Best Tourist Place in Sopara Mumbai
Mumbai is the financial capital of India. Popular belief holds that the glorious history of the metropolis of Mumbai begins with the colonial period.
But the reality is that only today’s modern Mumbai was built by the British.
The actual history of Mumbai is much more ancient than that. Historically, the oldest legislature of today’s Mumbai comes from Sopara which is now called Nalasopara.
Nalasopara is considered an insignificant suburb of Mumbai. Ironically, the earliest historical evidence relating to Mumbai comes from this place.
This evidence is in the form of the 9th ordinance of Ashoka which is kept in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya of the city.
Sopara was called Shurparak (Shurparak) in ancient times. This place has a splendid history.
It was famous not only as an important port on the west coast of India but also as a major trading center.
Sopara had trade links with Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the Middle Eastern regions. You will be surprised to know that it has also been mentioned in the 2000-year-old book, ‘PERIPLUS OF THE ERYTHRAEAN SEA’. Sopara was also considered the capital of Aparanta (the ancient name of Konkan).
The mention of Sopara is found in the important literature of Sanatan Brahmin, Buddhism, and Jainism, these three indigenous religions of India.
Sopara of religious texts, epics, and myths
It is believed that Shurparak was founded by Parashurama, the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
Even Parashurama had brought various Sanskrit scholars here to impart education to the local subjects.
He had also protected this place by his Parashu. That is why Sopara is also called Parashuramatirtha.
Parashurama had built two huge lakes here, whose names were Nirmal and Vimal.
Nirmal is the place where there is a samadhi. It is believed that this samadhi belongs to the 5th Shankaracharya Vidyaranya Swami.
Some researchers associate this samadhi with the later Shankaracharya who came here from Dwarka.
You can estimate the importance of Nirmal Sarovar from the fact that there is also a Sthalapuran named after it, whose name is Nirmal Mahatmaya.
There are 108 pilgrimages mentioned in Padma Purana. Among them, Nirmal is considered one of the most sacred places.
Buddhist Traditions
Sopara has an extremely important place in Buddhist traditions. In his previous birth, Gautam Buddha was born as Bodhisattva Suparaka.
The stories of Bodhisattva Punna (Poorna) also say that when Punna went to Sravasti, the Buddha had come to Suparaka on his persuasion.
When Buddha came here, he had converted the eternal Brahmin sage Vakkali and 500 widows to Buddhism.
Buddha had given him his nails and some hair as a memento. The sages and widows built a stupa on these remembrances of Buddha which is called Widow’s Stupa.
The Ashoka inscriptions of the 8th and 9th centuries, obtained from here, indicate that the importance of this place was at its peak in the 3rd century.
Ashoka sent one of his missionaries, Yavana Dhammarakhita (Dhammarakshita), to Aparanta (Konkan) to propagate Buddhism. The preacher is said to have converted 70,000 listeners to Buddhism.
Researchers believe that Dhammarakshita had made this place her original work land. From here he spread Buddhism in western India.
Jain Texts
Jain literary texts also give an important place to Sopara. The followers of Jainism consider Sopara to be the ancient Taleti of the holy Shatrunjaya hill.
Shatrunjaya, also commonly known as Palitana, is the most important pilgrimage place of the Shvetambara Jains. Acharya Jeenaprabhasuri of the 14th century, in his work ‘Vividh Teerth Kalpa’, has mentioned that Sopara is one of the 84 most important pilgrimages of Jains.
He also said that there was also a statue of Adinathji which was worshiped by the devotees.
Jain devotees believe that this was the Jivitaswamy statue of Adinath, i.e. built during the lifetime of the Tirthankara. Between 1223 AD and 1283 AD,
a wealthy merchant, Pet had Shah built a total of 84 temples all over India. The 51st among them was the Parshvanath temple which was located in Sopara.
Later on, there was a drastic reduction in the population of Jains in this area. The main reason for this is the rapid migration to the affluent areas of Mumbai in search of livelihood.
In ancient times, before the introduction of rail transport into human life, many Jain merchants had come and settled here. They had accumulated their coinage in inland trade by domestic and sea routes.
About 200 years old Jain temple situated in Chalapeth of Agashi is living proof of this. It was established by a wealthy businessman Motisha Seth, who was a successful trader in his other trades as well as inland trade.
The epic Mahabharata narrates that when Arjuna was traveling to various places on the western coast of India,
he had also come across the very holy Shuparak. The Paumchariam, the Jain version of the Ramayana, mentions that Shurparaka was one of the many sites conquered by Luv-Kush.
Memoirs of Ancient Travelers
Human beings have always had an urge to find answers to the questions arising in their mind.
The journey is the result of the same curiosity of mankind. Then whether the journey is religious or for pleasure, related to dear interest or to get rid of the detachment of daily life.
As far as Sopara is concerned, it has attracted pilgrims from all religions and creeds since ancient times. Come, some of them know about special travelers.
The mention of Sopara is found in the travel memoirs of many travelers from the first century itself.
Sopara is mentioned at several places in the book ‘Periplus of the Erythraean Sea’ by an unknown author.
After that, the Greek geographer Claudius Ptolemy called this place Ariake and has also given details about the rivers here.
But according to some researchers, its location is not accurately marked. The fact that is clear in both these works is that Sopara or Ouppara or Ariake was an important port.
Among them, this place has also been called the link connecting Kalyan and Bharuch.
In the 6th century, the Greek merchant and monk Cosmas Indikopleistes referred to Seabor near Kalyan.
Subara was also mentioned along with Thana by the Arab traveler al-Masudi in the 10th century.
The Persian traveler Ibn Houkl and al-Istkhu and the Arab geographer al-Biruni made reference to Surbarah, Surabaya, and Subara respectively.
In the 12th century, the African geographer Al Idrisi called Subara the great selling store of India. In 1322 the Christian evangelist Jordanus mentioned the conflict with the Muslims of Thana.
He also pointed to the presence of Christians in Sopara during that period. In his travel memoirs, he has given the details of going from the police station to the brooch via Supera
Various names of Sopara mentioned in literature
Sopara has been mentioned in many places in the literature. He has been addressed by various names. They are named, Sopara, Surpur, Shurparak, Soparak, Sopar, Surpakka, Surpapark, Surparak, Suripakka, Sumhala, Sahuala, Suhalak, Sumhalka, Sumhalaka, Soparpur, Soparpur Pattan, Sofir, Ofir, Soparag, Sahupara, Suparik, etc.
Meaning of Sopara for modern travelers
Sopara is a destination that has the potential to satisfy all types of travelers,
whether it is a travel enthusiast or a traveler interested in the field of art, interested in knowing the rich history of a place. Or pilgrims traveling for spiritual reasons.
Here are some places to visit in Sopara:
1. Buddha Stupa
2. Chakreshwar Talav and statues located near it
3. Nirmal Shankaracharya Samadhi
4. Chalapeth Jain Temple
5. Agashi Hanuman Temple and Pushkarni
6. Jivadani Temple
7. Vasai Durg
8. Nandkhal Church and other ancient churches in Vasai
9. Many beaches to unwind the day
Buddha Stupa – Sopara
The site of Buddha Stupa, locally known as Barud Rajacha Kot, was excavated in 1882 by Bhagwan Lal Indraji.
From here a chamber made of bricks was excavated within which a large stone ark was found. In this ark there were 8 statues of Buddha made in metal, including a statue of Maitreya Buddha.
Apart from these, copper axes filled with gems, golden flowers, fragrant powder, jewellery, alms-pots like Buddha’s mementos, first century silver coin of Gautamiputra Satkarni etc. were also found.
The construction period of this stupa has been estimated to be 3rd century.
The 8th edict, declared by Emperor Ashoka, was received in the form of an inscription from the nearby Bhatela Kund. This inscription ordinance is proof of the early existence of not only Sopara, but of Mumbai.
Chakreshwar Talav
Chakreshwar Talav is very important in many ways. Hindu followers believe that Chakreshwar Talav came into existence at the time when Lord Krishna excavated this water body with his chakra.
At the same time, the followers of Jainism believe that it was related to the Yakshini of the first Jain Tirthankara, Adinath. The Chakreshwar Talav of modern times has now adopted a very changed form.
By giving it a very clean and beautiful look, a path has been made to run and walk around it. As far as a traveler is concerned, the reason for the importance of Chakreshwar Talav is the Chakreshwar Mahadev Temple located near it.
Chakreshwar Mahadev Temple
There is controversy about the actual origin of this temple as people have different beliefs about its origin.
But most historians and archaeologists believe that this temple came into existence in the 19th century.
Today it is called Chakreshwar Mahadev Temple. This temple, despite being the main place of worship here, is not a grand temple, contrary to the imagination of the people.
It is believed that this is the place where Swami Samarth lived. This temple is adjacent to Akkalkot Swami Math where Swami Mayurananda’s samadhi is situated.
The main attraction of this temple is its antiquity which is spread in large quantities around it. There are statues inside the temple, and outside the temple, there are many sculptures all around its premises
We will look at these images in detail. Stylistically, some of the idols also date from the 10th to the 11th century.
The Portuguese had put these idols in this pond while destroying the original temple.
According to another local belief, in order to protect these idols from Portuguese invaders, the people here deliberately put them in the pond.
A fact is clear from both the passages that the memory of the Portuguese is marked like a wound in the brain of the locals.
Nirmal Shankaracharya Temple
Nirmal is a unique village that is considered very sacred by the devotees. According to mythology, Nirmal was created by Parashurama.
It is believed that Parashurama threw an arrow toward the sea, due to which the water level of the sea decreased and a new landmass was born.
Parashuram settled Brahmins on that land. Nirmal is part of the same land area.
This complete legend is recorded in the Sthalapuran named Nirmal Mahatmaya. In this Purana there are many mentions of Parashurama and his conquests in Nirmal or Sopara.
This Purana also gives a detailed description of the two pilgrimages, Nirmal and Vimal, composed by Parashurama.
The Jagatguru Shankaracharya Temple situated on the top of Nirmal Hill is a witness to the beliefs related to Nirmal.
There are different opinions regarding the connection of this temple with Shankaracharya. Some believe that the 5th Shankaracharya Vidyaranya Swami’s samadhi is located here.
At the same time, some believe that this is the samadhi of Shankaracharya, who came from Gujarat later. In both beliefs, this temple is related to Shankaracharya. The present temple here is a modern reconstruction.
Chalapathi Jain Temple
This temple is dedicated to the 20th Jain Tirthankara Munisuvrat Swami. It was built in the early 19th century by Seth Moti Chand, a prosperous businessman from Mumbai.
In this subject, some people also refer to Seth Moti Shah who was the father of Seth Moti Chand. This temple is about 190 years old. There is an interesting story about its construction.
According to the legends, about 250 years ago an idol of Tirthankara was found in Chakreshwar Talav. There was a competition among the big Jain sanghas of the adjoining areas.
Everyone wanted to build the temple by taking that idol to their respective areas. When this dispute was at its peak, a bullock cart without a bull stopped there.
Everyone was surprised to see him. Enchanted, he put the idol in the bullock cart. The bullock cart started moving on its own. Everyone was shocked to see the bullock cart going by itself without the bull.
They started chasing the bullock cart. After going about 5 to 7 kilometers from that place, the bullock cart stopped on its own. This place was the Chalapeth area of Agashi.
Everyone unanimously came to the conclusion that the statue should be installed there inside a small room. Thus the idol of Tirthankara was established in the Chalapeth Jain temple.
0
