Siddheshwara temple is part of the famous group of God Shiva temples placed around the confluence (Sangam) of Pravara and Godavari rivers at Toka near Newasa (Pravara Sangam). The group includes Siddheshwar, Rameshwar, Mukteshwar, Ghoteshwar and Sangameshwar. All these ancient temples are built with black stone and lime in Hemadpanthi style.
Siddheshwara temple, among all, is a significant temple. The temple belongs to the period of the Peshwas as per the Devanagari inscriptions which are placed on the south gate of the temple. It seems that Vishnu Mahadev Gadre built the temple in the year 1767 for the cost of Rs. 93,000. Nana Phadnis contributed further to repairing the temple and also built six flights of steps from the temple to the Godavari River (called as Ghat).
Temple entrance presents Nagarkhana (place for musicians) which is a common attribute of the Peshwa style and can be seen in their forts or palaces as well.
The beautifully carved temple portrays various mythological themes like Ramayana & Mahabharata and elegantly carvings of God & Goddesses.
In the temple compound, temples of Vishnu & Durga are present on both sides of the main temple dedicated to Lord Shiva i.e. Vishnu on the left & Durga on the right. As per local villagers, these three temples represent the name of their constructor – Vishnu (Vishnu Temple) Mahadev (Shiva Temple) Gadre (Durga Temple – which is also called as ‘Gajara Mata’ by locals). Lord Ganesha & Dattatreya’s mini temples are also part of the campus.
The main temple is the abode of Lord Shiva with Shiva Linga. Surprisingly, the rooftop of the sabha-mandapa (hall at the entrance) is ornamented with Lord Krishna & Radha’s idols. Even the outer walls of the Shiva temple bear many scenes about Krishna Leela, Ramayana and Mahabharata.
At the entrance of the Shiva temple, the beautiful and mighty idol of Nandi grabs attention. It is made of black stone and well ornamented.
Notable carvings of Vishnu-Avatars (incarnations of Lord Vishnu) include Narasimha – the half man/half lion, Varaha – the boar, Matsya – the fish, Kurma – the tortoise, Vamana – the dwarf, Rama – the prince & king of Ayodhya & Krishna – the eighth son of Devaki & Vasudeva.
We must say that this entire temple campus represents one of the best examples of Vaishnava (who follows Lord Vishnu) & Shaishav (who follows Lord Shiva) unity.
