Mumbai has a few powerful devis around which major localities of the city have been named. In fact, the name ‘Mumbai’ itself comes from Mumba devi. In this blog post, I want to highlight a little about the different temples scattered around the Mahalakshmi Devi temple in ‘Mahalakshmi’ area.

Is the Mahalakshmi Temple of Mumbai a Powerful Kshetra for Spiritual Sadhana?

I am a little sceptical about powerful temple kshetras existing in cities like Mumbai. I am not sure energy wise whether in Mahalaxmi I feel the kind of blast of energy we feel in places like Prayagraj or even Kolhapur. However, the area around the temple is definitely reminiscent of the small lanes of Varanasi. And it is scattered with temples. Potentially ancient and powerful temples. There are spaces for a sadhaka to sit and meditate, or chant or get some pujas and rituals done for many different deities.

Plus, Mumbai, despite the hustle bustle, does have its devotional populace. From women wearing the “navratri” colors to seeing youngsters walking around bare foot and the strong devotion for Ganesh festival in August – there is a devotional seed within the Mumbai public. So, with this devotion when they visit this Mahalaxmi kshetra and its many temples, yes a vibe and spiritual energy will flow.

So, we must treat this as a kshetra, even though it might be more encroached than some of the other spiritual places.

Most importantly, our experience of these places will depend a lot more on our receptivity and sadhana. So, in the end, the onus is on us – if the kshetra is not that powerful, we must do that much of sadhana so that our personal kshetra is always powerful.

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The Many Temples of Mahalaxmi Kshetra

Here, I am considering the many temples scattered around the Mahalaxmi temple. I am NOT looking at all the temples in the larger Mahalaxmi area.

Swami Samarth shrine:

There is a very quaint and serene swami samarth shrine only a few minutes away. Before COVID years, there was a full-time pujari here. However, now the shrine opens only on Thursday evenings. However, during the day, the shrine is visible through the grilled door frame. It is neat and clean. And people do come and meditate there.

Swayambhu Patali Hanuman Mandir:

This sounds to be an interesting form of Hanumanji here in this temple.

Dhakleshwar Mahadev:

This is an intriguing Mahadev mandir in a side lane from Mahalaxmi temple. It is like a colonial style bungalow, with 5 large rooms which has an interesting choice of deities. The main deity is Shiva in Dhakleshwar Shiva form. The name Dhakleshwar is from the name of the Dhakji Dada, who set up this temple.

There is a Rameshwari Devi, apparently because the name of his wife is Rama ben.

There is a Ganpati installed, Mayureshwar form. It seems from the name of his son called Moreshwar. However, the name Moreshwar, itself is from Ganesha, so maybe he was already devoted to this form of Ganesha and thus, named his son.

There is Harinarayan in one of the rooms, as was the name of his other son.

There is a Vinayakaditya deity – I am assuming some form of Sun (Aditya). Sun murtis are generally considered rare in India.

So, I find the whole family of Dhakji Dada represented through these deities. Which seems a bit odd to me, it should be the other way around. That the family was very religious and they named everyone as per some deity. And then they were already close to these deities, so they, also enshrined those deities in the temple. However, in this source official PDF it is written differently, read source.

This temple has a large courtyard outside it. There is a small havan kund there. And I was very happy to see an all-night Mahashivratri event planned. So, a live temple.

Swaminarayan Temple

On the main road, leading to the lane towards Mahalaxmi temple, stands a large Swaminarayan temple. It has food and clean water facilities.

Old Wooden Rama temple with Neem Karoli Baba pics

Right next to the Mahalaxmi temple entrance, there is a quaint Rama temple. The shrine inside is strikingly different – as it is a fully wood carved chariot type temple with Rama, Lakshman, Sita and mostly Hanuman (I can’t exactly recall, should have taken a pic!)

Some devotee had come and added pictures of Neem Karoli Baba there, so making it a Hanuman space. However, Neem Karoli baba is not formally associated to the temple management or any such.

Sai Baba temple

There is a quaint Sai Baba temple, with regular activities, in a tiny lane near Dhakleshwar Mahadev temple.

A few other Shiva temples, Ganesha and Hanumanji spaces are here. I think, a lot of these temples, are ancient or at least more than 50 years old. And there are pujaris in all these temples, so some processes are being conducted.

I would like to know which organizations are associated with them – are there any Nath Sampradaya or Akhadas or other groups involved in keeping these powerful kshetras with powerful processes? Let me know if you have any info on this. I sure hope so!

Jai Maa Mahalakshmi!

Read my blog about the Babulnath Shiva Temple of Mumbai and associated Nath Avadhuta: https://maproute.in/mumbais-babulnath-shiva-temple-its-nath-sampradaya-connection-raja-sundarnathji-avadhuta/