Vyadeshwar
| Shri Dev Vyadeshwar | |
|---|---|
| Geography | |
| Coordinates | 17°28′N 73°12′E / 17.47°N 73.2°ECoordinates: 17°28′N 73°12′E / 17.47°N 73.2°E |
| Country | India |
| State/province | Maharashtra |
| District | Ratnagiri |
Shri Dev Vyadeshwar (देवनागरी: श्री देव व्याडेश्वर) is an ancient shiva temple located at Guhagar, a well known Taluka place in the Ratnagiri District of Maharashtra State in India. It is considered to be the Kuladevata or clan god of many Chitpavan families from Konkan region.
According to Hindu myth, Bhagwan Parshurama created the land of Konkan after donating the earth to Maharshi Kashyap. Then he requested different Gods and Goddesses to settle in the newly created land and to take responsibility of various clans. Parshuram, being a devotee of Shri Shiva, requested Bhagwan Shankar to give him 'Darshan' everyday, while he is living in the newly created land. Lord Shiva accepted his request.Lord Parshuram also brought 60 'Vipras' to settle in Kokan.One such Vipra named 'Vyad' installed a Shivlinga at Guhagar.
After 'Shriramavatar' and 'Shrikrushnavtar' Lord Vishnu came with his 'Kalki' manifestation. In this era, since evil thoughts are supposed to prevail, Gods are to remain in their invisible forms. Accordingly Lord Shiva decided to remain in invisible form in the Shivalinga installed by Vyad Muni. The same Shivalinga is this well known Vyadeshwar Mahadeo. Thus, Lord Shiva stays at Guhagar in the 'Vyadeshwar' Shivalinga from years together. According to another myth, in the era of King Sakuran, the Vyadeshwar Shivalinga was re-invented and the Temple, which we see today, was constructed.
The temple style is called 'Panchayatan'. A Panchayatan temple has four subordinate shrines on four corners and the main shrine in the center of the podium, which comprises their base. Here, the main shrine at the center is of Shri Vyadeshwar (Shri Shiva) and the other deities at the surrounding are: The Sun, Shri Ganesh, Shri Parvati and Shri Vishnu along with goddess Lakshmi at South-East, South-West, North-West and North-East respectively. Statue of Nandi(So called 'VEHICLE' of Shri Shiva) is installed in front of the main shrine.The plan of the temple is shown in the adjacent photograph.
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Wikipedia