The Forgotten Heritage of Ancient Shiv mandir in Ambernath
From the Personal Account of Memories
I am fond of Ancient Temple Architecture since my childhood. Maybe that is because I was staying near to this one while growing up. We never really valued what we had in the neighbourhood at that time but now I realise that what we had back then was a treasure. This 1000-year-old Shiv mandir of Ambernath was built during the times of Pandavas from Mahabharata.
A couple of times we got to know archaeologist found some 1000 years old stones somewhere nearby. We were so ignorant that we never cared to find out more about them. Even we ignored visiting Shiv mandir for years because of the so-called dirty surrounding but now when I look back, shiv mandir had an impact on our childhood. I had taken it for granted that all ancient temples must have beautiful carvings that’s because shiv mandir had them. I am lucky to have visited so many ancient temples including the great Angkor Wat in Cambodia but somehow I missed to appreciate them. Maybe the benchmark of delicate carvings was set long back, 30 years ago. On the occasion of Mahashivaratri, I was trying to find a picture of Shivmandir in google photos but sadly, I didn’t find one. In all these years, I didn’t even click one photo of the gem I grew up with! How ignorant I could be! Thanks to the internet but. We never understand what we have. We fail to appreciate it. That’s the moral of the story.
Btw there are still people who don’t know about this place. Nobody knows where Ambernath is located except you are from Mumbai Pune or nearby cities. But if you plan to visit Mumbai anytime soon, please visit Ambernath and see this beauty. There is absolutely nothing else you can do in the town as a traveller. This is not a UNESCO heritage site. The place is not preserved properly. Nobody knows who built it. You will hardly find any historical log, book or document about it but believe me, this Ancient wonder is worth paying a visit.
Google Pin: https://goo.gl/maps/X1Nb2H74tbhs7s948
Article on the Shiv Mandir on The CultureTrip: https://theculturetrip.com/asia/india/articles/poetry-in-stone-the-ambernath-temple/
Wikipedia Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiv_Mandir,_Ambarnath