VI.

Renuka Devi Temple (Renapur):

Renapur is the newly created tahsil in Latur District. And Renapur town is taluka place. Renapur is a small town. Renapur is separated from Latur taluka. Renapur town is located on the Latur - Ambajogai road. Renapur is 18 km. north to Latur town. It is situated on the bank of the Rena River, so the town is named after this river. Previously, this region was included in the Beed District. It was included in the Latur District while creating the new Latur District.

The population of Renapur tahsil is 122161, out of which 63019 are male and 59148 are female. The majority of the people live in rural areas, and the sex ratio in the tahsil is 939 females per thousand males. Renapur has the highest area under forest in Latur District, i.e., 1624 hectares, which is 2.48 % of the total area. In 2002, the average rainfall was recorded as 733 mm. The literacy rate of the taluka is 66.6%, which is the lowest in the district. The density of population is 214 per Sq.km. in this taluka. Renapur is an important town in Renapur Tahsil. The area of Renapur town is 4238.65 hectares. This town is situated on a plateau. The soil is black here, and therefore, the main crop is sugarcane. And there is the important temple in this town is the temple of Renuka Devi.

Renapur, Vitthal Katke Renapur has a historical heritage of 800 years ago, the Hemadpanti, a magnificent stone-built divine temple of the village deity Shri Renukadevi. Shri Renuka Mata, who comes running to the call of devotees and fulfills their wishes, is a great place of worship for millions of devotees. It is not possible to say for sure when the temple of the village deity Adishakti Shri Renuka Devi was established. However, this Shri Renukadevi temple is mentioned in the Saint Namdev saga as follows.

Renuka of Renapur, Jamadagnisi met, see! From her womb the world-famous star Parashuram was born!! "

When there was no Charachar! Then there was Pandharpur, and even before that, Renapur! "

This temple is said to be more than 800 years old. It is said that Renapur was previously known as Bhingri, and after the arrival of Shri Renuka Mata, Renapur may have been named after her. 800 years ago, the idol of Shri Renuka Devi was consecrated by the village of Patal. It is mentioned in the Markandeya Purana that Shri Renuka Mata and Jamadagni Rishi lived in Renapur, a village in the Dandakarana region. For 400 years, the descendants of the priest Bapu Dharmadhikari have been worshipping this idol.

The Shri Renuka Devi temple was built in the 17th century by Rajmata Ahilyadevi Holkar. She built the idol's chamber and the hall with Hemandapanti stone. During the 1950s, a stone hall in front of the temple was built by the Halkude family of the same village. In 1960, Shri Renuka The work of worshipping the goddess was done under the control of the Gurus. Even today, the religious authorities and the Guru family are performing all the worships of Shri Renuka Devi. For the past four hundred years, the Datta Gondhali family has been playing the Sambhal during the aarti of the goddess every day. Similarly, the Ghadse family regularly plays the Chaughada every day at twelve o'clock in the afternoon.

Renuka Devi Temple was built during the period of the Peshwas. The ceiling, walls, and pillars of the temple are built of stone. The temple has a beautiful summit over the core. The 'Sabhamandap' and the 'Ardhmandap of the temple is based on the pillars in front of the temple. There are two Deepmala (pyramid-like structures on which lamps are lit) in front of the temple. It is said that one of the two 'Depmala' is mobile. The other Deepmala has the balcony (pulpit). The images of the God Maruti and Ganapati are carved on this Deepmala. There is a 'tandala' of the Goddess Renukadevi in the 'Sabhamandap'. The ancient monuments of stone are found on the campus of the temple, one of which is like the idol of Bhagwan Mahavir.

Moving Deepmala

The 50-foot-tall hexagonal "Halati Deepmala," built of stone bricks, is the specialty of this temple. There is a replica of the three lions at the top, and to move the Deepmala, one has to climb on the Deepmala. The person moving the Deepmala holds tightly to both the iron rings at the top and moves the Deepmala easily. There is no information available about how Deepmala moves or why it moves

Renapur town is located on the State Highway No. 169. It is well connected to Latur town There is a tar road to Renapur. The buses from Latur to Parali, Beed, Ambajogai go via Renapur. The city bus facility is also available to Renapur from Latur. Also,. some mini travels, jeeps, and auto rickshaw commute from Latur to Renapur.

Water is supplied through taps and hand pumps in Renapur town.

But in summer, the town faces water scarcity. The town has open surface drains. But due to the lack of proper management, the town is full of filth and dirt. The town has primary and secondary schools, and the Junior and senior colleges are also there. The town also has a primary health care centre and some private clinics. The town has a post office and the facilities of telephones. A weekly bazaar is held on Friday in Renapur.

Renapur is well connected to other cities by buses. But the bus stand in the city is very small. The campus around the bus stand is dirty. There is no facility of parking. The electricity is supplied to all the factories and the houses of the city.

There is a problem of accommodation for the travellers in the city. There is no 'Matha' or 'dharmashalas' in the town. There are three - four lodges in the town but the facilities there are of a low level. These facilities need improvement. There are 10 - 20 hotels in Renapur town, out of which only three -four hotels provide a good quality meal to the travellers.. In other hotels only tea and breakfast are available.

There are no recreational and entertainment facilities in the town. There is no garden, no cinema theatre in the town.

The government should concentrate on providing all the facilities to the travellers. Besides this, the recreational facilities like sports, cinema, garden, and entertainment facilities should be provided here in future. If these facilities are provided, the travellers will like and prefer to live here