Temple Life

Ganeshpuri revolves around Nityananda's Samadhi Shrine. Here is a closer look at the temple grounds.

Nityananda's Samadhi Shrine

The entrance to the Shiva temple, Bhimeshwar. It is my favorite place on the temple grounds!

A peek inside...

A better view, from 2023 when the temple was all decked out for Maha Shivaratri. I love that Lingam!

The sacred bath house, or Kund, is fed by natural hot springs. These are the same hot springs the fill the bath tubs at Kothawala's. Because these are on the temple grounds, the water is blessed. I stop in before going into the Shiva temple to wash my hands and feet. They provide small and large buckets for bathing, and a women's changing room.

Some of the many flower vendors, who make it easy to have offerings for the various temples.

More flower vendors - I can't even imagine how many garlands they go through in a day.

The vendors sell other items to offer as well, including incense, powders, and grains. And you'll find plenty of toys, which reminds me of the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk. Notice the elaborate garlands on the right side of this picture. they are made for homes and vehicles. Many people bring their garlands in to be laid against Nityananda's murti and returned to them, full of blessings.

The green, leafy garlands are made of Tulsi, or holy basil.

The view down to the end of the temple grounds - shops with toys, sweets and sacred items.

Even more shops lining the temple grounds. These shop keepers liked to greet me by yelling "Sagar!" when they saw me. Sagar is the name of my friend that works at one of the flower vendors. I am not sure why they started calling me Sagar. I would yell hello to him whenever I saw him at work. LOL!

People sleep on the temple grounds. Some folks sleep there all the time. Others sleep there when they come to town. The larger groups of sleeping people in this picture gathered the night before Vasant Panchami.