PLACES

PARALI VAIJNATH

Parali Vaijanath, one of the fast growing towns of Bid district, lies in Ambejogai tahsil and is an important centre of trade and commerce. It is very well served by road and rail transport, there being rail connections with Parbhani and Hyderabad and road connections with Nanded, Jalna, Barsi, Latur and Hingoli.

There is a market committee provided with all the modern facilities. A proposal to build residential quarters for its employees is under study. The principal commodities sent to outside places, such as Akola, Amalner, Jamnagar, Howrah, Delhi, Hubli, Kalyan and Hyderabad from this yard are cotton, groundnut, jaggery, grains and pulses. Among the commodities purchased from outside markets, important are rice from Bajvada, building stone from Sahbad and timber from Nizamabad.

In 1905 was set up the first ginning and pressing mill by two Italian merchants. It has 22 gins and was the first of its kind in the whole of Marathvada. Besides this there are now four more ginning and pressing factories, eight oil mills and four saw mills.

Objects

Parali Vaijanath Temple: Parali is well-known for the shrine of Vaijanath containing one of the famous twelve jyotirlingas of India. It occupies an elevated plain about 21.33 to 24.39 metres (70' to 80' ft.) above the ground level and is half a kilometre to the north-west of the town, almost in the arms of the Meru parvat. The temple is supposed to have been originally constructed by Hemadri or Hemadpant, the chief minister of the Yadavas of Devagiri, of which nothing except an image of nandi remains to date. This gives the temple an antiquity of over 600 years and is proved by a date on one of the steps of the juna ghat. The present temple was built by Ahilyabai Holkar, who once happened to visit the site and moved by the ruined state of the temple ordered its reconstruction. An inscribed block of stone bearing a Sanskrt verse has been found which states: "The temple was built in 1706 Krodhanam Samvatsara Caitra Sukla 5. on Friday by the daughter-in-law of Raja Malharrav Holkar, and the wife of Khanderav Holkar, viz., Rani Ahilyabai Holkar". This incription helps in ascertaining the exact date of the reconstruction of the shrine.

The temple stands in the centre of an enclosure built of stone masonry having three arched entrances on the eastern, southern and northern sides. Long and broad flights of stairs lead up to these entrances. The one on the eastern side is called the juna ghat, on the northern nova ghat and on the southern as the tirth ghat, for here is located the Harihar tirth, one of the three tirths, the other two being Markandeya tirth and Narayan tirth respectively. On one of the stones of the juna ghat the date Saka 1108 has been inscribed which perhaps is the year in which the ghat was built.

The northern entrance is the main entrance and is reached after climbing 38 steps. If entered from the eastern side the visitor directly reaches the sabhamandap of the shrine, which was built in 1315 Fasli by one Sri Ramrav Despande alias Nanasaheb with the help of donations and contributions made by people of the town. It has a storey above with galleries on four sides. In the centre of this sabhdmandap are three images of nandi, under a canopy, of which the middle one is of brass, and the other two of stone. A huge brass image of Virbhadra is also to be seen. Apart from the mandap there are two more chambers, viz., the outer and the inner shrine. The door frame of the outer shrine is plated with silver and has exquisite designs upon it. Especially the floral patterns are engraved with extraordinary skill and artistry. The outer shrine is 6.10 x 6.10 metres (20' x 20').

A small lowly constructed door leads into the last and the inner shrine which holds the jyotirling. It is 1.11+ sq. metres (12 ft. square), the ling occupying the central position. Two sikhars with brass spires adorn the tops of the outer and the inner shrines. In and around the temple there are 12 other lings which go to signify the 12 Jyotirlings of India. In the rear of the temple there is a small shrine dedicated to Narad and to the left there is another built in honour of Kuber, the legendary god of wealth and prosperity. Along the course of the rampart wall a number of corridors have been erected. The eastern entrance is surmounted by a nagarkhana, from where every morning and evening music is played in keeping with the old custom. There is a vertical tower-shaped pillar on the uppermost step of juna ghat with an aperture at its top and it is said that twice every year, viz., on Caitra Sukla 75 and Asvin Sukla 15, the morning rays of the sun used to fall directly on the ling through this aperture. It has however been found that the rays do fall on the ling on these particular days but they do not come through the above-mentioned aperture. It is quite possible that the episode might have had some credence when the temple was built some 750 years ago. A dipmal stands near the northern entrance. Nearby is a shrine dedicated to Sanesvar and a Jangam shrine. The utsav commences on Mahasivratra and lasts for fifteen days. On every Monday the palanquin of the god is taken in procession.

Sanesvar Mandir: Nearby the Parali Vaijanath temple is a small, insignificant shrine dedicated to Sani Maharaj. Its not too large mandap besides containing a homakund has a samadhi of one Sivsankar Svami believed to be a devotee of Sani.

Zuralya Gopinath: Zuralya Gopinath temple is very small and occupies an area of about 6.503 sq. metres (70 sq. feet). The idol of Gopinath is underneath the temple in a very dark cellar, infested by many cockroaches, which are said to attack anyone trying to kill them. It is because the temple abounds in cockroaches that it has been nicknamed as Zuralya Gopinath (PçájU-Cockroach).

Sant Jagmitra Naga Samsthan: At a short distance from Parali municipal office is the temple of Jagmitra built over the samadhi of saint Jagmitra. The date of the samadhi is given as Saka 1252, Kartik Suddha 11. It is said that Jagmitra was one of the most wealthy residents of the town and extended a helping hand to the needy. He was well-known amongst the rich and the poor alike. But by ill-luck he was rendered penniless which weighed so much upon his mind that he turned his devotion towards the worship of god. At this time there lived a noted saint by name Nag Svami whose disciple Jagmitra became and later attaining the rank of a saint began to call himself Jagmitra Nag. The structure housing his samadhi is not of considerable size, but has a spacious sabhamandap which is open on the sides. Svami Jagmitra is said to be the contemporary of Sant Dnyanesvar and Sant Namdev. He has composed some abhangas or songs composed in praise of God.

Municipality

Constitution: The municipality at Parali Vaijanath was established in 1933 and, covers an area of 46.62 km2(18 sq. miles). Administrative matters are looked after by the president elected by councillors constituting the municipal committee.

Finance: In 1961-62 the municipal income amounted to Rs. 1,41,350.00 and was composed of municipal rates and taxes Rs. 57,836.00; income from municipal property and powers apart from taxation Rs. 46,275.00; grants and contributions for special and general purposes Rs. 26,486.00 and miscellaneous sources Rs. 10,755. In the same year the expenditure incurred by the municipality on various items was Rs. 1,40,620.00. It comprised general administration and collection charges Rs. 23,593.00; public safety Rs. 67,788.00; conservancy Rs. 35,175.00 and miscellaneous Rs. 14,064.00.

Municipal Works; The nala dividing the town which used to disrupt the communications during the rainy season has been bridged at two places, thus doing away with this difficulty. A clock tower, named as Rani Laksmibai tower, has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 6,000. A spacious building houses the municipal offices. The municipality maintains a rest-house. There is also a public library.

Cremation and Burial Places: The cemeteries and cremation grounds are owned, managed and maintained by the different communities.

Health and Sanitation: Besides private clinics, the dispensaries conducted by Government render prompt medical aid. The municipality takes such measures as are appropriate to contain epidemics or to prevent their outbreak. Wells largely form the principal source of, water-supply. Except during monsoons the nala waters are also utilised. For the most part the town has stone lined gutters with cess pools to collect waste water.

Education: Primary education is compulsory and is managed by the Zilla Parishad.