The Parvati Hill templ, as the name indicates is located on the top of a hill that is situated at a height of 640m above sea level. This is the oldest heritage structure in Pune and the second tallest point in the city after Vetal Hill. Due to its historic structure and scenic beauty, many Hindu devotees come here in large numbers all through the year. Devotees coming here should climb up 103 steps on the hill to reach the main temple. This temple that has an ancient style of architecture was built when the Peshawar dynasty was ruling over the areas in and around Pune.

This temple offers a scintillating view of the city of Pune and this is one of the main features that attract devotees in large numbers. There are five temples in this complex, out of which, the main temple is the Devdeveshwara that is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Parvati. The other four temples that are found here are dedicated to Karthikeya, Vishnu, Vithal and Rama. The prime Devdeveshwara temple (built from blackstone) was built during 1749 under the rule of Nanasaheb Peshwa.

About the Temple

The Parvati Hill temple opens very early in the morning at about 5 AM and closes for the day at 8 PM. Black stone was the main element that was used to construct this temple. This is because this stone can withstand all kinds of weather. Even after around two and half centuries have gone by, this temple  is standing strong except for a few minor cracks here and there. The major highlight of the 103 steps that lead into the temple is that, they are so wide that even an elephant can pass through with ease. Sick and elderly people too can climb these steps with utmost comfort.

There are quite a few interesting stories behind the temple. It is a common belief that the mother of Nanasaheb Peshwa was suffering from a serious leg ailment that was not getting cured even after different types of treatment. Some of the locals advised here that a temple dedicated to Goddess Parvati, located towards the south of Pune, had incredible healing powers. Therefore, she came to this location and climbed all the stairs and offered her prayers to the Goddess. She promised that if her leg ailment was cured, she would construct a temple for the Goddess.  Once she came back from the temple, she realized that her leg ailment had got completely cured miraculously. To keep up her words, she instructed her son, Nanasaheb Peshwa to construct a temple for the Goddess. This temple is known today as the Parvati Hill Temple in Pune.

When Nanasaheb Peshwa was the minister, he was extremely devoted to his ruler, Chhatrapati Shri Shahu Maharaj, the grandson of the famous Maratha Empire, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. When the king passed away, Nanasaheb was completely heartbroken. He brought the Khadwa or the wooden footwear of his ruler and the Shivalinga from Satara and placed these two things under the main Shivlinga of the Parvati Hill Temple. It was Nanasaheb who named the Shivalinga here as “Devdeveshwara” or the “Lord of Lords”. When he grew old and became ill, he chose to stay close to the temple and offer his prayers to the Lord.

There are two main temple activities conducted in the temple. They are Shravanmas Utsav and Kartikeya Swami Utsav.  During the Shravanmas, close to 25000 devotees visit this temple during all Mondays of the month to offer their prayers to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.  The same temple complex also houses the Kartikeya temple. There are a very few Kartikeya temples in the state of Maharashtra and this is one of them. This temple is visited by thousands of devotees as the Lord Kartikeya situated here is believed to bless His devotees with immense financial wealth and prosperity.

The Vishnu temple that is located here is found at around 300 feet distance from the southern portion of Kartikeya temple. This temple and the 4.5feet high idol of Lord Vishnu is considered to be one of the most beautiful in the state of Maharashtra. The Vithal temple that contains the idols of Vithal and Rukmani is comparatively modern when compared to the other temples. These two idols were installed in the temple quite recently, during 1989. The Ram temple, also known as Ramana temple is quite old and the walls of this temple are decayed in certain places. Stone walls up to a height of 15feet surround this temple, giving a very ancient feel and charm to this temple.