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PLACES
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CHAPHAL
Caphal (Patan T; 17° 20' N; 74° 00' E; RS. Masur 11 in. E; p. 2,687) village lies on the Man, a tributary of the Krshna six miles west of Umbraj. The village lies on the Careganv-Padlosi
road which is an all weather motorable road. The village is prettily placed in
a. narrow part of the valley and is surrounded by fertile black soil and
teak-covered hills. The water-supply for drinking and irrigation is plentiful. The proprietor was Lakshmanrav Ramchandra Svami, descendant of the famous Ramdas Svami, contemporary and spiritual adviser of
Chhatrapati Shivaji. Ramdas Svami lived there and made it a centre of his spiritual activity. He came to be known as Samartha. Caphal soon came to be regarded as a sacred place of pilgrimage as Ramdas brought from Pancavati (near Nasik) the paduka of Ram and placed them there. The representative of the family related to Ramdas ranked first among the Satara chiefs above the Pratinidhi and the Sachiv and the chiefs of Phaltan and Jath; and divided his residence between Caphal and the fort of Parali. Eight villages of the head Man valley were alienated to him, besides others in Satara near Parali fort. Caphal village is situated on both sides of the river. On the left bank is the main street once inhabited by several well-to-do traders, where a weekly market is held on Thursday. A foot bridge connects it with the right bank where the primary school in a good District Local Board building, a few houses, and the temple and mansion of the Svami are situated. They are built on a hillock within the same paved court and were reached by a causeway surmounted by a flight of fifty steps and an archway with a nagarkhana or drum-chamber on the top. The causeway has now fallen. The dwelling houses line the sides of the court and in the middle is the temple dedicated to Ramdas Svami and to God Maruti. The temple court steps are all of fine trap masonry and in excellent repair but, apart from solidarity and good plain workmanship, are in no way remarkable. The temple faces east and has an open hall on wooden pillars and a stone image-chamber with a tower of brick and cement. The temple was completed in 1776, at an estimated cost of over Rs. 1,00,000, by Balaji Mandavgane a rich Brahman who built many other temples in the district. The north side faces the river whose banks here are about sixty feet high of crumbling black soil and kept together by a solid retaining wall of mortared masonry. The temple is enriched by many offerings and is a favourite place of pilgrimage. A fair attended by over 5,000 pilgrims is held on Ramanavami day (i.e. the ninth of Chaitra or March-April).
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