Walukeshwar Mandir is situated at the end of the Malabar Hill, down
to Back Bay. Walukeshwar, or 'sand-Lord' shrine is among the
Mumbai's ancient Hindu sites.
Legend
According to the great epic Ramayana, Rama paused here during his
journey south to rescue Sita from the clutches of the evil Ravana
and fashioned a lingam out of sand to worship Shiva. Folk etymology
derives the name Walkeshwar from the Sanskrit name for an idol made
of sand-- Valuka Iswar. As there was no water to be found for
drinking, Rama pierced his arrow into the earth down to the Patal
and a spring of water shot out instantly and formed the lake. The
lake is, since the, came to be known as Banaganga. The Banganga
tank, unremarkable hemmed in by a towering wall of apartment blocks,
is believed to have been created by an arrow fired from Rama's own
fabled bow.
The original Walkeshwar temple was built by the Silaharas around
1050 A.D. and is said to have contained both the lingam ferried from
Benaras by Lakshman and the sand lingam crafted by Rama. Today's
temple, erected in 1715 after the original had been destroyed by the
portuguese, in unremarkable and best bypassed in favour of the more
impressive Banganga tank, below it. The spring that feeds the tank
is believed to have been created by an arrow fired by from Rama's
own fabled bow.
The State Government, in recent years, has been organising Music
Festival here regularly in every winter. The entire precinct is
illuminated richly during his festival.
Nearby Attraction of Walukeshwar Mandir
Shri Kashi Math, Shri Kaivalya Math and Banganga Tank are the
nearby attractions of the temple.
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