Kolhapur: Bells Reverberate in Mahalaxmi Temple again as conservation process comes to a close 

A footfall of 40k was observed as the gates of the temple were re-opened. 

17 April 2024

By Khushi Maheshwari

The Mahalaxmi temple in Kolhapur, also known as Shree Ambabai/Mahalaxmi Mandir, has been opened for worship to devotees after the conservation process for the idol done by the Archaeological Survey of India comes to a close. 

From 8 am to 10:30 am on Tuesday, religious ceremonies were conducted, post which the gates were opened to the public. Important figures such as the district collector of Kolhapur, Amol Yedge, examined the idol during his visit the same day prior to its public exhibition. 

The secretary of Paschim Maharashtra Devasthan Samiti, Sushant Bansode, explained that the Department of Archaeology, Chemist Branch, Aurangabad had completed the conservation process on 15th April. 

A total of 43,266 people visited the temple on Tuesday till the clock struck 7. 

The deputy superintendent, Archaeological Chemist Department, Dr. S Vinod Kumar, along with senior iconographer Sudhir Wagh and iconographer Manoj Sonawane, is credited with following through with the conservation process.

All in all, the examination and conservation was a 4-day process. The inspection of the idol took place on 12th and 13th April, followed by the conservation on 14th and 15th April. 

Shri Ambabai/Mahalaxmi temple holds great significance in Hindu mythology because it is one of the four Mahamatrukasthans present in Maharashtra; the remaining three are in Mahur, Vani and Tuljapur. The term ‘Mahamatruka’ translates to the great divine mother. According to lore, idol worship came into being after man wanted to materialise the infinite energy or Shakti (which is seen as the cause of human genesis within Hindu mythology) and then created finite structures and idols of goddesses. 

Therefore, the Mahalaxmi temple and the remaining four Mahamatrukasthans are also called Shaktipeeths and are popular pilgrimage sites. 

Many devotees who visited the temple on Tuesday expressed their happiness. Nanda Jadhav, a local devotee who is a regular visitor of the temple, said that she experienced peace and elation from within after visiting on Tuesday and that she was quite rejoiced that the conservation process was seen through timely by the ASI. 

The first conservation process for the Ambabai idol was done in 1955 and after a long stretch of time, another process was carried out as recently as 2015. The temple itself is said to have been built in the 7th century.