Pateshwar Temple, Satara - Timings, History, Best Time to Visit

At a distance of 14 km from Satara, 67 km from Mahabaleshwar and 59 km from Panchgani, Pateshwar Temple is an ancient temple situated at Degaon in Satara district of Maharashtra. It is one of the popular places to visit in Satara.

The Shiva temple is one of the major attractions of Pateshwar. Built in 16th century AD, this temple is now in slightly depleted condition but the statues and the carvings are still intact. The inner walls of the temple are decorated with beautifully carved statues. There are also two small temples in the courtyard which are also quite beautiful.

Pateshwar has 8 ancient cave temples and many ancient stone carved idols of Lord Shiva and other deities. The place is known for having more than 1000 Shivlings (also known as Pinds). The Shivlings found in this temple are Ekmukhdhari Pind, Chaturmukhdhari Pind, Ashtadikpal Pind, Harihar Pind, Margalmhaisa Pind and Yantra Pind. Other deities found in this shrine are Ekmukhi Bramhadev, Chaturmukh Shiv, Saraswati, Agni, Sheshashayee Vishnu, Ganesh, Tripura, Ashtadashbhuja Mahishasur Mardini, Ashtamatruka, Navgraha, Dvadashavtar and Balabhadra.

There is also a Shiva Temple which is mostly underground. The temple houses several Shivlingas of different sizes. One of the pillars in the cave temple is decorated with stone carved serpent and small Shivlingas. Outside the temple has a Shivlinga with Trimurti which is made from black stone. There is a mutt known as the Sadguru Govindanandswami Maharaj Mutt and is maintained by a few Sadhus who have been living here for so many years. The temple complex is revered by the people of Satara and its adjoining villages. But they visit this place only during Shivratri and Mondays of the Hindu month of Shravan. Rest of the year, the place is almost deserted.

Pateshwar is located on the Satara-Kolhapur state highway in Maharashtra. There are two ways to reach Pateshwar, one is through Degaon village and can be reached via state transport buses. This route is popular among tourists. The other route, which is popular among the locals, is from Borgaon village. From Degaon village, a 4 km drive takes to the road head 1 km before Pateshwar. From here, one has to walk to reach Pateshwar temple complex.

Timings: 6.30 AM - 12.30 PM and 4 PM - 8.30 PM.