Baneshwar Temple, dedicated to Shiva, is located 40 km south of Pune near the village of Nasarapur, Maharastra. The setting is wonderful, located amidst thick jungle, the temple has an extremely calm feeling about it. The name Baneshwar is derived from “Ban” meaning “forest”, and “ishwar” which means “God”.
The temple is not very large and is believed to have been established 400 years ago, and later re-built by Peshwa Nanasaheb in 1749. The temple has a bell which was captured by Chimaji Appa when he defeated the Portuguese in 1739 during the battle of Bassien. The bell has an inscription of a cross and the year 1683, which suggests that it once belonged to a church.
There is a stall outside the temple that sells flowers, incense sticks and other items for offerings at the temple.
Surrounding the temple are some lovely gardens, which are well worth exploring. Be careful where you walk though, when I visited many of the trees were housing some rather impressively large spiders that you probably would prefer not to get too close to. I apologise in advance for the next few images if you suffer from araknafobia…
Behind the temple there’s a 500m path that takes you to a beautiful stream (or river depending on when you visit), a peaceful location for a picnic or simply just to rest for a while.
There are a number of trekking routes surrounding the temple, which are probably best avoided during the monsoon season.
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Categories: Baneshwar Temple, India, Maharashtra
Kevin Standage 
Amazing, Indians must learn this culture of preserving memories, evidently, we are indifferent towards preserving history.
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