We felt very bad about not being able to visit Mahur. However, we came to know later that there is a place called Hiwara which is 15 kms away from Mahur. It is the actual Shakthipeetham and the Goddess here is worshiped as Ekaveera Devi. We were not aware of this temple at that time and we were under the impression that Renuka Devi temple at Mahur was the Shakthipeetham.
On 6 March 2015, my mother and myself went to Adilabad in Krishna Express in the evening. The train reached Adilabad at 6:00 AM on 7 March 2015. Our plan was to visit the temple at Jainath which is 20 kms from Adilabad before heading for Mahur. As we came out of the railway station and looking for a lodge to have our bath, the bus to Jainath arrived and stopped in front of the railway station (as there is a halt). When I inquired, the conductor told that there would be temple cottages available at Jainath. So, we decided to board the bus as it would save a lot of time for us.
After a 45 minute journey, we reached Jainath at 7:00 AM. The bus stopped on the main road and from there we went to the temple by walk as there were no other modes of transport available. The distance between the bus stopping point and the temple is almost one kilometer. It took 15 minutes for us to reach the temple.
Jainath
There is a small cottage for the temple which is exactly opposite to the temple. We had our bath in that cottage and came out at 8:30 AM. The temple was dedicated to Sri Lakshmi Narayana. It was believed to be built by the kings of the Pallava Dynasty. Though, it was not clear when the temple was exactly constructed, it must be constructed somewhere in the 6th century. This temple looks beautiful though it is not very big in size.
The temple was open but the door of the Sannithi (Garbhalaya) was closed. We could see the main idol through the grills. We stayed in the temple for around 20 minutes waiting for the priest to come and open the doors, but nobody came. So we decided to leave as we could see the idol. When we came out of the temple, the priest came and we went back along with him. He opened the door and performed Archana on our names.
We came out of the temple and walked back to the main road. It was around 9:30 AM when we reached the main road. We had our coffee in a small shop. The bus had arrived in 10 minutes. We boarded it and reached Adilabad at around 10:30 AM. As I had told the conductor that we would like to have our breakfast, he stopped the bus at a small junction in Adilabad and asked us to get down there as there would be number of hotels around.
Adilabad
We had our breakfast in a decent restaurant and during my casual talk with the hotel proprietor, he told about the temple dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara which was located in the next street. We thanked him and went to the temple which was just 100 meters away from that hotel. As it was Saturday, the temple was crowded with devotees. We had our darshan and the priest again performed Archana on our names. We stayed in the temple for around 15 minutes.
We came out of the temple from the back door as the priest told us that buses to Mahur would stop on the road opposite to the0 back door. However, we had to walk for 5 minutes to reach the point where the bus stops. We had to wait for around one hour for our bus and, finally, the bus arrived at 12:00 Noon. The distance between Adilabad and Mahur is 90 kms. In fact, for those who want to visit Mahur from Hyderabad, it is easier to reach Mahur from Kinwat which is just 50 kms away from Mahur. However, as we wanted to go to Jainath also, we went to Adilabad (I now strongly recommend others NOT go to Mahur from Adilabad by bus as it was one of the worst journeys we have ever experienced).
We were already restless as we had to wait for a long time for the bus. Adding to our irritation, the journey from Adilabad to Mahur was horrible as the rood was in pathetic condition. At 2:00 PM, the driver stopped the bus in front of a small hotel for lunch. We had taken fruits only as that hotel did not look hygienic at all. The bus again started after half an hour. We finally reached Mahur at 3:30 PM. It was the second worst journey we had ever experienced, the first being our journey from Pune to Bhima Shankar back in 2004 (At that time, it took almost 6 hours to cross 120 kms. But, I had been to Bhima Shankar from Pune again in 2011 and in 2014 as well. On these two occasions, the journey was not bad as the condition of the road was much improved).
Hiwara
We had our evening tea along with a few refreshments in a restaurant opposite to the bus-stand in Mahur. We hired a cab as we wanted to cover a few temples in Mahur and also to visit Hiwara. We went to Hiwara first and reached the temple by 4:00 PM. The temple is just 500 meters away from the highway that connects Nagpur with Nanded.
It was clearly written at the entrance of the temple "THE EIGHTH SHAKTHIPEETHAM". The area was surrounded by so many tries and was so calm and peaceful. There was not even a single devotee in the temple. (Most of the people might be under the misconception that Renuka Devi temple at Mahur is one of the Ashthadasha Shakthipeethams, but in reality, Ekaveera Devi temple at Hiwara is the actual Shakthipeetham).
The temple is so small in size. The main temple remains open throughout the day. We went into the temple and stood in front of the Goddess for 15 minutes. There is only the face of the Goddess and it was filled with Sindoor. Though there were a few people standing outside, there was nobody inside the temple.
We came out with utmost satisfaction and bought prasadams in the temple office. The person in the office told that the temple would be renovated shortly and also showed us the replica of the new building. We came out and boarded our cab and reached Mahur at 4:30 PM.
Mahur
There are three more important temples located in Mahur apart from Renuka Devi. One is for Dattatreya, one is for Atri and the other one is for Anasuya. All these temples are located on the hill. We wanted to sacrifice Atri and Anasuya temples as they are located in the remote places and we would have to walk a long way as the cab can`t go till the temples.
We asked the driver to take us to Dattatreya temple first and we reached the temple at 4:45 PM. The temple is located at the edge of the hill and is graceful.
We had our darshan in 5 minutes as there was no queue though there were a few devotees. We came out of the temple in 15 minutes and headed towards Renuka Devi temple. Renuka Devi is located on the hilltop and there are around 220 steps to go up.
It took around 20 minutes for us to climb and we reached the temple at around 5:30 PM. There was a small queue and we had to wait for 10 minutes for our darshan. Again, there is only the face of the Goddess and it is also filled with Sindoor (Both the shrines in Hiwara and Mahur are almost the same in style, but they are different in looks. The shrine in Mahur is little bigger than the one in Hiwara).
We came out of the temple at 6:00 PM. As it was mid summer there was sunlight even at that time. In the office room, the sarees which were gifted to the Goddess by the devotees, were being sold. My mother bought a few sarees for herself and for her cousins. We came down at 6:30 PM and had one more cup of tea at a restaurant at the footsteps of the hill.
We boarded the cab and reached the bus-stand at 7:00 PM. The last bus from Mahur was ready on the platform and was about to leave in 5 minutes. It was going to Kinwat and we boarded the bus and reached Kinwat at 8:15 PM. The road from Mahur to Kinwat was in good condition and we were able to cover 50 kms in 1 hour 15 minutes.
The temple is so small in size. The main temple remains open throughout the day. We went into the temple and stood in front of the Goddess for 15 minutes. There is only the face of the Goddess and it was filled with Sindoor. Though there were a few people standing outside, there was nobody inside the temple.
We came out with utmost satisfaction and bought prasadams in the temple office. The person in the office told that the temple would be renovated shortly and also showed us the replica of the new building. We came out and boarded our cab and reached Mahur at 4:30 PM.
Mahur
There are three more important temples located in Mahur apart from Renuka Devi. One is for Dattatreya, one is for Atri and the other one is for Anasuya. All these temples are located on the hill. We wanted to sacrifice Atri and Anasuya temples as they are located in the remote places and we would have to walk a long way as the cab can`t go till the temples.
We asked the driver to take us to Dattatreya temple first and we reached the temple at 4:45 PM. The temple is located at the edge of the hill and is graceful.
We had our darshan in 5 minutes as there was no queue though there were a few devotees. We came out of the temple in 15 minutes and headed towards Renuka Devi temple. Renuka Devi is located on the hilltop and there are around 220 steps to go up.
It took around 20 minutes for us to climb and we reached the temple at around 5:30 PM. There was a small queue and we had to wait for 10 minutes for our darshan. Again, there is only the face of the Goddess and it is also filled with Sindoor (Both the shrines in Hiwara and Mahur are almost the same in style, but they are different in looks. The shrine in Mahur is little bigger than the one in Hiwara).
We came out of the temple at 6:00 PM. As it was mid summer there was sunlight even at that time. In the office room, the sarees which were gifted to the Goddess by the devotees, were being sold. My mother bought a few sarees for herself and for her cousins. We came down at 6:30 PM and had one more cup of tea at a restaurant at the footsteps of the hill.
We boarded the cab and reached the bus-stand at 7:00 PM. The last bus from Mahur was ready on the platform and was about to leave in 5 minutes. It was going to Kinwat and we boarded the bus and reached Kinwat at 8:15 PM. The road from Mahur to Kinwat was in good condition and we were able to cover 50 kms in 1 hour 15 minutes.
As we had a few refreshments in the evening, we preferred to have Idly instead of going for heavy dinner. After that, we hired an auto and reached the railway station at 8:45 PM. We had already booked our tickets to Hyderabad in Krishna Express. We boarded the train when it arrived at 9:15 PM. We got down at Malkajgiri at 5:30 AM on the next day. Though it was a busy schedule as we covered all these temples in a single day, we were completely satisfied as our long pending wish was finally fulfilled.
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