surrounding the lake has been converted into a garden where people sell Bhel-Puri, Ragda Patis, dahi-shevpuri,pani-puri and various mouth-watering snacks like roasted corns etc. Rankala is also famous for horse riding and boating. .[1] The Shalini Palace stands on the west bank of the lake. It is built of intricately carved black stone and Italian marble. Recently, the palace is now converted into a hotel. Occurrence of algae species since last three years has led concern in minds of Rankala lovers in the city. Lake is turning green since 2011 in every August as this year also.
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Arrive to Kolhapur
Train
The Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Terminus links Kolhapur via rail to India's major cities with express services to Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi. A daily shuttle service connects Kolhapur with the main rail hub of Miraj on the Central Railway main line. A new railway route from Miraj via Kolhapur till Vaibhavwadi has been confirmed, which will connect Kolhapur and many other towns with to the Western coastal region of India.
Road
Kolhapur is located on National Highway 4 and National Highway 204. The city has three state transport bus stands: Central Bus Stand (CBS), Rankala Bus Stand and Sambhajinagar Bus Stand. Kolhapur Municipal Transport (KMT) provides local bus services. Central government granted 78 buses for KMT under Jnnurm. The CBS of Kolhapur is the busiest bus stand in western Maharashtra with more than 50,000 commutators a day.
National Highway 48 near the city
Airport
Kolhapur's domestic airport, also known as Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj Airport, is located 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) south east of the city at Ujalaiwadi.
There are daily flights from Kolhapur to Hyderabad and Bengaluru operated by Alliance Air. Indigo operates daily flights to Hyderabad and Tirupati, & Trujet operates flights to Mumbai five days a week.
The nearest international airports to Kolhapur are Pune International Airport and Goa International Airport. Expansion of runway & construction of Airport Terminal Building is in progress.
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