There is an 800-year-old Silahar period Shiva temple at Vaitarna Dam in Vanjole village of Igatpuri taluka. In 1972, the land in this area was acquired for Vaitarna Dam. After the construction of Vaitarna Dam, this temple went under the backwater of the dam, and during the monsoons, a large amount of water accumulates in the dam, submerging this temple for the past 52 years. This temple is underwater for about 10 months every year. However, after the water in the dam decreases in the summer, the Shiva temple of this Silahar period can be seen in summer.
Temple architecture
As this temple of Hemadpanthi style of architecture is constantly submerged in water, it is now in ruins. Scholars claim that this temple in Vaitarna Dam belongs to the Silahara period. From the ruins here, it can be seen that there must have been a sanctum sanctorum, antarala, a meeting hall, and a mukha mandapa. Now, only the assembly hall of the temple is standing, and due to the flow of water in the dam, all the sculptures of the temple have been scattered around. Other ruins of temples are lying around, including Virgal, Mahadev Pinda, Satishila, Vitan Pushyashilpa, Sharabha Shilpa, Khamba, and many other sculptures can be seen scattered.
A local tribal leader Lucky Jadhav has demanded that the government and the Department of Archaeology take the initiative to restore the temple as it can pull the crowd of tourists along with the devotees which will increase footfall and employment will be provided to the people of the area.
While speaking with The Free Press Journal, Lucky Jadhav said, "This temple is of historical importance and I will try to get the archaeology department to take the initiative to restore the temple. Also, apart from saving the temple, if tourism gets financial support, the villages in the area will also be developed and tourism will be boosted."
