Sri Narasimha Saraswathi temple - Narsobawadi

The Shri Narasimha Saraswati Swami Dattadeva temple is situated at Narsobawadi, Kolhapur in Maharashtra. It is said that Shri Dattadeva himself reigns over this land to help alleviate all kinds of suffering, especially including possesion by spirits, and worldly troubles of his devotees. Narsobawadi is a holy place of pilgrim located on the banks of river Krishna and Panchganga. River Panchganga meets river Krishna at this holy place.

Shri Datta refers to unity of the three gods, Brahma, the god of creation, Vishnu, the god of sustenance, and Shiva, the god of destruction. Alternatively, these stand for the three ‘gunas’ or qualities i.e.sattva, rajas, and tamas in people.

Temple: 

Swayambhoo Paduka of Lord Dattatreya is present in the main Temple. Annapurna Mandir, Janhavi Mandir, Ganapati Mandir, Maruti Mandir, Jeevantha Samadhi of Ramachandra Yogi who lived much before Narasimha Saraswati came to Narsobawadi, Narayana Swami Mandir, Kashikar Swamy Mandir, Gopalaswamy Mandir, Vittal Rukumai Mandir, Krishnaveni Mandir and Mouniswamy Mandir are also present in the vicinity of the Mandir.

The Temple dedicated to Lord Amareshwara is present at a distance of 1 Kilometer from the main Temple on the other side of the Panchaganga River.

Legend Of Narsobawadi :

It is said that Dattadeva, -the unity of the three gods Brahama, Vishnu and Shiva was borne by the ancient sage Atri and his wife Anusuya. This was in the Satya Yuga. Shripad was the earthly form of Dattadeva in the Kaliyuga. Shripad was born in the present state of TamilNadu to a brahmin couple Raja and Sumati. He took the vow of Brahmacharya early, saying that he was the husband (Vallabh) of the Goddess Yogashri and hence came to be called Shripad ShriVallabh. He went about leading the life of a wandering ascetic. In his wanderings he met, a widow Amba. Tired of her troublesome and unworthy son, Amba wished to end her life. Shripad ShriVallabh blessed her son and reformed him. Amba too, asked him for a boon that she become a mother of an illustrious son of god in her next birth.He granted her the wish. In her next birth she was reborn in a Brahmin family. She married Shri Madhavrao Kale in the town of Karanj. As promised by Shripad ShriVallabh she delivered a son called Narhari. Initially this child would not talk, the only word he uttered was Om. At the age of seven he explained to his mother with gestures that his thread ceremony needed to be done. During the thread ceremony, as the mother began giving alms to the Brahmins, to their surprise, the child started reciting the Vedas. He now asked his mothers permission to go to Kashi to learn the Vedas. The mother was sad and afraid to send such a small child to Kashi. He then put his hand on the mothers forehead and reminded her of her own past birth and who he was. He also reassured her that soon she would beget four sons and a daughter. In about a years time his mother delivered twin boys. Thus Narhari left to do penance in the holy town of Kashi.There, he had the fortune of meeting his guru Shri KrishnaSaraswati. After learning from him, he started calling himself Shri Narsimha Saraswati. When he came back to his parents town, he blessed his parents with freedom from the cycle of birth and death. He then took up a life of a wandering saint, attending to peoples sufferings, and performing miracles to help the troubled. It was in these wanderings that he came to Narsinhawadi. Shri Narsimha Saraswati Swami resided in Narsimhawadi from 1422 to 1434,i.e. for twelve years.

Temple Timings:

Morning 5:00 AM to Night 10 PM

Puja Schedule is as follows :-

Dawn:  4.30 to 5.30 a.m. Bhupali and Kakad Aarti (morning prayers)

             5.30 a.m to 7 a.m. - Puja of Narsimha Saraswati Shri Dattadeva and Aarti.

Morning: 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. Pancahmrut puja of Shri Dattadeva, recitation

Afternoon : 12.30 p.m. to 1.30 p.m. Mahapuja, Maha naivedam , Aarti.

Afternoon: 1.30 p.m. to 3 p.m. the temple and outer verandah are washed.

Evening : 3 p.m to 6 p.m. according to the occasion, Kirtans(holy songs), 

                 Recitations from the Puranas (holy vedic texts) is done.

Evening : 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Puja of Shri Dattadeva, Arti, Palkhi , Vedic priests recite Shlokas with flower offerings and read from the Vedas to Shri Dattadeva. Night time Aarti is done by the priests.

 Festivals:

1.     Datta Jayanthi is celebrated in this temple in grand scale at evening 5 PM.

2.     Narasimha Jayanthi is celebrated in the holy Pushya Masa in a grand scale.

3.     Gopal Kala Utsav is celebrated on a grand scale from Magha Poornima to Phalguna Panchami.

4.     Sripada Srivallabha Jayanthi is celebrated at morning 6 AM in the holy Badrapada Masa on Ganesha Chaturthi Day.

How to Reach Narsobawadi:

Sri Kshetra Narsobachiwadi or Narsobawadi is approximately 22 kilometers from Sangli city and 14 Kilometers from Jai Singhpur in Maharashtra State. Nearest Train Station is Jai Singhpur which is 5 kms from Sangli Railway Station. City Bus Service is available from Sangli to Narsobachiwadi. Private Jeeps/Trax/Sumo is also available from Sangli.