Old Mahabaleshwar

Old Mahabaleshwar, also known as Kshetra Mahabaleshwar, is a historical village in Mahabaleshwar, of the Satara district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.[1] It is a hill station located near the Western Ghats, seven kilometers from Mahabaleshwar. It is home to three temples: the Panchganga temple, Mahabaleshwar temple, and Krishna temple.

Old Mahabaleshwar
क्षेत्र महाबळेश्वर
Hill Station, historical place
Old photo of Atibaleshwar temple and Panchganga temple
Old Mahabaleshwar
Coordinates: 17.9237°N 73.6586°E / 17.9237; 73.6586
CountryIndia
StateMaharashtra
DistrictSatara District
TehsilMahabaleshwar
Area
 • Total15.75 km2 (6.08 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total785
 • Density50/km2 (130/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialMarathi
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN CODE
412806
Sex ratio92 females/100 males ♀/♂
Literacy rate96%

Geography

Old Mahabaleshwar village is located at 17.9237°N 73.6586°E with an average elevation of 560 meters (1837 ft).

Located about 150 km (93 miles) southwest of Pune and 340 km (210 miles) southeast of Mumbai, Old Mahabaleshwar is a plateau measuring 15 km2 (5.8 mi2), surrounded by valleys on all sides. Its highest peak above sea level is known as the Hanuman Temple, which reaches a height of 1,439 m (4,721 ft).

Old Mahabaleshwar includes Tandulni-Anand van Bhavan, Sambhaji Nagar, Gera Colony, and Dr. Keni Colony.

Religion
A view from Arthur seat point

Panchganga Temple
Old Panchganga temple circa 1850.
Krishnabai temple

The Panchganga temple is located at the convergence of five rivers; Krishna, Venna, Savitri, Koyna, and Gayatri. Panchganga translates to English as "Five Rivers", and this temple is the attributed source of those rivers.[2]

The temple was constructed in the 13th century by the Yadava king Singhandeo. Renovation of the Panchganga Temple took place during the 16th and 17th centuries under "Chanda Rao More" and Chhatrapati Shivaji. Panchganga temple in Old Mahabaleshwar is said to be 4,500 years old. There is no historical evidence for this claim.

Demographics

126 families reside in Old Mahabaleshwar. The village has a population of 785, including 408 males and 377 females as stated by the 2011 population census. The average sex ratio of the village is 1.082, which is higher than the Maharashtra state average of 0.929. The literacy rate of the village was 96.89% compared to 82.34% of Maharashtra. In old Mahabaleshwar, the male literacy was 98.00% while the female literacy rate was 92.62%.

References
  1. India. Parliament. House of the People; India. Parliament. Lok Sabha (2008). Lok Sabha Debates (in Spanish). Lok Sabha Secretariat. p. 299. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  2. William, Johnson. "Temple of Siva (Mahades), Source of Chrisna. Mahabuleshwar". SMU Libraries. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
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