RAJ RAJESHWAR TEMPLE

This is an ancient temple located not too far from the Ahilyeshwar Shivalay. The unique aspect of this Shiva temple is the 11 lamps that are supposed to be burning since pre-historic times to honor Agni. No, there is no magic involved here. They have been kept burning by the people. Each lamp can take 1.25 kg of Desi ghee to burn for 24 hours. Devotees have been donating ghee to keep it burning forever. You can see these fairly large Diyas or lamps when you visit the temple.

This temple complex has a small temple dedicated to Sahastraarjun – the mighty king who held Ravana prisoner for many months here. At Raj Rajeshwar temple, you have to sit for a few moments and imagine there was no fort and this temple stood next to the Narmada River. Rishis meditated here in their ashrams close to the Narmada.

Baneshwar Temple

This is a small temple, or at least it looks small from a distance, in the middle of the Narmada River. It is believed that Baneshwar is located on the axis connecting the center of the earth with the Dhruv Tara or the North Pole.

Chhatris

Chhatris are memorial or cenotaphs typically built for royal families. Bang opposite the Ahilya Shivalay is this lovely Chhatri dedicated to Vithoji, It has an exquisite elephant panel running around its base. Inside the hexagonal structure are the carved stone walls. In the complex are ornate pillared corridors with arched windows overlooking the Narmada River.

Vithoji was the son of Yashwant Rao Holkar – the ruler who succeeded Ahilya Bai Holkar.The signature frame of Maheshwar, the fan-shaped staircase leads to Ahilya Ghat. The landing on these stairs creates the most beautiful and signature facade of this heritage place.

Kamani Gate For Elephants

This fort is one of the few living forts, and its gates are still in use. The most important gate is the Ahilya Dwar that leads to the Ahilya Fort. It is a rather simple gate and is the only motorable gate. Kamani gate is interesting as it was probably made for elephants to go through. The wide ramped gate is now used by pedestrians to enter the fort area.

Pani Darwaza is located close to Kashi Vishwanath Temple and was probably used by those visiting the city through the water route. Next to it is Mandal Kho Darwaza also on the waterfront.

THE NARMADA & IT’S GHATS

The Narmada is the life force of Maheshwar that is located on its northern banks. They say that the Narmada is also known as Shankari as she was born out of a teardrop of Shankar. It is the natural dividing line between North India and South India. The rounded stones found at the base of Narmada are called Banlingas. It is difficult to find them these days. The ones you find in the market are made in a village nearby.

The Ghats of the Narmada here are lined up with some small temples and Chhatris that you can see from a distance or from the top of Ahilya Fort. It is when you walk on the ghats that you would see big and small Shivalingas all along the ghat. In all, there are 28 ghats on the Narmada in Maheshwar but the prominent ones include Ahilya Ghat, Peshwa Ghat, Phanse Ghat & Mahila Ghat.

Pilgrims

In the mornings and evenings, you can see pilgrims taking a dip in the Narmada and praying to these Shivalingas. It is also an important stop for pilgrims doing the Narmada Parikrama. On my morning walk, I met a lot of women who were stopping here as part of their Parikrama. Some were doing it on foot and others were using a vehicle. What intrigued me was the sheer number of women who were on this yatra. It seems we women have always been travelers just that no one saw as one.

In the evening, Narmada Arti is a small and intimate affair. There is no big show like Ganga Arti at Kashi, and only a few people gather for this.

Boat Ride At Narmada

A boat ride on the Narmada can give you a panoramic view of the stunning Maheshwar riverfront. It is arguably the most stunning riverfront of India or maybe the world. You can also visit the Baneshwar temple located in the middle of the river. As you go towards this temple you will see small temples in the river that mark their presence through the flags on top of them. On the other bank of Narmada, and symbolically in South India is the village of Naodatodi. Here you can see an ancient Shiva temple called Shalivan, a typical central Indian village with a huge ashram. Take your boat to the other end and admire the panoramic view of the riverfront – the most beautiful riverfront in India. Take a leisurely walk around the village before you head back.

Film Industry And Maheshwar

The exquisite beauty of Maheshwar and river Narmada is captured in some Bollywood and Tamil/ Kollywood movies. Some of the movies shot in Maheshwar including the movie "Ashoka", Tulsi (by actor and director Sachin), Mahashivratri, A R Rehman's music video, Tamil movie Alaipayuthey's song "Snehithane..." and " yaro yaro di..." directed by Maniratnam, Tamil movie Leelai's song "Oru killi oru killi..." directed by Andrew Vasanth Louis, Yuvan Shankar Raja's musical Tamil movie Arrambam's song "Adadada Arrambame..." directed by Vishnuvardhan. Also starting episodes of Zee TV serial Jhansi Ki Rani were shot here. In the 60's, Mythological film Mahashivratri's shooting was done here and many local artists were given a chance to act in that. Then Aadi Shankaryachary's shooting was completed in 1985. Many film stars from Bharat Bhushan to Shah Rukh Khan have visited Maheshwar and admired its rich culture and beauty. Also Yamala Pagla Deewana (Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Kulraj Randhawa come here for shooting) film's 50 minute shot done here at Bazar Chowk, Rajwada, Ahilyabai Chhatri, Ahilya Ghaat, and many more location. The shooting of "Radha Nachegi" song from Tevar was done here. Also, recently few scenes of Bajirao Mastani, Neerja and Gautamiputra Satakarni (film) were shot here. Recently the film Pad Man directed by R.Balki starring Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, and Radhika Apte was shot here. And recently shot title track of Prabhu Deva directed, an Arbaz Khan Production movie Dabangg 3 starring Salman Khan was shot for 2 weeks. Shooting of Kalank is also done here.