Bhuleshwar Bhulbhulaiya - Temples in Labyrinths

With temples anywhere and everywhere, it is the South Mumbai precinct of Bhuleshwar, and not Kerala, which rightfully deserves the sobriquet - "God’s Own Country"! A Sunday morning saunter through the labyrinths of Bhuleshwar with a plan of looking up the 100 odd temples can be an overwhelming, even intimidating experience. Temples come in various forms, formats and facades, but faith rules above all. 

Lakshminarayan Temple inside Madhavbaug is perhaps the only temple that can be seen and photographed in its entirety. On the other extreme is Pipneshwar Mahadev Temple, which is just a niche in the wall and can be quite easily mistaken for a paan shop. 

Mumbai’s solitary Sun Temple is in Bhuleshwar, its spire concealed from the street behind pink fortress like walls. The oldest Swaminarayan Temple of the city is also here. An ardent devotee of the sect demolished his mansion to make way for this temple, which looms large over the congested streetscape with its garishly imposing façade.

While it is quite an effort to spot the Balaji Ramji Temple, with is quaint art deco style, the pretty Ram Temple built in typical Rajput style is dwarfed by an under-construction highrise. 

A rare Panchmukhi (Five Faced) idol of Hanuman finds a home in Bhuleshwar. So does an archeologically significant “GadheGal” (Donkey’s Curse Stone), worshipped out of ignorance. 

Religion and commerce happily cohabit in Bhuleshwar. 

The sprawling Mota Mandir complex is the city seat of Vallabhacharya’s Pushtimarg School of philosophy. Authorities here are paranoid about photography. A security guard kept tagging us while we were there. 

The temple of Krishna Pranami, a 400 year old sect, which counted King Chhatrasal among its foremost followers, is very ornate with “Swami Style” silver work dazzling the eye.

Among the labyrinth, spotting the eponymous Bhuleshwar temple is a challenge.  It has a commanding Nagarkhana and wrought iron-pillared sabha mandap. 

The etymology of Bhuleshwar is supposedly Bhola Eshwar. But I would like to imagine that the Gods of Bhuleshwar, returning home after their sojourn in heaven, have forgotten their way, and are wandering through the labyrinths in search of their rightful abode. 

Bhuleshwar is not just about temples as the guided walk by @Khaki_Tours revealed, but that will be another story.