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Panchganga Temple is located at
Mahabaleshwar near
Pune in
Maharashtra. It is also known as Krishnabai temple and
it is said to contain five streams including the Krishna river.
One can see a "Krishnabai" or "Gomukh" (a cow head
carved) in a stone in this temple, which is supposed to be the source of
five Deccan rivers: Krishna, Koyna, Venna, Savitri and Gayatri. Hence,
this temple is known as Panchganga Temple (or the temple of five rivers).
It is said that Shivaji and his mother Jijabai visited Mahabaleshwar to
seek spiritual advice from a learned Brahmin living there. Raja
Singhandeo, the famous Yadav King of Devgiri who flourished in the 13th
century, first built this temple. Later on Raja Chandarao Rao More of
Jaoli repaired it at the end of the 16th century. On the downfall of the
Mores in 1635, it was improved and enlarged by Raja Shivaji, the founder
of Maratha Empire. Raja Sahu (1670-1709) again repaired it and lastly
Parshuram Angal, a wealthy banker of Satara, rebuilt it in the 19th
century.
Road: Mahabaleshwar can be accessed from Mahad on the Mumbai - Goa Highway, 247-km or via Pune , 290-km. Tourists will find both drives comfortable and the distances (from Mumbai) can be covered easily in 6 - 7 hours.
Accommodation is available at the hotels in Mahabaleshwar.