Shree Vittal Rakhumai Mandir

A Temple Rooted in Two Traditions

The story of this temple begins in 1968, when the then pontiff of Kashi Math Samsthan—Param Poojya H.H. Shrimad Sudhindra Tirtha Swami—acquired a large plot of land in eastern Dahisar for a spiritual centre. The foundation was laid in March 1992, and over the next decade the Goud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) community, supported by philanthropists across Mumbai and beyond, raised the five-storey structure. The temple was consecrated on 25 March 2003 and the adjacent math inaugurated on 22 May 2003.↗↗

Kashi Math, founded in 1542 on the Brahma Ghat in Varanasi, is the supreme spiritual seat of the Madhva Dvaita (dualistic) tradition among Goud Saraswat Brahmins. Yet the temple's principal deity—Vitthal, the God who stands arms akimbo on a brick—is the darling of Maharashtra's Warkari bhakti movement, a tradition that stretches back seven centuries to saints like Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath, and Tukaram. The Dahisar temple bridges these two streams: Madhva philosophy in its rituals and lineage, and Warkari devotion in its very name and the sculptures that line its halls.↗

HH Sudhindra Tirtha Swami installed the Vitthal-Rukhumin idols as a gesture of gratitude to Mumbai and Maharashtra, whose people had sheltered the GSB community for centuries. It is a temple that belongs not to one community but to the entire city.↗

Architecture: A Gopuram Piercing the Mumbai Skyline

The temple's most arresting feature is its 120-foot gopuram, crowned with a 10-foot golden kalash encrusted with 5 kilograms of gold—making the entire structure approximately 130 feet tall. Travellers on the Western Railway line between Mira Road and Dahisar can spot the gilded spire above the rooftops, a landmark visible from the train.↗↗

The architectural language is a conscious fusion. Modern reinforced-concrete construction forms the building's skeleton, but the inner sanctum is a star-shaped structure in the Nagara style, rising independently above the fifth floor with a tapering shikhara. The front halls, domed sabhamandap, and the marble interiors follow a distinctly contemporary idiom, while the garbhagriha and its circumambulatory path belong to an older temple vocabulary.↗

Approaching the sanctum, visitors ascend 23 steps flanked by carved square pillars bearing vyali (yali) sculptures—fierce mythical beasts abundant in Vijayanagara architecture, the empire closely linked to the Madhva tradition. Elephant figures guard the balustrade, and at the top, a metal dhvajastambha (flagstaff) rises in the South Indian temple tradition, its base surrounded by a stone tulsi vrindavan intricately carved with scenes from the pastimes of Balakrishna.↗

On either side of the sabhamandap entrance stand tall, brightly painted statues of Jay and Vijay, the Vaishnava doorkeepers in Dakshina (South Indian) style. Above the doorframe, a relief of Sheshashayi Narayana reclining on the serpent with Lakshmi presides. The assembly hall itself is a spacious, marble-floored space with carved lotus motifs on the ceiling, ornamental square pillars topped with gaja-mukha (elephant-face) brackets, and devotional sculptures of Warkari saints embedded in the walls.↗

The Deities Within

The garbhagriha houses life-size monolithic idols of Sri Vitthal and Rukhumin carved from black granite by sculptor Ranjal Radha Madhav Shenoy of Karkala, Karnataka—a hereditary tradition stretching back to the legendary Padmashree Ranjal Gopala Shenoy. The granite figures are draped in rich silks, jewelled with ornaments, and garlanded with fresh flowers, standing on a tall stone pedestal. The sanctum's silver-clad doorway is carved with makara-thoranam (crocodile arches), a Ganesha face on the lintel, and a Gajalakshmi panel above.↗↗

In 2007, the trustee of the original Vitthal-Rukhumin temple at Pandharpur presented small panchaloha (five-metal) idols to the math. These now serve as Utsava Moorties—processional deities—placed in a silver cradle between the granite idols and worshipped with three daily pujas. During festivals they are carried in a decorated palanquin and, on the Rath Yatra day, enthroned atop the great chariot.↗↗

The sabhamandap's walls carry sculptural portraits of the Warkari pantheon: Sant Dnyaneshwar in yogic meditation, Sant Namdev absorbed in kirtan, Sant Eknath as the author of the Bhagavata, Sant Tukaram rapt in abhang song, Sant Muktabai perched on a wall at Alandi or sitting on Dnyaneshwar's shoulders, and the devotee Pundalik himself. Portraits of Madhvacharya and successive heads of Kashi Math adorn the walls near the cradle.↗

Daily Rhythms and Festivals

Darshan is available from 7 AM to 12:30 PM and again from 5:30 PM to 9 PM, seven days a week. The day follows a steady liturgical rhythm: Mangal Aarti (auspicious dawn prayer) at 8 AM, Madhyahn Pooja (noon offering) at 12 PM, Deep Namaskar (lamp salutation) at 7:30 PM, and Ratrapooja (night worship) at 8:30 PM. Devotees may sit in the hall and pray quietly; many come for the simple solace of sitting before the deity while bhajans are sung.↗↗

The spiritual calendar here is packed with Warkari observances. Ashadhi Ekadashi (June–July) is the most important festival of the year: mahapooja begins at 4 AM, thousands queue for darshan, the day-long Akhand Hari Naam Saptah (continuous chanting of Vishnu's names) concludes, and at night a palkhi procession carries Vitthal through the streets. Kartiki Ekadashi (October–November) mirrors the Ashadhi celebrations. Gokulashtami is observed with a midnight Janmotsav followed by Dahi Handi in the compound the next day. Ganpati and Navratri are also celebrated with enthusiasm.↗↗

The temple's signature event, however, is the Brahma Rathotsav—popularly called Mumbai Teru (Mumbai Car Festival)—held over six days in the Hindu month of Margashirsha (November–December). A colossal 41-foot chariot of teakwood, draped in towering red-and-white cloth, is hauled through the streets of Sri Sudhindra Nagar by devotees. The festival includes Vishnu Yaga, Yajna Aarati, Palkhi Utsav, and concludes with Avabritha Snana (the Okkuli festival of coloured water and turmeric), which draws enthusiastic crowds of all ages. Thousands arrive from across Mumbai's suburbs; the temple grounds turn into a fair-like gathering.↗↗

More Than a Place of Worship

The complex is a living cultural institution. The second floor houses Madhavendra Hall, a large air-conditioned banquet space used for weddings and community events. The fourth floor contains Math Sharada Nilaya, a museum of rare artefacts, personal items, and artworks associated with the successive pontiffs of Kashi Math. The fifth floor has the Lakshmi-Narayan Hall and dining hall for community feasts. The third floor, called Vyas Mandir, is reserved for the Swamiji's visits.↗

Pure vegetarian food is served, and the South Indian-themed meals have their own following among visitors. The temple has also been known to host community health initiatives, including free vaccination camps organised by the GSB seva community.↗

Visiting: Practical Notes

The temple is about 2 km from Dahisar railway station on the Western Line and roughly 4 km from Borivali ST stand. Private vehicles can reach the temple premises directly, and free parking is available both in a dedicated lot and on the surrounding streets. The entrance is wheelchair-accessible with dedicated accessible parking.↗↗

The temple is open to all, irrespective of caste or creed. Visitors should plan their darshan around the two daily windows (morning and evening). During Ashadhi Ekadashi and the Rathotsav period, expect very large crowds; arriving early helps. On regular days, however, the complex offers the kind of spacious calm that Mumbai rarely provides—an architectural and spiritual refuge from the suburban sprawl around it.↗↗