Sri Gnana Saraswathi Devasthanam Basar,Telangana

Gnana Saraswati Temple is a Hindu temple of Goddess Saraswati located on the banks of Godavari River at Basara, Telangana, India. It is one of the two famous Saraswati temples in the Indian subcontinent, the other being Sharada Peeth. Saraswati is the Hindu Goddess of knowledge and learning. Children are brought to the temple for the learning ceremony called as Akshara abyasam.

Basara is a census town in the Nirmal district in the state of Telangana. It is about 30 km (19 mi) from Bhainsa,15.5 km (10 mi) from Dharmabad, 34.8 km (22 mi) from Nizamabad, 96.0 km (60 mi) from Nanded, 70 km (43 mi) from district headquarters Nirmal, and 205 km (127 mi) from Hyderabad.

History
According to Mahabharatha, Maharishi Vyas and his disciples and sage Viswamitra decided to settle down in a cool and serene atmosphere after the Kurukshetra War. In the quest for a peaceful abode, he came to Dandaka forest and, pleased with serenity of the region, selected this place. Since Maharishi Vyasa spent considerable time in prayers, the place was then called “Vasara” and turned into Basara due to the influence of the Marathi language in this region.

It is also believed that this temple is one of the three temples constructed near the confluence of the Manjira and Godavari rivers.

Historically, ‘Bijialudu’ a Karnataka king, who ruled the province of Nandagiri with Nanded as his capital in the sixth century, constructed the temple at Basara. In the 17th century, the idols of the temple were reinstated by a chieftain of Nandagiri (Nanded) subsequent to destruction caused by Muslim invaders.