Ekvira, Lonavala

The Ekvira Devi temple at Karla village in Pune district, Maharashtra, above the 1st century BCE Karla Buddhist caves on the Bhor Ghat pass — a Koli fisherfolk goddess temple of 11-12 century foundation. Ekvira is identified as a sub-tradition of Renuka (mother of Parashurama) and is the kuladevi of the East Indian (Mumbai Koli) and Karle Kathkari communities. The temple sits on the Karla hill above the famous 1st-century BCE Karla Buddhist chaitya cave (the largest early Buddhist chaitya in India), making the hill a Buddhist-Hindu palimpsest. The annual February-March Chaitra Navratri festival draws over 500,000 pilgrims, largely from the Mumbai Koli and East Indian communities who make the Karla pilgrimage as their caste tradition. The temple is managed by the Ekvira Devi Devasthan Trust.