PLACES

HIVARKHED

Hivarkhed situated at a distance of over 9 km. (6 miles) from Morsi, is a small village in MorsI tahsil with 831 houses and a population of 4,451 as per the 1961 Census. There are foureducational institutions which include a Primary School, a Middle School, a High School named after Mahatma Phule and a Balak Mandir Besides it has a sarai and a Post office and an Ayurvedic dispensary conducted by the Zilla Parisad. The weekly bazar is held on Mondays, cotton, tur and oranges being the chief articles of trade. There is a saw mill and a brick and tile manufacturing factory. A dam has been constructed across the river Pak. ft was completed in 1953 and irrigates about 283.500 hectares (700 acres) of land. The village has four temples, very old but not particularly notable for size or workmanship and a dargah known as Trak Sahib dargah. Before British rule Hivarkhed was the scene of a hookswinging festival in honour of the deity. Meghnath. Megh-nathis, that is men whose prayers had been answered by the God, would fix themselves to the hook and turn eight times, afterwards making an offering of money according to their means.

Objects

Mahadev- Temple.

Of the temples, that of Mahadeva is the chief object of interest at Hivarkhed. It is situated on the bank of the river Pak, flowing through the village, and is reported to be of considerable antiquity. There is an enclosure around entered by an arched gateway on which is the Nagarkhana. Inside to the west, there is a spacious chamber containing idols of Rama, Laksmana, Sita, Hanuman, Dattatraya and a Siva Linga. In the centre of the enclosed courtyard there is a Tulsivrndavana which also contains idols of many deities. To the left of the visitor is the main temple with a spacious sabhamandap containing yet another Tulsivrndavana with two graceful Nandi images of white marble of fine workmanship. In addition to the Linga whose lower part is of black stone and the upper part of whitish flint stone, the vestibule contains idols of Nagoba (Snake), Annapurna and Ganapati. It has a tall sikhar with designs of niches. Celebrations are held at the time of Rama Navmi, Ganesotsava, and Kartika Suddha Paurnima.

Tomb of Trak Saheb.

The tomb is about 0.80 km. (four furlongs) to the north of the village. In days gone by, Hivarkhed was the headquarters of a Naib and a Risala of the Nizam's cavalry was stationed here and the Turk or Trak Sahib was reported to he an officer in the Nizams army. However the cross on its top indicates it to be the grave of some early European adventurer.

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