Travel date : 23 Feb 2023
The last I visited Ekveera Aai was when I was getting married in 2015. A young girl an Archeologist doing research on Ekveera aai has been talking to me for the past month. I have been telling her to visit Karla.
Meanwhile I have been wishing to go for Darshan of Ekveera aai and pray for a successful swim of Cook strait by Prabhat Koli
I am learning and have tuned in to believe that everything is destined. The Universe aligns when things need to happen.
So Yogini Aatreya and I make a quick trip to Karle. I invited her to sleepover in my home in Navi Mumbai the previous day so we are able to start off early next morning.
The 5 am drive is through still dark Expressway, heavy vehicles buzzing past us. Yogini is wide eyed as she doesn't want to miss anything filling her mind with the world just waking up. We bypass the Lonavala city and take the next exit for Karle where the flyovers are in a circular design. We are now on Ekveera Aai road and the pink n orange of the sky looks beautiful as we pass by several resorts. This particular state highway still has the old world charm of the hill station unlike what Lonavala has become today. We reach the parking lot of Karle around 6.30 am.
We start climbing the steps and after 15 mins see the sun lighting up the valley and mountains and the night lights can't hold up anymore. By 6.55 am we are on the plateau and get a glimpse of the temple and the Pandav caves, Pic 1.
Just at the top end of the stairway we bought a OTI for offering and kept our chappals with the shop. The OTI consists of khun blouse piece, coconut and flowers in its basic format. It can be more elaborate by including saree, sweets etc.
We entered the fortified gate Pic2 into the temple premises. The sanct sanctorium was packed with devotees and we had to line up outside for our turn. The morning pooja was on and would take another 45 mins our co pilgrims told us.
Ekveera Aai at Karle
After Aarti we got the darshan of Ekveera Aai. Her face shown golden. I stepped out and then went back again after the rush subsided. I introduced Yogini to the attending priests and they were ever so helpful. She asked them many questions related to the Devi's origins, offering, community worship and history.
I told them about Prabhat and that he had visited Devi for blessings for his swim and that I wanted to pray for him. The priest asked to show a photo. I instantly showed it to him on phone. He took the phone touched the picture to Devi's feet and put kunku on this forehead in the picture. I was deeply moved and just when I was recovering from it...
We were pleasantly surprised when the head priest gave us prasad of saadi, coconut, flowers and sweet!
The vahan of Ekveera Aai.The rooster. The Aai che Shipahi
Every trip you learn something new. As we did the Jai jaikaar at the end of the aarti we heard Jogeshwari mata ki jai! Later the priest showed us that she is consecrated to the right of Ekveera Aai. We got to hear the story that she had come to take back Ekveera Aai to Chaul from where she had got angry and come to Karle but instead stayed with her there itself. The stories made me smile. We women must absorbs these powers from the Devis.
Jogeswari mata
Ekveera Aai is a jagrut Devi, she fulfills wishes and many pray for children here. The head priest sits of this paat and prays to Devi on our behalf. On fulfilment of the wish the babies are brought to be touched at the feet off Aai. See pic below.
As we stepped into the courtyard Yogini interviewed several pilgrims and we met this young lady who came dressed in nau-vaari saadi and a beautifully embroidered blouse click on the pic for detailing. It was the occassion of mundan of her nephew. In communities like Koli, Aagri, Chaukalshi, Panchkalsi etc we offer a newborns first crop of hair to the goddess as she is our KulDevi.
A fresh mundan done for this baby
The 3rd generation nagarawala
Outside the temple premises is a stone built temple that looks very old. However the history of this samadhi is not known even to the temple priests.
Meanwhile the sun had risen higher and bright by 8.30 am we indeed made a good decision to visit early morning.
We then walked to the Saat asra mata gate. We are not allowed to the cave as a landslide had happened there. Instead people worship the photograph kept there.
We went back to the shop and wore our shoes and paid for the OTI. After which we went to buy tickets for entering the Buddhist Caves. A separate post to follow...
By the time we finished exploring the buddhist caves it was 10.30 am. We then started our descend and it took us 1 hour to reach the Paytha or bottom end where there is a temple of the Devi. There is also a temple midway and it is believed the Devi rested in these spots while climbing Karle. So these are her Vishranti sthan.
Now looking forward to read Yogini's dessertation...
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