Lord Ganesha is the deity closest to Maharashtra’s heart. Apart from Ganeshotsav (celebrated twice in a year); there are several famous temples of Lord Ganesh spread all across Maharashtra. Mumbai’s Siddhi Vinayak Temple attracts huge crowds that include Bollywood superstars as well as the super rich businessmen. The coastal temple of Ganpatipule, the Temple at Rajur near Jalna that houses the Mahaganapati or great Ganesha and the huge imposing Ganesha of the temple at Wai (part of many climax scenes of several films of Prakash Jha) are very famous.
But to the devout, the hallmark of their lives is the “Ashtavinayak” pilgrimage or a trip to the “Eight Holy Ganesha Temples” that they must undertake at least once in their lives. This trip is considered to bring good luck and auspicious blessing to every venture that you undertake. Indeed the “Eight holy Ganeshas” are overlords of the eight directions (North, South, East, West, North East, North West, South East, South West, up, and down) and preside over every step you take in any direction to make sure it is auspicious and bears good portends.
Visiting all the eight Ganeshas in a single circumambulatory tour is the best recourse and many devout families take a few days off from their routine to accomplish this holy pilgrimage.
Two sets of “Ashtavinayak” templesThere are two different sets of temples one in Western
Maharashtra (spread around Pune) and the other in Vidarbha (spread around Nagpur). You can choose to tour any of the two sets of “Ashtavinayak” temples depending on where you are. A single tour shouldn’t last more than three to four days even at the most leisurely pace.
Visiting each of the eight “Vinayaks” is akin to reliving the legends of the divine lord and renewing your faith in him. For each of the temples have a story and a unique reason to be listed among the eight most auspicious Ganeshas.
The Ashtavinayak of Western MaharashtraThe more popular itinerary is the Ashtavinayak of Western Maharashtra and indeed considered by many to be the holiest of all Ganesha temples. These are
The Temple of Mayureshwar at MorgaonThis is the most important of the Ashtavinayak temples, and in fact believed to be one of the only three places in the universe that the Lord Ganesh actually resides and possibly his only abode that is accessible to people of the Earth. For the other abodes are Mount Kailas (close to the sky) where Ganesha resides with his parents Lord Shiva and the Goddess Parvati and the netherworld (or ‘Patala”) where he resides in the abode of the divine serpent “Adi Shesha”).
Ganesha appears as “Mayureshwar” seated on a peacock. Apart from this divine form in the sanctum sanctorum, there also are eight other idols of Ganesha in the temple – each ruling the eight directions. Many other idols depicting the various incarnations of the Lord are also present in the temple complex but they belong to a later period.
The temple is dedicated to the legend of the killing of the demon Sindhu by Lord Ganesh. In this battle the Lord mounted a peacock, which he later gave to his brother Kartikeya. (Indeed the peacock is Kartikeya’s mount). This legend is part of the Ganesh Purana.
Morgaon is 67 km away from Pune on the Saswad Bopdev Road and lies just beyond the pilgrimage town of Jejuri.
The Temple of Chintamani at Theur The second most important Ganesh in the Ashtavinayak group is the “Chintamani” literally meaning the “Gem that fulfils all wishes.” Chintamani was indeed a blessed gem that belonged to the sage Kapila. However when the jealous demon king Gana, seized it, Lord Ganesha fought a bloody battle and killed him (Hence the name “Ganapati” was given to Lord Ganesha). However when the Lord returned the gem to his devotee, he told the Lord that no gem was more precious than the Lord himself and he would rather stay with the Lord than take the gem. Lord Ganesha then assumed the form of the gem and stayed with the sage Kapila. This story of the “Chintamani Ganesh” comes to us from the Mudgala Purana.
At Theur, the lord is established as Chintamani and it was his famous devotee Moraya Gosavi and his descendants who are believed to have consecrated this temple. Indeed Moraya Gosavi is believed to have attained enlightenment while performing penance at Theur and many of his descendents, who attained godly status like him, were called “Chintamanis.” The direct lineage (called by the family name “Dev”) halted after the eighth generation but the extended family still continued to uphold the heritage and the title passed on to them. The Dev family still manages the temples at Morgaon, Theur, Siddhtek, and the family samadhi’s in the Ganesh temple complex at Chinchwad.
The temple of Theur is situated just 25 km away from Pune and regular state transport buses ply from Pune to this small town.
The Temple of Mahaganapati at RanjangaonMahaganapati is the most powerful form of the Lord Ganesh, which he assumed to aid his father in killing the demon, Tripurasur. Legend has it that there was once a great multifaceted idol of the Lord with 10 faces (with trunks) and 10 pairs of hands. Though this is vehemently denied by the temple authorities, there are still whispers about a hidden cellar that houses the great idol.
The new temple complex has been modernized although traces of the old architecture are still preserved and suggestive of the medieval architecture (eighth to the ninth centuries) of the region during that period. The temple complex is bigger and more accessible than most cramped up roads that lead to the locations on the Ashtavinayak trail. The temple complex is just across the state highway 27 from Pune to Aurangabad and there is ample parking space even on crowded days.
The Temple of Siddhi Vinayak at SiddhatekLord Ganesh is usually depicted seated with his two wives, Riddhi and Siddhi. Ganesh is usually facing Riddhi who sits to his left. Even in solo depictions of Ganesh, the Lord’s trunk points to the left – towards Riddhi. However, very few depictions show the Lord or his trunk facing towards the right or towards Siddhi. This form of the Lord is therefore called Siddhi Vinayak.
“Siddhi” – also means a special power attained through penance and devotion. It is believed that Lord Vishnu received special powers or “Siddhis” from Lord Ganesh in order to vanquish the demons Madhu and Kaitabha. The saint Moraya Gosavi is also believed to have attained special “Siddhis” after worshipping Lord Ganesh here.
The worship of Siddhi Vinayak is generally believed to be more difficult and demanding than other forms of Lord Ganesh and therefore not many would advocate bringing home Lord Ganesh’s idol in Siddhi Vinayak form for prayer and worship.
The Temple of Vighneshwar at OjharLord Ganesh appears as “Vigneshwar” or the remover of obstacles at Ojhar, which is situated 85 km form Pune on the highway to Nashik (National Highway 50). Various Puranas mention how Lord Ganesh vanquished the demon Vignasura (the creator of obstacles) and obtained a promise from him that he would never reside where the Lord was worshipped.
The stone temple dedicated to “Vighneshwar” is guarded by two stone doorkeepers and adorned with two magnificent lamp towers. The beautiful temple town has the lovely Kukkadi River flowing through it and is lined with auspicious white storks.
The Temple of Girijatmaj at Lenyadri“Lenyadri” means the one who resides in the “Leni” or cave. The Lenyadri Temple is also associated with the legend of Mayureshwar. It is said that Mayureshwar was born on this mountain to Lord Shiva and the Goddess Parvati. The Lenyadri Mountain is situated in an isolated area near Junnar in Pune District. It is easily accessible from Ojhar. The Goddess Parvati was the daughter of the Himalaya Mountains and is therefore called Parvati (from “Parvat” or mountain) or Girija (or daughter of “Giri” – the mountains). “Girijatmaj” means son of Girija. And surely in the cave temple one can see the shape of Lord Ganesh emanating from the mountainous wall. This natural formation is in a cave surrounded by numerous Buddhist viharas or cave residences for monks, which is suggestive of the fact that Hinayana Buddhism flourished in those early times in this region.
The Temple of Ballaleshwar at PaliThe temple is dedicated to Ballal, a devotee of Lord Ganesh. Legend has it that as a child, Ballal was mercilessly beaten by his family and the villagers for leading children to worship a stone personified as Lord Ganesh. He was tied to a tree and left to die of hunger and thirst. Lord Ganesh rescued him and acceded to his wish to stay permanently in the village of Pali.
Consequently Lord Ganesh became Lord Ballaleshwar and the temple also houses Lord “Dhondi Vinayak” – the very stone that Ballal worshipped before Lord Ganesh appeared to him. Devotees are requested to first take darshan of Lord Dhondi Vinayak before proceeding to pay respects to Lord Ballaleshwar.
The town of Pali is situated 30km from Karjat, to which local trains ply regularly from Mumbai and every train from Mumbai that crosses over towards Pune stops here before climbing the Western Ghats. It is easily accessible from the Mumbai Goa Road (National Highway 17) via the detour from Vakan. One can also take a detour from Khopoli on the old Mumbai Pune Road (National Highway 4).
The Temple of Varada Vinayak at Mahad It is believed that Gritsamada, the son of Mukunda (wife of the sage Vachaknavi) cursed his mother when he realized that he was born from the illegitimate union of his mother and a prince called Rukmaganda. However a heavenly voice told him that he was actually the son of Indra, the God of war as Indra had disguised himself as the handsome prince. Repenting on his folly he prayed to Lord Ganesha to deliver him from his sins. Lord Ganesha appeared before him and granted him many boons one of which was to agree to stay permanently at this place in the form of “Varada Vinayak” or the granter of boons. This place is therefore considered to be very auspicious and praying to Lord Ganesha here is supposed to lead to the fulfillment of all your wishes, especially if you long for a child.
The temple at Mahad is closest to Khopoli and one can take a detour at Mahad Phata (just 1.5 km from the highway) near Khopoli on the old Mumbai Pune Road.
The Best Routes to complete the Ashtavinayak YatraFrom Pune – Day 1 Most people set up camp in Pune and the first stop is Theur 25 km away from Pune. You have to take the Pune Solapur Road (National Highway 9) and turn left to Theur Road a little ahead of Loni Kalbhor. You can take darshan and come back to National Highway 9 and after a distance turn right at Sortapwadi Phata to take the Jejuri – Baramati Road (State Highway 61) to reach Morgaon. Now if you start early in the morning from Pune, you can complete Darshan of both Theur and Morgaon by the afternoon and come back to the National Highway 9 to proceed towards Daund by turning left from Kurkumbh. From Daund you can take turn right at the Siddhatek Phata to take the Shedgaon Siddhatek road and reach Siddhatek. Starting from Pune at around 7:00 am would make it possible for you to visit these three shrines and return to Pune by night.
Day 2 Start Day 2 early again and this time take the Pune Nagar Road (State Highway 27) and you will find the Mahaganapati shrine just a few kilometers before you reach Shirur. After visiting the shrine, you can hit the State Highway 27 and turn left to take State Highway 111 till Aldare where you hit the road to the Lenyadri Ganapati Shrine. The drive is about 89 kilometers. In fact Lenyadri and Ojhar are just 14 kilometers (30 minutes) away from each other and you actually reach a point on the road where you turn left for Lenyadri and Right for Ojhar. You can choose to return back to Pune from there or take the road to Naneghat pass from where you can descend from Malshej Ghat to move to Kalyan.
Day 3 If you have reached Kalyan you can halt there or take a local train to go to anyplace in Mumbai to halt there. If you have a car you can take the Kalyan Badlapur road and from there via the Neral Badlapur road and reach Karjat within an hour and thirty minutes. From Karjat you can go to the Ballaleshwar Shrine at Pali and from there to the Varada Vinayak Shrine at Mahad and hit the Mumbai Pune Highway from where you can choose to go to either Pune or Mumbai.
If however you return to Pune on Day 2, you can start day 3 leisurely and take the Mumbai Pune Expressway till you reach Khalapur. From there you can take the exit to Khopoli and hit the Khopoli Pali road to go to the Pali and Mahad shrines and turn to the Old Mumbai Pune Road (National Highway 4) to go to Pune or Mumbai.
From Mumbai If you are starting from Mumbai you can make the Mahad shrine your first stop by taking the old Mumbai Pune Road. You can go to the Pali Shrine from there and take the Khopoli Pali road to reach the Mumbai Pune Expressway or the Old Mumbai Pune Road. Take the Talegaon exit from the expressway to reach Chakan from where you can take the road to Shirur and visit the Ranjangaon Shrine and trace your steps back towards Chakan and from there to Pune. Having visited 3 shrines in a day, you can camp in Pune and continue day 2 (preferably to Theur, Morgaon, and Siddhtek shrines) and day 3 (to Ojhar and Lenyadri) and return towards Mumbai via Naneghat pass and Malshej.
Taking this short tour when visiting the state will not only give you bliss and spiritual succor but will also enable you to view the vibrant colors and unique hospitality of this great state.