KORADI TEMPLE( Jakhapurvanshi) - Shaktipeeth of Nagpur !

If I say, We live in an atheistic society! I am sure most of you will agree with me. Visiting a religious place is considered low fashion or let me put it this way, its an obsolete practice ! I am sure ,many millennials believe its a sport for baby boomers... or may be a exigency for the Needy / Greedy / Wealthy !
For me visiting any religious site has become like an addiction! Not only do I get to learn fascinating stories and legends , I get to witness exquisite architecture , see elegant iconography and the deep meaning behind....and the icing on the cake is the solace and peace that I always anubhav(experience) !
In this blog , I bring to you a very Jagrut temple from Nagpur -Koradi mandir . Just 15 kms from orange city, standing strong on the banks on Koradi lake. It belongs to Shree Mahalaxmi Jagdamba Mata.








Source: https://www.google.co.in/search?q=koradi+temple+nagpur&rlz=1C1ASUC_enIN726IN726&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=662&tbm=isch&imgil=TaiNJxQZwtwXSM%253A%253Bs2Jw9y5B62EHtM%253Bhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.youtube.com%25252Fwatch%25253Fv%2525253D6ck45wikEHs&source=iu&pf=m&fir=TaiNJxQZwtwXSM%253A%252Cs2Jw9y5B62EHtM%252C_&usg=__hjHXNhZr4Il3MiMNKuBnPPr6FXc%3D&ved=0ahUKEwit35aEosfRAhUVS48KHXKWDdEQyjcILw&ei=Dw19WO2bDpWWvQTyrLaIDQ#imgrc=GrPrqddNVFhzDM%3A




Some call it a Lakshmi temple, while others Shakti(Durga)..lets understand why...
Science can give us the first explanation. If you recall the first law of thermodynamics, It states that energy can neither be created nor be destroyed ,It can only change forms. Same theory applies here. In Hinduism Shakti is 'energy' or 'power'. Shakti represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe changing forms. In the Navratri ("nine nights") festival, "the Goddess is worshiped in three forms. During the first three nights, Durga or Parvati is revered, then Lakshmi on the fourth, fifth and sixth nights, and finally Saraswati until the ninth night. Thus according to Tridevi concept all three are same !
As I have mentioned the Mukhya Devi is Mahalakshmi Jagdamba Mata. Let's understand the meaning of the name ( Mahalaxmi + Jagdamba) in Hindu mythology and iconography..
MAHALAKSHMI :
LAKSH meaning { Target}, making Laksmi goddess of Targets! For some this target{ Laksh} can be wealth , fame ..for each his/her own! Lakshmi Mata is a very important Hindu , Jain and Buddhist God ,worshiped for fortune and prosperity ! According to Hindu Mythology, Lakshmi was born from churning of ocean( samudra manthan ). She choose Vishnu bhagwan(God) as her consort.

Source :http://bit.ly/2jPNVNr
Indian Iconography depicts Lakshmi as a very graceful women, dressed elegantly, wearing lots of gold jewelry. Her Vahan(Vehicle) is the OWL. She sits in a yogic poster on a lotus and also holds lotus on her upper two arms. The lower two arms are shown powering fortune, good-luck into the household.Her iconography shows her with four hands, which represent the four goals of human life considered important to the Hindu way of life – dharma, kāma, artha, and moksha.

JAGDAMBA:
Jagdamba means ( Jagat + Amba). Jagat = universe and Amba means mother, Making her universal mother..Jagdamba is one of the numerous forms of shakti(Durga). In this Avatar as Jagdamba goddess takes a peaceful form of a loving mother. In this roop ma is shown having 10 arms and sitting on a lotus instead of Lion/Tiger. This makes her ( Durga + Laksmi). source: http://www.hindu-blog.com/2011/10/goddess-jagdamba.html

Source: http://bit.ly/2kqXPUL


History of Koradi.
There are around 51 Shakti-peeths of Devi Jagadamba. The Temple of Devi of Koradi – Shri Mahalaxmi Jagadamba – is considered as one of the Shakti-peeths. It has a great history and lakhs of devotees visit the temple every year.( I did a little research and found that there are discrepancies regarding Shakti peetha, According to Some of the great religious texts like the Shiva Purana, the Devi Bhagavata, the Kalika Purana and the AstaShakti recognize four major Shakti Peethas (centers), like Bimala (inside the Jagannath temple of Puri, Odisha), Tara Tarini (Near Berhampur, Odisha), Kamakhya Temple (Near Guwahati, Assam) and Dakshina Kalika (Kolkata, West Bengal) originated from the limbs of the Corpse of Mata Sati in the Satya Yuga. I am yet to find out a source to identify the actual 51/52/108 shakti peetha's of goddess.. Comming bck to Koradi, Many many years ago.. Koradi was known as Jakhapur. The King of Jakhapur, Raja Jholan, had seven children – Janoba, Nanoba, Banoba, Bairoba, Khairoba, Agnoba, Dattasur. The king was unhappy as he had no daughter. He performed Yagya and was ultimetly blessed with a beautiful daughter. After seeing his daughter for the first time, the King felt that Adi Shakti manifested in the form of his daughter. The king in his lifetime exprienced the divya shakti of his daughter many times they say...Her traits included devine beauty,wisdom, war-skills, visionary skills etc..Once in a war when she accompanied the king, she had shown great justice towards the king as well as his opponents. While returning from the war Jakhumai being the divine shakti decided to stop at the place where the sun would set. That place is regarded as Jakhapur (now Koradi). The moorti (idol) is believed to be 'Swayambhu' - manifested one, as nobody installed it. The surroundings consist of a Kund and Goumukh. There is a natural stream of cool water. Stones of Rangoli are still found in this area.

Shri Mahalaxmi is also called as ‘Jakhapurvasini’ – the divine shakti which resides in Jakhapur (the historical name of the place). source: http://www.koraditemple.com/

Main Entrance


Pooja Samagri..








The path to the main temple is full of small shops selling various types and kinds of pooja samgri and not to forget plastic toys! My little one loved the place(reason being obvious).