Asud village in Dapoli is pretty- blessed with tiled huts, betel-nuts scattered all around, dense canopy of coconut and palm trees and a calm and serene atmosphere. To reach there, one has to take the Dapoli-Murud road . About 10 minutes drive, a diversion to the right takes you to Asud village. Keshavraj Temple is located on the slopes of a hill in Asud.
The temple is located on a small hill and you have to take a walk from Asud to reach to the temple. On the way you have to cross a small stream. There was an old wooden bridge locally known as sakav, but now a modern concrete one has replaced it. The stream is full flowing during monsoons.
After crossing the stream a flight of steps takes one to the temple. The cool breeze and the dense trees and calm atmosphere is soothing. In this 15 mins of Walk, you can see many wild colorful flowers bloomed and mushrooms of different shapes growing on dead branches of trees. You enjoy the walk with continuous bird calls on the background.
The temple is built in the medieval Peshwe style. The main sanctum has been covered with tiles to protect it from the rains. The idol of Vishnu is lit by a single pedestal oil lamp. On the left of the south facing main door is the idol of Ganesh.
The main feature here is the ever-flowing water from an opening which has the shape of a cow’s mouth. The origin of this stream of water is on the hill behind the temple up to which one can climb. It’s a sacred Grove. The water flows through a channel made up of plenty of carved pieces of Besalt Rock Blocks interlocked, which is unique feature and one must not miss it.
Article from the book ‘Saad Sagarachi’ by Parag Pimple,
Photographs by Vilas Kane, Mandar Gosavi