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PLACES
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MARODA.
Maroda a small village lying about 49.88 km. (31 miles) fromCandrapur and only 4.82 km. (three miles) west of Mul, is famed for an antique shrine of Somnath Mahadev crowning a hill top amidst dense forest growth. A flight of stairs leads up to the temple unfolding in the back-ground a bewitching view of mountainous tract thickly covered with forest growth and in the front an extensive plain touching the horizon and strewn with many scattered settlements. In front a water-fall tumbles from a good height and pursues its course in the form of a streamlet. The water-fall and the stream coupled with the lush green forests have heightened the beauty of the spot and to-day more than pilgrims, the picnic goers are attracted to it. It is said that the Pandavas had passed some of their days in exile in these jungles. The local story goes that in ancient times a devotee of
Siva by name Somnath performed austerities here at the end of
which he built a temple which thus came to be known as Somnanth Mahadev. The original temple, in the Hemddpanti style,
could not stand the ravages of time and the temple seen to-day
was constructed after the original collapsed. In April every
year a large fair attended by over 2,000 persons is held in honour
of the deity. To bring the vast land under cultivation as also
to take advantage of the irrigation potential provided by the
stream an agricultural school is being established here. A
Gosadan has already been set up.
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