Patit Pavan Mandir



Idols of Laxmi Narayan inside the temple

The temple which was built by Veer Savarkar in 1930 marked a new beginning. It was the era when the caste system was very prominent and the people of the lower caste were treated as untouchables. Worship to the lord by them was considered as the most unholy. It was Veer Savarkar, who realised the need to a temple for these people called the Harijans then. The temple came to be known as Patit Pavan - Patit meaning the lowest or downtrodeen and Pavan meaning the holy; thus giving rights to worship God as equals to the people of the lower caste. The temple was first of its kind to be built in those days.  It was surrounded by chawls of these untouchables, who regularly worshiped the idols of Laxmi and Narayan. It is said that it was built at a cost of 1.5 lakh and recieved an annual income of Rs. 900. However, the expenses exceed this figure and the deficit was met by the public contributions.