|
The
temple of Saraswati at Basar is one of the two famous Saraswati
temples in India, the other
being in Kashmir. Legend has it that Sage Vyasa during his
stay here used to bring daily three handfuls of sand after
a bath in Godavari and kept it at a place, which transformed
as the images of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Kali. According to
Brahmandapuranam, Adikavi Valmiki installed Saraswati and
wrote Ramayana here.
|
|
|
There
is a marble image of Valmiki and his samadhi near the temple.It is believed that this temple is one
of the three temples constructed near the confluence of Manjira
and Godavari rivers by Ashtrakutas.
According to another school of thought ‘Bijialudu’ a Karnataka king, who ruled the province of Nandagiri
with Nanded as his capital in the sixth century, constructed
the temple at Basar. The
image of Lakshmi stands besides Goddess Saraswati in the sanctum
sanctorum. Due to the presence of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Kali,
Basar is considered as the abode of the divine trinity.
|
