Recently, I did a road trip from Chikkaballapur to Ahmedabad during which I visited the Bhavani temple in the small town of Tuljapur of Maharashtra. This blog post is all about its story, history, Shivaji connection and details if you want to get a good darshan!

Tulja Bhavani Shaktipeeth

Maharashtra has 4 shaktipeeth locations. Sourcing an authentic list of shaktipeeths is quite tough with so many websites creating their own lists (from whatever sources). However, all the sources seem to agree upon these 4 locations,

Mahalaxmi of Kolhapur, Saptashrungi of Wani near Saputara, Renuka Devi of Mahurgadh in Nanded District and Tuljapur Bhavani.

Considering the immense diversity in Indian beliefs and the lack of ONE authentic source of knowledge on the subject, we can happily take most of these hundreds-of-years old Devi shrines to be powerful spots of feminine energy – whether or not they are part of the 52 or 108 Shaktipeethams. That is what I think. What about you?

The Tuljapur Bhavani Shrine is said to be the spot where the Right Arm of Sati’s body fell.

For those who aren’t aware of why a body part is being associated with each Shaktipeeth,

This is the story of how shaktipeethams were said to be created,

“The number of these shrines varies according to different Puranas, with mentions of 51, 52, 64, and 108 Shaktipeethas. Numerous legends offer explanations for the origin of the Shaktipeethas, with the most popular being associated with the story of the Goddess Sati’s demise. Overwhelmed with grief, Lord Shiva wandered the universe with Sati’s body, reminiscing about their time together. To relieve him from this immense task, Lord Vishnu used his Sudarshana Chakra to divide Sati’s body into parts, each of which fell on the earth, sanctifying these locations as places of worship for people.” (Source: Times of India)

And this is why each Shaktipeetham has a body part associated with it.

Tuljapur Bhavani is Shivaji Maharaj’s Kuldevi & Giver of His Best Swords

This Tulja Bhavani is the kuldevi of the much-celebrated Shivaji Maharaj, Maratha king who lived between 19th February 1630 to 3rd April 1680 (known for his valour against Mughal invading forces of those times). I wasn’t aware of this until I reached Tuljapur. Maybe I had studied it in school when I was very young, but I had forgotten by now.

In his reign, Shivaji fought many battles and obviously needed a great sword. He had 3 swords which are mentioned often in historic records, their names are Tulja, Jagdamba and Bhavani. Obviously, we can understand how significant the naming of a warrior’s sword is and all his 3 swords were named after his kuldevi – Tulja Bhavani.

Isn’t that amazing!

Historical records reveal that Shivaji Maharaj used three swords – ‘Bhavani Talwar’, ‘Jagdamba Talwar’, and ‘Tulja Talwar’. The ‘Bhavani Talwar’ and ‘Tulja Talwar’, which are battle swords, are presently located at Satara Fort and the Sindhudurg Fort, respectively. The ceremonial sword Jagdamba, which is in the control of the British Royal Family, is kept at Saint James’s Palace. (Source: Deccan Herald)

One of these swords, the Jagdamba, is said to have been given to him by the Goddess herself. It will be great if the government can bring it back from Britain! We don’t have an exotic tale of how the Goddess “gave” Shivaji the sword – like the hand in the water gave King Arthur his Excalibur. However, I think we can understand that the sword would have been deeply consecrated in the Goddess’s presence and then through a ceremony handed over to Shivaji. Maybe it also involved dreams and other omens which indicated the will of the Goddess in the matter. So, we can safely understand this sword to be a special one.

Apart from Shivaji’s Royal family, Tulja Bhavani is also the kuldevi of many Maharashtrians and Karnataka folk.

Do you know more about the different pilgrimages devotees take while visiting her? Please let me know.

My Tuljapur Temple Vlog

Earlier I also wrote about Maa Kali Shaktipeeth in Kolkata, read that blog here: https://maproute.in/kali-temple-kolkata-shakti-peeth/

How to Get Maa Bhavani’s Darshan & Pooja?

One of the main concerns that we devotees have at these eminent temples is whether we will be able to get good darshan. I had similar concerns. When I checked into the Dnanaprabha Executive (check hotel here) in Tuljapur – one of the attendants there said he can arrange a pooja if I like. I jumped at this, because the pooja would ensure good darshan also.

I get quite flustered in some of these popular temples with the large crowds. Even paid darshan passes often require us to stand for couple of hours in the queue. The queue often gets very crowded, as Indian public don’t have concept of personal space. Though many times I have had very spiritual experiences while standing in such long queues in powerful temples. However, I still am very cautious before entering them. So, when the pujari said that all Pooja slots were full only a 4 AM one was available, I happily agreed to it.

I still had to stand in line for 15-20 minutes, but it was not that crowded.

One can book paid darshan passes online – at least 3 days in advance – book here.

Online live darshan is also available here: https://shrituljabhavani.org/LiveShriTuljabhavani.html

Some say that on heavy rush days, even paid passes require us to stand for 1 or 2 hours.

For booking a pooja at Tuljabhavani temple you would need a pujari. I can share the contact I have. Please put a comment if you want it. The pooja costs 1100 INR (normal pooja without saree), 1500 INR (with 6 yards saree) and 2500 INR (with 9 yards saree).

You can also carry your own offerings, take a darshan pass and go about it on your own. I feel doing this way on our own is much better to be honest… as we will be so particular of what offerings we buy, which stotra we sing, how much devotion we put into it. With pujaris I often feel they are a little rote and following “usual process” rather than truly emoting the pooja.

Travel Information:

Stay: Earlier Tuljapur was a very small town and people preferred staying in Solapur which is only 45 kms away. However, now there are a few good hotels to stay in Tuljapur. I stayed in Dnanaprabha executive (see here) which is really good with very helpful staff. I also saw other decent options on Booking.com, check them here: https://booking.tp.st/Bxaihb8A

Travel: I drove from Pandharpur to Tuljapur. If traveling by train you can take a train to Solapur (45 kms) or Osmanabad (Dharashiv 25kms) and then opt for a public bus or private taxi. The nearest airport is Solapur.

Food: Many decent eateries on the main road, a few minutes walking from the temple. Includes Kamat, Idli houses and others.