Information of Mumba Devi Temple, Mumbai, Maharashtra

The Temple of Mumba Devi or better named as the Mumba Devi Mandir in Marathi is one of the few historical and religious temples present in Mumbai. It is resided near the Zaveri Bazaar situated at Bhuleshwar in South Mumbai. It was established almost 300 years ago at 1737 AD. Although, the temple at Zaveri Bazaar is considered as the real one but it is not the original location of this temple. The original structure of this sacred temple was erected way back in 17th century in 1675 AD. The site of that original temple was alongside the prime land of Bori Bunder.

Mumba Devi Temple Religious Significance

The Mumba Devi is actually a Hindu temple brought up for all the devotees visiting here. As suggested by the name, the temple is considered as a devotion to the great religious Maratha Goddess Mumbadevi. The goddess is a symbol of power, love and affection for the local citizens especially, the 'Koli' fisherman and the salt collectors. From the ancient period till now they worship the goddess with great admiration and reputation. Apart from them, people visiting from all over the world also respect the prosperity of the goddess. They can contribute their offerings in the form of aartis or worshipping her by garlands of fresh jasmine, marigold and many other flowers. The stuffs needed for devotion of goddess can be brought from different small shops surrounding the temple. It is strongly trusted that a devotee who earnestly and open-heartedly worship the goddess Mumbadevi will never go empty handed from her home.

Moreover, people looking for any religious handicrafts or structures relating to the goddess can get it from the nearby shops of the temple. Some sweet shops preparing delectable dishes are also available here, which can be given as an offering to the goddess.

Mumba Devi Temple architecture

The mythology of the Mumbadevi Temple depicts an interesting incident relating to the origin of this temple as told by some legends. The temple was actually established by Mumbaraka. Mumbaraka was a cruel evil, which resides in this region and frequently harmed people and destroy their houses. Unable to bear its painful destruction people decided to worship Brahma, who is also called the "creator" of this world. Brahma appeared before them and understood their problem. Then he generated a powerful female body with eight arms from his own figure. She fought with that giant and defeated it and made people free from its bondage. The evil was astonished to see the divine power of that goddess and fell to her feet. He requested the goddess to take her name and established the religious temple with that name. Henceforth, the goddess was named as Mumba Devi. It was also believed that she has an attractive looking face. At present the idol of Mumba Devi represent an attractive orange coloured face sprinkled with various marigold flowers.

Mumba Devi Temple Architectural Significance

The architecture of Mumba Devi Temple describes a lot about itself to its visitors. The temple was an ancient style building of the medieval period in India. Its prime amazing feature is the goddess itself. The idol represents an eight armed structure with a good-looking face. The idol is beautifully decorated by a neck piece made of pure gold, a nose stud and an attractive silver crown. The deity of Mumba Devi has no mouth as it represents the Mother Earth. Apart from that, many religious idols of Ganesh, Annapurna, Indra and Hanuman are also witnessed alongside the idol of Mumba Devi.