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PLACES
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MANGRUL DASTAGIR
Mangrul Dastagir is a village in Candur tahsil with 934 houses and 4.432 inhabitants as per the 1961 Census. It is not an integrated village but consists of eight " Munds " lying close together. The second name Dastagir is given to distinguish it from several other towns and villages in Berar bearing the name Mangrul and is derived from a Musalman fakir who lived here. Mangrul is 4.83 km. (three miles) away from Talni railway station and has a small trade in gram and cotton to the Dattapur Dhamanganv market. A considerable weekly bazar is held on Wednesdays. There is a seva sahakari society, a police station, a post-office, a dispensary, a high school, a girls' school, a middle school, and Marathi and Urdu primary schools. It has an old and ruined temple of Maruti as also the temples of Balaji, Gana-pati and Dattatraya. At Raina close by are a small tank and a big temple of Rama which is said to date back to the times of the Bhosles and built by one Vasudev Pant Despande, in the service of Bhosle Rajas. The temple of Rama is the oldest in the village. But of all the Hindu places of worship the shrine of Dattatraya, though of recent construction, is invested with utmost sanctity. It is in size bigger than the rest of the temples and was built sixty years ago by one Govindrav Pakole at a cost of one lakh of rupees. The stone used for the construction is soft yellowish and was brought from Rajputana. Some fine carvings are to be seen on many of the stones used for construction. The sculpture on the sikhar is noteworthy. A compound wall encloses the temple which has a small but neatly maintained courtyard. A handsome white marble idol of Dattatraya is placed inside the gabhara. The outer hall or sabhamandap is approximately 8x5 metres (26'xl8') and is paved with highly polished slabs of stone. About 163 hectares (400 acres) of land is owned by the temple. There is a trust to look after its management and maintenance. Datta Jayanti is celebrated annually with all the traditional eclat and lasts for five days.
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