This is situated on
Walkeshwar Road, close to Malabar Hill. The legend states that Rama and Lakshmana arrived
here in their search for Sita.
Close to Walkeshwar
Temple, is this tank, legend goes that Rama in need of a drink of water, shot an arrow
into the earth. Water burst forth, forming
this tank. Today devotees immerse themselves
in the water for purification.
It is located on Ridge Road (B C
Kher Marg) on Malabar Hill,& is one of the most noteworthy of all Jain temples. This
was built for the use of the Swetamber Jains.& constructed in 1903. The marble temple
has a constant flow of devotees moving in & out.
Originally, to the
north of Malabar Hill, stood three temples dedicated to Lakshmi, Saraswati and Kali, which
were totally destroyed by invaders. Several decades later, when the British chose to
connect the Mahalakshmi area to Worli by building Breach Candy, ferocious tides swept in
and destroyed several such attempts. It was at this time that Goddess Lakshmi appeared in
a dream to Ramji Shivji, a contractor. She told him to remove the three statues from the
sea bed and establish them in a proper shrine. Ramji acted according to the wishes of the
Goddess and the taskwas successfully completed.The Mahalakshmi Temple in Breach Candy is
one of the most popular temples in the city and during Navarathri celebrations devotees
stand for hours in long queues awaiting their turn to worship before the goddess. The Temple contains images of Goddess Mahalakshmi,
Mahakali and Mahasaraswathi. All three images
are adorned with nose rings, gold bangles and pearl necklaces. The image of Mahalakshmi is shown riding a tiger
and a demon (Mahishasur) in a tandem. The temple is dedicated to the Goddess of wealth.
 This 200 year old
temple at Prabhadevi is one of the most popular Ganesha temple in the city. Every Tuesday devotees throng this temple in the firm
belief that their wishes will be fulfilled. The idol is made of black stone with a height
of two and a half feet and width of two feet. The head is adorned with a gold crown. On
either side of the idol are the carved images of Riddhi & Siddhi, the goddesses of
wealth and prosperity.The temple was recently renovated in 1994, to accommodate the huge
crowds that throng the temple everyday and especially during Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
There are television sets installed outside for those who do not have time to wait in the
long serpentine queues that lead to the temple inside.
This temple was
built in honour of the Goddess Mumbai, from whose name it is said, that the English word
‘Bombay’ is derived. The Goddess
personifies Mother Earth and is still worshipped by the descendants of the Dravidian
population of western & southern india. The
original temple built at the site where the Victoria Terminus station earlier was by Koli
fishermen was demolished around 1737 and a new temple was erected in its place at Phansi
Talao. The modern shrine contains an image of
the Goddess Mumbadevi dressed in a robe with a silver crown, a nose stud and a golden
necklace. To the left is a stone figure of
Annapurna seated on a peacock. In front of
the shrine is a tiger, the carrier of the Goddess.
|