| Panchavati
 River Godavari
flows through Nashik and its Northern part is called as Panchavati. It is
said that lord Shri Ram and Sita along with Laxman stayed at Panchavati
for some time. Thus Panchavati has gained holy importance. There are
five Banyan (Vad) trees and hence the area is called Panchavati.Nearby is
Sita Gumpha (cave) where Sita is said to have stayed for some
time
Tapovan
Tapovan literally means precincts
reserved for meditation and penance. There is such a precinct for penance
ahead of Panchavati and hence was named Tapovan. The sages used to
meditate in close proximity with the lush green nature. Laxmana - brother
of Rama - used to stay here and had cut nose of Shurpanakha - sister of
Ravana. This place has temples of Laxmana and Hanuman. Even today, this
locale captivates mind because of Godavari’s silently gurgling stream,
long stretch of green woods and closeness to jungle’s flora and fauna.
A cavernous fissure on boulders
along the riverbed is called Brahma Yoni. Very close by, is the Kapil
Tirth. On the right bank of Godavari, there are eleven rocky cavernous
spaces where rishi-munis must have been retreating for sacraments. There
are temples of Gopalkrishna and Lakshmi-Narayan and the famous Goshala
(cow-shed) was built here in 1904. In ancient time, this land was made
sacred by the touch of Lord Rama’s feet.
Sita
Gumpha :
The Gumpha (i.e. Cave) is near
the five Banyan trees in Panchavati. One can enter the cave with the help of a very
narrow staircase. The cave has the idol of Shree Ram, Laxman and Sita.
To
the
left, one can enter into the cave having the Shiva Linga. Devotees believe
that Ravan kidnapped Sita from the same place.
Kalaram mandir
 Another important temple is that of Kala Ram. This temple was
built by Peshwas. There are great processions and utsav on  Ramnavami, Dasara and Chaitra Padwa (Hindu new year day). The
specialty of the temple is that it was built with black stones.The stones
were brought from Ramshej 200 years ago. It took 23 lakhs of rupees and
2000 workers to build the temple in 12 years. The apex of the temple is
made up of 32 tons of gold. In 1930, Dr. Ambedkar performed Satyagraha, to
allow the entry of Harijans into the temple.
NSundarnarayan Temple :
 Sundarnarayan temple is
situated at the corner of Ahillyabai Holkar Bridge. The story goes like
this : Vrinda Devi was a very pious and faithful wife of Jalandar -
a wicked demon. Jalandar, a mighty crook, was the devotee of Lord Shiva.
Pleased with his prayers and impressed by Jalandar's wife's chastity, Lord
Shiva gave him a boon that made him immortal. With this boon, Jalandar
became vicious and started creating havoc on earth. He not only troubled
human beings, but also disturbed the Gods. He even ventured to pick up a
quarrel with Lord Shiva himself. It became necessary to eliminate him
which was contrary to the boon given by Lord Shiva. The only way out was
to suspect Vrinda Devi's chastity. For this task Lord Vishnu
duplicated himself to look like Jalandar and lived with Vrinda Devi. Thus
her chastity was suspected and the boon given to Jalandar was withdrawn
and he was destroyed. When Vrinda Devi came to know of the trick played by
Lord Vishnu, she got furious and cursed Lord Vishnu. His attractive body
turned black due to the curse. Lord Vishnu took a holy bath in the river
Godavari and regained his complexion. Since he became beautiful again, -
the Lord is named as Sundarnarayana. Sundar in Marathi means
beautiful.
The Sundarnarayan temple is
built by Gangadhar Yashwant Chandrachud in 1756. The entrance of the
temple is to the East. The two Mandaps may be small but their architecture
is attractive and the round dome is made by little ornamental cordons. The
arched recesses are impressions by Mughal style because during the Mughal
Regime many temples were demolished by Muslims and graveyards were built
in their place. The main deity is of Lord Vishnu - alias Narayana . To his
left and right are Laxmi and Saraswati respectively. Fine design is carved
on the stones of the temple. On the road leading towards Godavari River
there is pond named Badarika Sangam Pond. It is said that the king of
Devgiri bathed and performed rites in this pond. We also find a mention of
this pond in the holy book Dnyaneshwari. One remarkable thing about this
temple is that it is built at such an angle that on 21st March, rays of
the rising Sun first fall exactly upon the idols.
Godavari Temple :
The Godavari Temple was built
by Elder Madhavrao Peshwa's mother, Gopikabai in 1760. This temple is open
for devotees only during the period of Kumbhamela (once in 12 years) for
13 months. It is also called Ganga Temple.
Holy places at River
Godavari
The places where a holy dip
can be taken in the river Godavari are: Govardhan Tirtha, Pitru Tirtha,
Golan Tirtha, Brahma Tirtha, Runamochan Tirtha, Krishna Tirtha, Papnashan
Tirtha, Koti Tirtha, Agni Tirtha, Shukla Tirtha, Aruna Tirtha, Surya
Tirtha, Chakra Tirtha, and Ashwini Tirtha. .
Akshardham
Near Tapovan, on Agra road the
Swami Narayan temple or Akshardham is located. Years ago, this was
Bramhachari (Bachelor's) Ashram. The trustees of the temple run a school
in the Sanskrit medium.
Gondeshwar Temple :
 The Gondeshwar
temple is a very beautiful temple built in the Hemadpanthi style of
Architechture. During the Adilshahi rule in Maharastra, Ahmednagar was the
capital. One of the pradhans (minister) of Ahmednagar was Hemadpanth who
popularised a typical style of construction using locally available black
stone and lime. This style became very popular and came to be known as the
Hemadpanthi style. The Gondeshwar temple is one of the few structures of
this style still in good shape.
Modakeshwar
This
ancient temple of Ganapati facing east is situated at Asarachi Ves on the
road from Ramkund to the cemetery. The idol has an original shape of a
modak and hence is called Modakeshwar. According to a legend, modaks used
to be found in this temple. The temple owner Vilas Kshemkalyani’s ancestor
Keshavrao Kshemkalyani saw in dream a Ganapati at this place. When he came
to this place, he really found a swayambhu Ganapati. Since then his family
has been looking after the idol. Nashikites have great faith in its
divinity and it is believed to be answering to their prayers. Ganesh
festival is celebrated here on all ten days in Bhadrapada. The Modakeshwar
temple has lent holiness to this area which otherwise looks ghastly
because of the cemetery and a long stretch of ground along the riverbank.
Now this are is humming with a lot of activity.
Main Road Ganapati
This
temple, which celebrated its centenary seven years ago, belongs to Damodar
Vishnu alias Damu Anna Dongare. Born in a family of scholars in
Vedshashtra, Damu Anna was very knowledgeable in medicine and also in
music - he himself was a tabla player. The property on which this temple
stands today, belonged to Damu Anna and there was a lovely garden watered
from the well in the backyard. Once during meditation he sensed a divine
directive to build a Ganapati mandir. Same night, he caught a burglar
trying to break open a jeweller’s shop across the street. The jeweller
offered to give a prize of Damu Anna’s choice. Damu Anna asked him to
donate a marble deity of Ganesh and the jeweller very happily complied
with the request. Thereafter this temple was constructed where Damu Anna’s
love for music is nurtured even today. Bhadrapad and Maghi festivals are
celebrated as also every Chaturthi, concerts are held in the temple. As
you turn from Mahatma Gandhi Road to Main Road near Ravivar fountain, you
come across this temple on your left. Long and wide main hall, a pretty
idol and old glass chandeliers impress you instantly. The Ganesh idol
faces the east.
Khandave
Ganapati<
This 150-year old temple is in
Somvar Peth in Nashik. The Ganesh idol is carved out of a single boulder
but is not visible because of shendur applied all over the deity. This
6-feet tall temple along a wall belongs to Madhukar Murlidhar Khandave.
Earlier this idol was in Khandave’s house. Later Jahangirdar Khedkar
donated this place to Madhukar’s great grandfather and a wooden temple was
built. Over a period, a stone temple was set up. Devotees believe that
this Siddhi Vinayak fulfills their wishes and hence they offer modak,
gulachi bheli, silver durvas etc.
Tilya Ganapati
As
you go from Sandava across Rokdoba Hanuman temple near Modakeshwar towards
Panchavati, you come across this temple with twenty steps at Ganeshwadi.
The legend behind this temple is that the Ganesh idol grows by the size of
a sesame (til) on every Sankrant (G) day and hence it derives name Tilya
Ganapati. Also this Ganesh temple lends the name Ganeshwadi to this area.
This east-facing deity was found while digging the foundation of Damodar
Dagdusheth Sonar’s house. His eighth generation, which has adopted a
surname Bhadakwade is now looking after the idol and the temple. This
temple was built hundred years before the present day Kala Ram temple. A
big fare is held here on Tili Sankrant day and old Nashikites attend it
without forget. Bhadakwade family members themselves perform puja as there
have been instances of calamity befalling the family whenever there was a
break in the tradition of family members performing puja.
Varad Vinayak :
Ahilya
Devi Holkar installed this Ganapati on Thursday, Jeshtha Shudh Dwadashi in
1708. The famous Ahilya Ram temple of Nashik is adjacent to this temple of
Varad Vinayak. Kamare family living just across the temple is the devotee
of Varad Vinayak. Kamares built this temple in 1969 as per the divine
dream of one of the family members, it is said. The temple is owned by
Narayan Sitaram Kshemkalyani who offers puja every day. Festivals are held
during Bhadrapada and Magh. This east-facing temple is situated where the
slope from Kala Ram Temple to Ramkund ends behind Kapaleshwar temple.
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