Vruddheshwar Cave Temple

Out of the many wonderful historical and heritage-filled places that dot the landscape of Pune, ancient cave temples occupy an important position. Most of these temples, such as Pataleshwar Caves, Baneshwar Cave Temple, etc., are centuries old and often considered to be some of the earliest structures still existing here.

There is another similar temple at Hanuman Tekdi Hill. The hill lies between Senapati Bapat Road and Fergusson College Road. Here, on the northern slope of the hill, there are many ancient caves. In one of the caves, there is a temple called Vruddheshwar Cave Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple has a courtyard in front of it, along with a Deepstambh (a stone pillar for placing lamps).

On the temple’s entrance, the inscription reads: Shree Vruddheshwar Paachi Pandava Mandir. This temple has an intriguing connection with the Mahabharata, a Sanskrit epic. The locals believe that this place was built by the Pandavas (the five legendary brothers), so the area around it is named Pandava Nagar.

There are some fascinating stories associated with this place. Right next to the first temple, there is another cave with a blocked entrance. The locals believe that it contains a hidden secret passageway that goes right up to Parvati Hill, which is around three miles away. There are also a few small vacant caves in the area. Today, the local community maintains these cave temples.