Shri Vajreshwari Yogini Devi Temple

Shri Vajreshwari Yogini Devi Temple is dedicated to goddess Vajreshwari who is known to be an incarnation of goddess Parvati. This temple is located in Vajreshwari village which is in Bhiwandi taluka of Thane district of Maharashtra. The temple is close to post office of Vajreshwari at the base of Mandagiri mountain which was formed out of a volcanic eruption in this area.

According to the temple history, Chimaji Appa the younger brother of the maratha warrrior Peshwa Bajirao – 1 had built this temple in 1739 after his victory over Portuguese held Bassein Fort in Vasai. It is said that Chimaji Appa had prayed to goddess Vajreshwari for his victory over Portuguese. As he was blessed by Vajreshwari goddess he defeated the Portuguese in Vasai. The victory of this war was celebrated by building the temple dedicated to goddess Vajreshwari.

The architecture of the temple is based on structure of Vasai fort. The temple is built using black stone blocks, a typical maratha style temple architecture
found across Maharashtra. It is also surrounded by stones wall just like fort walls. The looks of the temple is similar to some of the Ashtavinayak temples of
Maharashtra. There are other small shrines in the temple premise dedicated to other gods and a big deepmala/deepstamb in front of the temple.

I had visited this temple during Navrati festival along with my family. We took a private vehicle and travelled through the Bhiwandi route to reach Vajreshwari. It took us around one hour from Kalyan. We had to climb 50 stone steps to reach the main shrine passing through the main entrance of the temple. We took a quick darshan of Vajreshwari goddess and stayed back for while in the temple premises.

The atmosphere in the temple premises is pleasant as it is on a small hill top. You get to see a nice view of Vajreshwari village surrounded by coconut trees
from the top. At the base of temple, you’ll  find local vegetable sellers with fresh vegetables. There are small food stalls near temple. You can taste
the local food such as misal pav and vada pav in these stalls.

Vajreshwari is also known for its hot springs located at Akoli and Nithyanand temple near Ganeshpuri which is 2 km from Vajreshwari temple. If you are planning to visit this temple make sure you also include hot springs and Nithyanand temple in the list.

Here are some photos captured by me during this visit.

Steps to reach the temple

Main entrance

Looks of an ancient temple

Back side view of the temple

Back side view of the temple

Right side view of the temple

Front view of the temple

Other small temples in the premises

Idol of Lord Ganesh in Hanuman avatar

Beautiful view of Vajreshwari village

Deepstamb

Local vegetable sellers

Kantola vegetable which is not easily available in the market

How to reach:
By Road – Local state transport buses to Vajreshwari are available from Thane, Virar and Vasai. If you are travelling by your own vehicle then you can reach via Western Express Highway or via Bhiwandi route.

By Rail – The nearest railway stations are Virar, Vasai, Bhiwandi and Kalyan. Once you reach any of these stations, you can use the state transport buses or
book a CAB.

By Air – The nearest airport is Mumbai airport.

References:
1. Vajreshwari Temple
2. Shri Vajreshwari Yogini Devi Temple