Title: Basara Temple
1Basara Temple The Abode of Devi Saraswati Since
time innumerable, India and Hinduism have always
been connected by a special string. Especially
the South Indian region carries the ancient
culture of India to the core. From Karnataka to
Kerala, every state is crowded with unique
temples and their ancient whisperings. However,
amongst all these states, we should not forget to
mention the Land of Temples or Telangana. The
newly formed state, Telangana, is a home of
thousand of temples and The Basara Temple of Devi
Saraswati is one of the famous temples, not only
in Telangana, in India too. Hinduism has more
than 33 crores God and Goddess mentioned in their
holy book, but very few temples have been named
after our, Goddess of knowledge and learning,
Devi Saraswati. The Basara Temple of Telangana is
one of the two most famous temples of Devi
Saraswati, the other being situated in the State
of Jammu and Kashmir. How well do you know about
the temple of knowledge and learning? Lets
judge your knowledge here! Have a look. BASARA
TEMPLE LOCATION Gnana Saraswati Temple or Basara
Temple is one of the famous temples of
Telangana, situated by the river of Godavari,
Basar, Adilabad. Basar is a census town in the
Nirmal district of Telangana. Basar is around 210
km away from Hyderabad, so anyone can easily
travel from Hyderabad to Basar via bus or
train. HISTORY OF BASARA TEMPLE Basara Temple is
one of the unique temples of India, and thus a
unique mythological and historical fact is
attached to it. In India, we can ftnd many
temples dedicated to Vishnu and Shiv, but
Brahmas temple is a rare ftnd in here, so is
Brahmas wifes, Saraswati. But the Land of
Temples or Telangana has the Basara Temple
dedicated to Devi Saraswati, and the origin
story of this temple has two faces. From the
aspect of Myths and local legends, it is said
that this temple has been mentioned in our great
Epic Mahabharata. According to Mahabharata, after
the scourge of the
2horrifying war, Kurukshetra, sage Vyasa, sage
Vishwamitra and their disciples decided to
settle down in a calm and serene place. In search
of tranquillity, they came to Dandaka forest.
Being pleased by the serenity of the place, they
selected this place as their peaceful adobe for
prayers. There was one cave in this region named
Kumarachala where sage Vyasa used to sit for
penance by praying to Goddess Saraswati. It is
believed that during the time of prayer, one-day
sage Vyasa got darshan and the blessings of
Goddess Saraswati, where the Goddess ordered the
sage to bring three ftstfuls of sand from the
River Godavari after holy bath and place that
heaps of sand in three division in the cave.
Afterwards, these three piles of sands became
deities of Maha Kali, Maha Saraswati and Maha
Laxmi by the power of sage Vyasa. After the name
of sage Vyasa, this place became Vyasara which
turned into Basara under the in??uence of the
Marathi language.
However, history says something else. According
to concrete historical facts, the Gnana
Saraswati Temple of Basara was built by the King
Bijiyaludu by the time of 11th century. However,
during 12th to 18th century, this temple was
being targeted by the Muslim invaders. At that
time, one young man named Sri Makaji Patel
protected this temple from the attacks of Muslim
invaders and Nawabs with the help of
Ravindrapuram, Mahathpuram and Vyasapuram. Apart
from this temple, other two temples were also
built on the meeting point of River Majira
3- and Godavari.
- IMPORTANCE OF THE BASARA TEMPLE IN
HINDUISMFESTIVALS AND MORE - Apart from a fascinating history and myth, the
Basara Temple holds lots of importance in the
lives of every Hindu. Along with festivals, many
special religious acts are also being done in
this temple. Let us have a look. - Religious Acts
- AKSHARABHYASAM
- Goddess Saraswati is known to be the symbol of
Knowledge and skill. For this purpose, lots of
people from the different region come to this
place to perform the sacred religious act named
Aksharabhyasam. This act is performed when a
child is about to start his educational career. - PENANCE
- It was mentioned in the Brahmanda Purana that, by
getting a holy bath in the Koneru of this
Saraswati Theertha, one can liberates his/her
sins committed in their lifetime. - DEEKSHA
- The members of Brahmin family observe Deeksha and
Madhukaram in this Basara Temple. Deeksha can be
kept for seven days, eleven days, twenty-one
days, forty-one days or even more. It is believed
that at the end of such Deeksha, Goddess
Saraswati will appear in the dream of the
devotee and will shower him with blessings.
4- Festivals
- VYASA POURNIMA As it is believed that the temple
was established by sage Vyasa, Vyasa Purnima
festival is celebrated every year on Ashada
Purnima. - DASARA NAVARATHRULU On Dassera Navaratri, this
festival is celebrated each year for nine days.
Various Pujas and religious acts are being done
in these nine days for the purpose of the
festival. - MAHA SHIVARATRI On Magh Bahula Triyodoshi, Maha
Shivaratri festival is celebrated each year in
the month of February. - VASANTHA PANCHAMI Being a temple of Goddess
Saraswati, the festival of Vasantha Panchami is
celebrated each year on Magh Shukla. This
festival embarks the advent of the season spring.
On this day, the religious act of Aksharabhyasam
is being done in this Basara Temple. - A rare ftnding on the land of Hinduism, Basara
Temple holds indescribable importance in the
lives of many people. From the times of
Mahabharata to the modern times, the Gnana
Saraswati Temple of Basara has gone through a
lot, yet this beautiful, magical temple does not
fail to inspire the lives of the people each and
every day!