In the Panchavati area of Nashik in Maharashtra, on the bank of the Godavari, stands the Kalaram temple, a revered shrine of Lord Rama named for its striking black-stone (kala) image of the Lord, worshipped with Sita and Lakshmana. Panchavati is celebrated in the Ramayana as the region where Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana dwelt during their forest exile, adding the memory of the epic to the sanctity of the shrine.
Built in the eighteenth century of black basalt with a grand tower, the temple is a focal point of devotion during Rama Navami and the great Nashik Kumbh Mela, and is honoured in history as a landmark of the early twentieth-century movement for temple entry and social equality. Kalaram is among the most cherished Rama temples of Maharashtra.
