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Sundarnarayan temple is situated at the corner of Ahillyabai Holkar Bridge in Nashik. Gangadhar Yashwant Chandrachud built it in 1756.
According to the legend, there lived a wicked demon called
Jalandar, but his wife; Vrinda Devi was a very pious and faithful wife.
Jalandar was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and as usual Lord Shiva pleased
with his prayers and impressed by Jalandar's wife's chastity gave him a
boon that made him immortal. With this boon, Jalandar became vicious and
started creating havoc on earth and also disturbed the Gods. He even
ventured to pick up a quarrel with Lord Shiva himself. It became necessary
to eliminate him, which was contrary to the boon given by Lord Shiva.
After thinking for a lot of there was only one way to eliminate Jalandar,
by suspecting Vrinda Devi's chastity. Lord Vishnu duplicated himself to
look like Jalandar and lived with Vrinda Devi. Thus her chastity was
suspected and the boon given to Jalandar was withdrawn and he was
destroyed. After knowing the trick played against her, Vrinda Devi's got
furious and cursed Lord Vishnu. His attractive body turned black due to
the curse. Lord Vishnu took a holy bath in the river Godavari and regained
his complexion. Since he became beautiful again - the Lord is named as "Sundarnarayana"
and 'Sundar' in Marathi means beautiful.
The entrance of the temple is to the East. The two 'Mandapas' are smaller in size but their architecture is attractive and little ornamental cordons make the round dome. The arched recesses are impressions by Mughal style. Many temples were demolished during the Mughal Regime and graveyards were built in their place. Unique feature about this temple is that it is built at such an angle that on 21st March, rays of the rising sun first fall exactly upon the idols.
The main deity is of Lord Narayana (Vishnu) and one can see Laxmi (also spelt as Lakshmi) and Saraswati to his left and right respectively. Fine designs are carved on the stones of the temple. On the road leading towards Godavari River there is pond named "Badarika Sangam" Pond.
Rail: Nashik being an
important city and pilgrim centre of Maharashtra is well connected by rail
with all the major places within and outside the state. It has got a
railway station of its own.
Road: MSRTC ply buses regularly connecting Nashik with major
cities of Maharashtra like Nagpur, Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad etc.
There are accommodation facilities are available in the various hotels at Nashik. Special arrangements are made for the pilgrims who come to visit this temple, with reasonable prices for staying.
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