Pateshwara Temple, Degaon

Pateshwar Temple - Degaon

• Pateshwar Temple near Degaon in Satara district, Maharashtra, is an ancient Shaiva kshetra situated on a hill in the Sahyadri range. The site is remarkable for containing hundreds to over a thousand Shiva-lingas, many carved directly into rock and caves, along with a main Mahadeva temple, smaller shrines, and a sacred tank. Local residents believe that the KOTI LINGA was created by the Pandavas.
• The complex also features notable sculptures of deities such as Saraswati, Mahishasuramardini, Vishnu, and the Navagrahas, as well as a rare Agnivrisha sculpture that appears as a human face from one angle and Nandi from another.
• At this place, it is believed that Adi Shankaracharya stayed for five days. During this time, he was instrumental in bringing back to the fold of Advaita Vedanta those who had been misled into following other schools of philosophy. He spent significant time teaching and expounding the principles of Advaita.
• A stone pillar bearing two serpent inscriptions with Ishwara Linga at the top has the words सोऽहम् (Soham) and अहम् (Aham) engraved at specific positions and is believed to have been left behind by Adi Shankaracharya. These inscriptions symbolically convey the deeper spiritual truth described in Bharatiya Yoga traditions and Advaita Vedanta, pointing to the realization of the true Self — the identity of the individual consciousness with the Supreme Reality.