In Thane district of Maharashtra near Mumbai, there are many temples erected by kings of Shilahar dynasty. One such notable temple is that of Lord Parshuram, 60 km away from Thane in a small village called Gunj. A small lake is at the outskirts of the village and next to it is a small hill on which the temple is situated. Local villagers call it ‘Bhargav Mandir’. One has to climb the most romantic small pathway flanked by small seasonal flowers up the hill to reach the temple.
The temple is built out of local laterite stone. The Sabha Mandap of the temple is about 23×20 feet in size. The plinth of the temple is very high. The entrance to the temple is from doors on three sides of the Sabha Mandapa, North, South and the East and towards the West is the Garbha Griha. The temple seems to be very ancient yet the carvings at the entrance doors are notable.
The statue of Shri Parshuram in the Garbha Griha is small, simple yet very unique. Bhagwan Parshuram is considered to be a warrior, thus his statues at other places are with weapons. However, at this temple, he is depicted as a teenage boy as this place is considered to be his place of birth.
The entire area has many more ruins of the temples. The legends are woven around these ruins. These temples and the ruins are part of day-to-day life of the villagers and yet the entire temple complex is painfully neglected. When are we going to learn to preserve these structures so that our future generations are also able to witness the glimpses of the glory of the past.
