Mahabaleshwar
Mahabaleshwar (महावळेश्वर) (
pronunciation (help·info)) is a city and amunicipal council in Satara district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is ahill station located in the Western Ghats range. With one of the fewevergreen forests of India, it served as the summer capital of Bombay province during the British Raj.
pronunciation (help·info)) is a city and amunicipal council in Satara district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is ahill station located in the Western Ghats range. With one of the fewevergreen forests of India, it served as the summer capital of Bombay province during the British Raj.Geography and climate[edit]
Mahabaleshwar is located at 17.92°N 73.67°E.[1] It has an average elevation of 1,353 metres (4,439 ft).
Located about 120 km (75 mi) southwest of Pune and 285 km (177 mi) fromMumbai, Mahabaleshwar is a vast plateau measuring 150 km2 (58 sq mi), bound by valleys on all sides. It reaches a height of 1,439 m (4,721 ft) at its highest peak above sea level, known as Wilson/Sunrise Point.
Mahabaleshwar comprises three villages: Malcolm Peth, Old "Kshetra" Mahabaleshwar and part of the Shindola village.
Mahabaleshwar is the source of the Krishna River that flows across Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The legendary source of the river is a spout from the mouth of a statue of a cow in the ancient temple ofMahadev in Old Mahabaleshwar. Legend has it that Krishna is Lord Vishnu himself as a result of a curse on the trimurtis by Savitri. Also, its tributaries Venna and Koyana are said to be Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma themselves. An interesting thing to notice is that 4 other rivers come out from the cow's mouth apart from Krishna and they all travel some distance before merging into Krishna. These rivers are the Koyna, Venna (Veni), Savitri, and Gayatri.
