Tulja Bhavani Temple
Tulja Bhavani Temple is a Hindu temple of Goddess Bhavani. It is located in Tuljapur in Osmanabad district of Maharashtra and is considered as one of the 51 Shakti Pithas. It is situated 45 km from Solapur. The temple was built in c. 12th century CE. Another Tulja Bhavani temple was built during 1537-1540 CE in Chittorgarh. A third temple of Tulja Bhavani is in the village of Patnakuva Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. The Goddess is called swayambhu. Legends say that the Goddess came here from Tuljapur here in the 14th century.The second among the 'Shaktipeeths' is Tulja Bhavani of Tuljapur. It is the family deity of the Bhosale Royal family. the founder of the Maratha kingdom, Shivaji Maharaj always visited the temple to seek her blessings. It is believed that the Goddess gifted him a sword - 'the Bhawani sword' - for success in his expeditions. The history of the temple has been mentioned in the ' Skanda_Purana '. There was a sage known as "Kardam" After his death his wife "Anubuti" had performed a penance at the banks of river "mandakini " for Bhavani mata to look after her infant child. While performing the penance the demon known "Kukur" tried to disturb her penance during which the Goddess came to the aid of "Anubuti" and killed the demon "Kukur". From that day onwards the Goddess Bhavani came to be known as Tulja Bhavani. The temple is located on the hill of "Bala ghat".
