Jyotiba

About Jyotiba

Jyotiba rides a white horse and carries a sword, trident, drum (damaru), and bowl in his four hands — the warrior form he took to kill the demon Ratnasura and rescue Goddess Mahalakshmi of Kolhapur. Local tradition holds he was born of three lights from Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, which is why he is also called Kedarlinga. His hilltop shrine at Wadi Ratnagiri, built in black stone by Ranoji Shinde in 1730, sits about 17 km from Kolhapur. On Chaitra Purnima, villagers carry tall Sasan Kathi poles up the hill and shower gulal until the whole peak turns pink. Devotees greet him with the cry "Changbhala" — may good befall you.