Basar (Basara), the abode of Goddess Jnana Saraswati, is a village with wonderful gardens surrounded by the temple premises amidst the dry and barren patches of the north Telangana region, 30-km from Nizamabad. Basar is situated on the banks of River Godavari. It is located at a distance of about 220-km by road and 260-km by rail from Hyderabad
The Temples
There is an ancient temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati. The temple at Basar is also the abode of Goddess Lakshmi and Kali. The current structure dates back to the Chalukya period.
A small muddy road leads to the temple. This temple has no exquisite carvings like other temples. Walking ahead a few steps, one enters the sanctum sanctorum - a feeling better experienced than described. A feeling of peace, brightness and unlimited joy engulfs one. The presiding deity, 'Gnana Saraswati Devi', is in a seated position with a 'Veena' in hand and bedecked with turmeric. Adjacent is the shrine of Goddess Maha Lakshmi and a little distance away, on the eastern side is the Maha Kali temple.
The Legends
Local legends suggest that Maharshi Vyasa the author of Mahabharata came to the forests of Dandakaryana to meditate. He began meditating on the banks of the River Godavari and found the place to be very peaceful. The divine mother is believed to have appeared before the sage and ordained him to build temples for the Shakti trio: Maha Saraswati, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Kali. The sage Veda Vyasa did so by bringing three handfuls of sand and sculpts out the figures. This place was initially named after Vyasa and was called "Vyasapuri". Later on it got corrupted to Vasara and ultimately Basara / Basar.
The Eight Pushkarnis
Some 100m from the temple is the cave, where the devout 'Narahari Maluka' is believed to have performed rigorous penance. There is a four-sided monolith rock called "Vedavathi", which produces different sounds on each side when struck. It is said to contain jewels of Sita Devi. There are eight 'Pushkarnis' spread across the village known as 'Indra Teeratham', 'Surya Teeratham', 'Vyasa Teeratham', 'Valmiki Teeratham', 'Vishnu Teeratham', 'Ganesha Teeratham', 'Puthra Teeratham' and 'Shiva Teeratham'.
Festivals
The most important festivals celebrated are Maha Shivaratri (February-March) and Devi Navaratrulu (Septmber-October) and on both the occasions about 10,000 pilgrims visit the place from all parts of Telengana and Marathwada.
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