Patit Pavan Mandir, Ratnagiri

Patit Pawan Mandir is a Hindu temple in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, India. It was built by Shriman Bhagojisheth Keer in 1931.

Patit in Marathi refers to the lowest, humblest, downtrodden man in the society. Pawan becomes purified, enlightened, awakened and fulfilled. The temple took this name to refer which transforming the downtrodden to the pure form, restoring a worshipper’s rights as a human being. It aims to be a place where the untouchable, or dalit, can perform the puja, worship their god as everyone else does.

The entry of untouchables in a temple was unthinkable in the 1930s. If even the shadow of an untouchable fell on an upper caste man he would bathe again. Vinayak Damodar Sawarkar saw this, thought that this was wrong and devoted a great part of his life to fight against it.