Nimgaon – Khandoba
Nimgaon is a village famous for its Khandoba temple. Because “Nimgaon” is the name of many villages, it is customary to add a second name to identify it. In the old days a village called Nagna stood near this Nimgaon, so it was referred to as Nimgaon – Nagna. With time Nagna was ruined, and the village became known as Nimgaon – Davdi, after another village, Davdi, nearby. It is now coming to be called Nimgaon – Khandoba.
In the Peshwa period the Peshwas’ Diwan, Chandrachud, lived here, which gives the village historical importance. The village lies on the bank of the Bhima river; its ruined ghats and wadas bear witness to its former glory.
How to reach
Nimgaon – Khandoba is 6 km from Rajgurunagar, the main town of Khed taluka on the Pune–Nashik road in Pune district.
The Khandoba temple stands on a hill 1.5 km north of Nimgaon. A motorable road goes right up to the temple; it can also be reached on foot by the steps.
The fort wall and temple complex
From the south side of the fort wall you can climb about 100 steps to reach it. At the start of the steps there is an east-facing temple of Bhairavnath. There is also a flight of steps on the east side; to the south of this path, east of the fort wall, is the west-facing temple of Hegdi Pradhan, with a seated stone idol of Hegdi.
Straight ahead is the east entrance gate of the temple enclosure, with a nagarkhana (drum house) built over it. On both sides of the east gate are small pavilions, with an idol of Ganesha on the south side and Hanuman on the north.
The enclosure wall is of strong stone construction with bastions on all four sides; it is about 25 feet high. The west gate is permanently closed. Inside the wall there are 76 arcaded cells (ovaris). The paved courtyard is 195 feet long and 118 feet wide. This fort wall was built in 1769 by Sardar Malharrao Gaikwad of Baroda.
On entering through the east gate, there are two horses and a Vrindavan to the north of the doorway. In front of the temple stand three grand lamp towers (deepmals) and the platforms of two more. Facing the temple, a Nandi image sits in a canopied pavilion.
Steps on the north and south sides lead up to the top of the wall, from which, and from the nagarkhana, there is a panoramic view of the surroundings.
The temple structure
Ahead is the east-facing main temple of Khandoba. It consists of a sadar (front hall), a mandapa and a sanctum. The sadar has five arches, with seats in the arches on either side; the entrance to the mandapa is in front of the middle arch.
The mandapa is domed and pillarless, with eight arches. Besides the east door it has doors on the south and north sides, and two rooms on each side of the south and north doors. On the south side is the deity’s bedchamber (shejghar).
The sanctum is on the west side of the mandapa. In its centre, in a yoni, are the five lingas of Khandoba, covered with brass masks. Behind them on a platform are the metal festival idols of Banai, Khandoba, Mhalsa, and Khandoba with Mhalsa. On the wall behind these are large idols of the standing Banai and the seated Khandoba and Mhalsa.
On the circumambulation path, on the back wall of the sanctum, is a west-facing niche (devdi) with a Mhalsabai stone and a stone idol of Mahishasuramardini Bhavani. In the temple precinct, on the south side, is a tomb said to belong to a Muruli, an ardent devotee of Khandoba.
History of the temple
This temple is the third seat of Khandoba at Nimgaon. The deity is believed to have appeared first at Dhamantek in Arudmal, then on the hill behind the main temple, and from there here. It is said that at this place, on Sunday 26 November 1424 (Margashirsha 5), the deity appeared in the form of a linga and the villagers built a temple. Later, in 1738, Gangadhar Yashwant and Baji Gangadhar Chandrachud rebuilt the temple. The sanctum and mandapa have spires.
To the west of the temple’s fort wall is a small hill. On it is an east-facing devdi with a Panchalinga and a Nandi in front. It is called Kadepathar. It is the second seat of Khandoba, before the present temple, and the deity is believed to have come from there to the site of today’s temple.
This information follows the text of the previous website; please confirm dates and details with the local temple.