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PLACES
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BANPURI
Banpuri (Patan T; 17° 30' N; 74° 30' E; RS. Karad 25 m. NE; p. 1,683) in the Vang Valley, ten miles south-south-east of Patan, is a village on Dhebevadi Salve road. To the south of the village on the hill side is a temple of Naikba, a form of Shiv. The temple, a solid but poor structure with stone walls and a tiled roof, now requires some minor repairs. The ling has a silver mask which is carried in procession on the two fair days, the fifth of Chaitra (March-April) and the tenth of Ashvin (September-October). On the latter occasion the attendance numbers over 20,000 when people from the neighbouring areas in the State and out-side come. The legend is that a cultivator named Abasaheb Yeshvantarav Janugade devotedly worshipped God Shiv on this spot until he grew old and infirm. God Shiv ordered him to go home and promised to follow him if he did not look back. The old man obeyed till on his way hearing a terrible noise he looked back and saw an enormous boulder fall from the hill and smashed to pieces. That night he had a dream that the boulder was Shiv who should be worshipped on the spot and styled Naikba.
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