Ashtavinayak Temples, Mumbai
Bhallal was a very ardent devotee of Lord Ganesh and his father Kalyansheth wanted to put a stop to it. One day, a very angry kalyasheth tied his son to the tree and told him to free himself with the help of lord Ganesha. The lord, after hearing the plea of his devotee came down in the form of a Brahmin and freed Bhallal. On Bhallal’s request, a temple with the deity was built on the spot. This is worth noting because this is the only temple in this circuit that is named after a devotee of his. Siddhivinayak Temple of Siddhatek is one of the Ashtavinayaka and the only Ashtavinayaka shrine in Ahmednagar district.
The son later prayed to Ganesha in Bhadrakavana to absolve him of the sins. His prayers were granted by Varadavinayak of Bhadrakavana. Ashtavinayak Temples located in Maharashtra are dedicated to Lord Ganesha which is visited and revered by thousands of devotees. There are certain sacred trees in the temple premises, like Shami, Mandar and Tarati trees. Out of these the Shami tree is significant as it is referred to in the legend of Moraya Gosavi, a sage who did penance under his tree and Lord Ganesha gave him a glimpse.
It is situated in Mahad village in Raigad, 146 km from Pune. The idol faces east and has his trunk turned to the left. The idol was found in the lake adjoining the temple and hence, displays a weathered look.
The idol of Ganesha was found in the lake, which is located right next to the temple. There is an oil lamp inside this temple which is alight continuously from 1892. There’s another reason why this temple is popular among couples. It is a common belief that eating the coconut prasad from this temple on a Maghi Chaturthi, will bless couples with a son. The deity is seated and flanked on both sides by Riddhi and Siddhi. There is a local belief that the real statue of Mahaganpati is hidden in some vault and this statue has ten trunks and twenty arms.
A caterpillar turning into a butterfly was synonymous with my stage in life at that point in time. If you don’t know about God Ganesha or Ganapati, you can first read the information at the end of this blog post. Even if you know about him, you should still find it interesting to read. I have also mentioned information about the Ganesh festival celebrated in India at the very end. Theur's Chintamani was the family deity of Shrimant Madhavrao I Peshwa.
It is believed that Parvati, Lord Shiva's consort, performed penance at this very ashtavinayak ashtavinayak yatra spot, in order to beget Ganesha as her child. Hence, the name of the temple came to be Girijatmat (Girija's son). Most interestingly, this temple is situated amidst a cave complex of 18 caves of Buddhist origin. This Buddhistvihara is alternatively called Ganesh-Leni and Lenyadri.
Must visit Ganesha Temples in MaharashtraThe Lenyadri village is located in Junnar Taluka of Pune district on the bank of river Kukadi. While there is no specific route in which the Ashtavinayak yatra is performed, a particular order is popular among pilgrims.