About Mahableshwar : |
| I. About Mahabaleshwar |
| The Queen of Hill-Station that offers NATURE, HERITAGE & CULTURE is called Mahabaleshwar.lt is one of the few evergreen forests of the world It is a very vast plateau measuring 150 Sg}Kms. According to Hindu faith, Mahabaleshwar is one of the Important Holy Places of India. This mythological place has a reference in Hindu Puranas. This Mythological Mahabaleshwar is what we now-a-days call old or Kshetra Mahabaleshwar. It is 5 kms. away from present Mahabaleswhar or Malcum Peth according to Govt. records.Some of the unexplored Facts of Mahabaleshwar tourism are Eco-tourism. Heritage tourism. Wild life tourism and Cultural tourism&above all the Unique 'Rain forest of Mahabaleshwar' is a great asset to develope , ecological research facilities. Mahatma Gandhi also was a great admire of Mahabaleshwar. He had I stayed for about a month at Moraraji Castle, in hot seaspnof 1945. He daily used to go to Bombay I point in the morning and to Babington Pointin the evening. |
| II. Mythology of Mahabaleshwar |
| In Ancient time two demon brothers named Atibali and Mahabali. They were very strong and evil. They started creating troubles and obstacles in the holy performances of the sages in Brahma-Aranva.AII the three gods started battling with demon brothers. God Vishnu killed Atibali in the battle. Knowing this Mahabali became mad with anger and in retaliation fought valiently with all three gods. Mahabali was s^wll i.e. he will die when he will wish to die. When the gods realised that they cannot defeat mahabali, they planned tricking mahabali. For this they sought the co¬ operation of the Goddess mahamava The Goddess hypnotized Mahabali by her beauty and made him give up the waging of the battle. Mahabali conceded any one desire express by the gods. The revealed god asked for his death. Mahabali best owed his body to the gods, which they subverted cutting asunder. The Gods asked him to express his last desire. Mahabali said "I wish lord Shiva should stay in subtle form at my head with sources of all the five rivers Krishna, Venna, Koyana, Savitri and Gayatri." Lord shiva will be celebrated after my name that is Mahabaleshwar. (Mahabali + ishwar=The God of Mahabali, it also means the powerful god.) Simillarly the lord Vishnu will be famous by the name of my brother Atibali i.e. Atibaleshwar and Lord Brahma in the repute of my one billion^vajjant soldiers army as Koteshwar. This land should be called as Kshetra (Holy) Mahabaleshwar. |
| III. Establishment of Mahabaleshwar (British Raj): |
| Major Lordwick visited Mahabaleshwar on the 1st April, 1824 and Wrote a letter to Bombay courier on 1 sf May,. 1824. This letter of lordwick made the Europeun curious and interested in Mahabaleshwar and it moved rulers for the establishment of Mahabaleshwar as health resort. Maharaja Pratapsinh build a good road from Satara to Mahabaleshwar via Medha in 1829. Maharaja Pratapsinh invited Sir. John Malcolm, the first Governor of Bombay Presidency Elphinstone to visit Mahabaleshar in November 1827. Sir Malcolm was so enhanced by the scenery and weather of Mahabaleshwar that he immediatly gave orders for establishing a sanatorium at Mahabaleshwar for the sick soldiers and britishers and similarly the Jail was built for Chinese and Malaya convicts. "Shindola Park" was the "First bunglow of Mahabaleshwar" built for Sir Malcolm. Then Sir Malcolm ordered the construction of Government House, Which was renamed as Mount Malcolm. The British rulers took over the green plateau of Mahabaleshwar in exchange of barren land of Khandala from the Raja Pratapsinh. The Britishers had put restriction on Tree cutting Nobody was allowed to cut tree in the radious of 8 kms. to maintain greenary and cool weather on the plateau and the real development of the area started.) |
