Khandoba Temple, Jejuri

The Khandoba Temple stands on a hill at Jejuri, about 50 km from Pune, and is among the major pilgrimage centres of Maharashtra. Khandoba, also called Malhari-Martand or Malhar, is regarded as a form of Shiva who came to earth to fight the demon brothers Mani and Malla, killing one and sparing the other. He is the family deity of many farming families, Brahmins and the Dhangar community. Worship of Khandoba began in the 12th–13th century, and the temple was rebuilt under the Peshwas; Chimaji Appa presented it with church bells taken from the Portuguese after the Battle of Vasai in 1737.

The shrine sits at 718 m and looks like a hill fort, hence the name Jejuri gad. Nearly 200 steps, lined with about 350 lamp-pillars, arches and smaller shrines, lead up to an eight-sided walled enclosure with a cloistered courtyard and a brass-coated tortoise 20 feet across. Pilgrims throw turmeric as an offering, leaving the steps and premises tinged yellow.