Ashtavinayak Temples Darshan Order, Timings and Distance Details
The Dhundi Vinayak Temple is situated behind the main temple. The idol in this temple is believed to be swayambhu. The musical Ganesha bhajan, "Sukhkarta Dukhharta Varta Vignachi" is chanted by hundreds of followers, isn't it?
Each Ashtavinayak temple has its own individual legend and history, as is distinct from other Ashtavinayak temple in terms of its murtis . The Ashtavinayak tour covers all these eight ancient holy Ganesh temples in Maharashtra. It is believed that, if one does this Ashtavinayak temples tour with devotion his or her desire gets fulfilled. This makes these Ashtavinayak temples a must visit Ganesha temples in Maharashtra. Lenyadri, a series of Buddhist caves located in Junnar, stands out from the others because of its setup. The idol, called Girijatmaja, is located in the eighth cave from the total 30.
The village Morgaon also gets the name from the large population of peacocks that used to live around this region. These were made to make it look like a mosque from a distance, to avoid constant attacks on the temple. This is the most important temple in all the Ashtavinayak temples.
The temples visited in descending order are Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Thevur, Lenyandri, Ozar, Ranjangaon. The pilgrimage is concluded with a second visit to Moregaon. The legend revolves around a special Gem called Chintamani. The sage Kapila had this Gem in his possession which has the capacity to grant one’s wishes.
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.
After completing their worship, he ashtavinayak mandir and his friends would return home late in the evenings. As the name suggests, Lord Moreshwar portrays Ganesha riding a peacock('Mor' or 'Mayur' means peacock). Lord Mayureshwar is believed to have killed the demon Sindhu at this very spot. The idol has its trunk turned to the left, with the Nagaraja poised over it, protecting it. This form of Ganesha has his wives Riddhi and Siddhi accompanying him. Actually, Riddhi and Siddhi are the qualities of Capability and Intelligence.
Vighnahar Ganapati Temple is located about 85 km from Pune on the banks of Kukadi River. The Vigneshwara Temple Ganesha form worshipped here is called Vigneshwara, one of the eight revered shrines of Ganesha in Maharashtra. As I did my trip with a tour operator they didn’t take me back to Morgaon for revisiting the Mayureshwar temple. I am not very religious usually, but I may make vows or ask Ganesha for favours whenever I am stuck in a tight spot or in an obstacle. I don’t really know whether God exists, but somehow making the prayers gives me confidence clears my mind from any doubts.