In the city of Kolhapur stands the celebrated temple of Mahalakshmi, lovingly known as Ambabai, counted among the eighteen Maha Shakti Peethas in Adi Shankaracharya's Ashtadasha Shakti Peetha Stotram — "Kolhapure Mahalakshmi." Here the Goddess is revered as the embodiment of prosperity, power, and grace, her ancient black-stone image crowned and bearing the emblems of the Devi.
The temple, raised by the Chalukyas over a thousand years ago, is renowned for the Kiranotsav, when at certain times of the year the rays of the setting sun pass through the doorways to fall directly upon the face of the Goddess — a marvel of the builders' astronomical skill. Tradition holds Kolhapur to be a place the Goddess never leaves, so sacred that even the Lord of Tirupati is said to have come seeking her.
Ambabai is worshipped as the Mother who grants abundance and fulfils desires, and her temple remains one of the great Devi shrines of Maharashtra and the Deccan.
