A glance at the significance of Ashtavinayak pilgrimage

Sanket Pathak

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) Ganesh Utsav is being celebrated with pomp across the country and people are visiting various decorated pandals to pay obeisance to Lord Ganesha.

Amid the festivities, it is important understand the mythological significance of eight 'Shaktipeeths' of Lord Ganesha or the Ashtavinayak.

Ashtavinayak means "Eight Ganapatis". These ancient temples are located in Maharashtra.

The idols of Ganesha in these eight temples are considered to be "Swayambhu", that is, they have manifested themselves and all these sculptures are natural.

The mention of Ashtavinayak can be found in the Ganesha and Mudgal Puranas.

The journey to these eight Ganapati shrines is known as Ashtavinayak pilgrimage. During the 10-day long Ganesh Utsav, the atmosphere here is no less than that of a fair.

Devotees from every corner of the country visit these temples to worship Ganesha. Ashtavinayak pilgrimage is done in accordance to discovery of these holy idols.

1- Shri Mayureshwar Temple:

The Ashtavinayak pilgrimage begins from Shri Mayureshwar Temple. It is located in Moragaon, about 80 km away from Pune.

Moregaon is an important centre for worshiping of Ganesha. The Mayureshwar temple here has minarets and tall stone walls at the four corners. Also there are four doors here. These doors are the symbols of the four ages, Satyuga, Tretayuga, Dwaparayuga and Kaliyuga.

At the entrance of the temple, an idol of 'Nandi' is positioned facing Lord Ganesha. This is considered unusual as a Nandi is normally positioned in front of Lord Shiva temples.

According to the prevailing beliefs regarding the idol of Nandi, in ancient times Lord Shiva and Nandi stayed here to take rest, but later Nandi refused to leave the place. Since then Nandi is situated here.

Both Nandi and the mouse are posted as guards of the temple.

In the temple, the Ganesha idol is depicted in a seated posture with its trunk turning to the left, four arms and three eyes. He holds a noose (pasha) and elephant goad (ankusha) in his upper hands, while his lower right rests on his knee and the other one holds a modaka (a sweet). The navel and the eyes are embedded with diamonds. A cobra hood raised over Ganesha's head, shelters the Lord.

According to beliefs, a demon named Sindhurasura was killed by Ganesha in the temple of Mayureshwar. He fought with Sindhurasura riding on a peacock. For this reason Ganesha situated here is called Mayureshwar. Every year special puja is performed here during Ganesh Utsav and thousands of devotees come from far away places for pilgrimage.

There is also a temple of Ganesha's great devotee Morya Gosavi, whose name appears with the name of Ganesha (Ganpati Bappa Morya). It is said that the Lord came out of the temple to meet him after being pleased with the worship of Morya Gosavi. This is where this small temple has been built.

2- Siddhivinayak Temple:

Siddhivinayak is the second shrine in Ashtavinayak pilgrimage. The temple is located on the bank of river Bhima in Siddhatek village, about 200 km from Pune.

It is one of the oldest temples in the region. It is said that the temple is about 200 years old. It is believed that Lord Vishnu attained siddhis here.

Siddhivinayak temple is built on top of a mountain. The entrance gate of which is towards the north. One has to travel up the hill to circumambulate the temple. The idol of Ganesha here is 3 feet high and 2.5 feet wide, and towards north. The trunk of Ganesha is on the right hand side.

Every year special puja is performed here on five days of Ganesh Utsav. It is believed that all wishes of devotees gets fulfilled after visiting here.

3- Shri Ballaleshwar Temple:

The next temple in Ashtavinayak is Shri Ballaleshwar Temple. This temple is located in Pali at Mumbai-Pune Highway and is named after Ballal, a devotee of Ganesha.

It is said that in ancient times there was a boy named Ballal, he was a great devotee of Ganesha.

One day he organised a special puja in Pali village. Several children led by Ballal became so engrossed in their worship that they forgot about hunger and thirst; day and night.

Meanwhile, the parents anxiously waited for their children to come home. When the children did not return on time, the parents went to Ballal and he was beaten badly by them.

Ballal was left alone with the idol of Ganesha. In critical condition, he continued to chant the mantras of Ganesha.

Pleased with this devotion, Ganesha appeared there. Ballal urged him to reside at this place, which Ganesha accepted.

People from far places visit this place and it is believed that every wish of devotees is fulfilled in this temple.

4- Shri Varadavinayak Temple:

Shri Varadvinayak is the fourth one in Ashtavinayak. This temple is located in Kolhapur area of Raigad district of Maharashtra. There is a beautiful hill village Mahad, where this temple is located.

According to the prevailing belief, Varadvinayak bestows the boon of fulfillment of all the wishes of the devotees.

There is a lamp in the temple called Nanddeep, which is continuously lit for 108 years.

5- Chintamani Ganapati:

The fifth Ganesha in Ashtavinayak is Chintamani Ganapati. This temple is located in Haveli area of Pune district. There is a confluence of three rivers near the temple. These three rivers are Bhima, Mula and Mutha. It is considered that the devotees get rid of their worries after visiting the temple.

It is believed that Lord Brahma meditated here for to calm his restless mind.

It is also said that once Lord Indra came here to calm his mind after being troubled by the demons. Devotees can touch the Ganapati idol here every year only during five days of Ganesh Utsav.

6- Shri Girijatmaj Ganapati:

The next Ganapati in Ashtavinayak is Shri Girjatmaj. This temple is situated at a distance of 90 km from Pune on the Pune-Nashik Highway. Girjatmaj means Girija, that is, Ganesha, son of Goddess Parvati.

This temple is built on the site of Buddhist caves on a mountain. There are 18 Buddhist caves on the Lenyadri mountain of which the eighth cave has the Girjatmaja Vinayak temple. These caves are also called Ganesh caves. One has to climb about 300 steps to reach the temple. This entire temple itself has been built by cutting a big stone. This temple comes under the Department of Archeology.

7- Vigneshwar Ganpati Temple:

Vigneshwar Ganapati is the seventh Ganesh in Ashtavinayak. This temple is located in Junar area in Ojhar district of Pune. It is located on the Pune-Nashik road at a distance of about 85 km from Narayangaon via Junar or Ojar.

It is believed that there was a demon named Vighnasur, who was torturing the saints. Lord Ganesha killed that demon in this area and got everyone free from sufferings. Since then this temple is known as Vighneshwar, Vighnaharta and Vighnahar. Every year special puja is performed here during Ganesh Utsav.

8- Mahaganapati Temple:

Maha Ganapati is the eighth Ganesha of the Ashtavinayak temple. This temple is located in Ranjangaon, Pune.

The entrance of the temple is towards the east, which is very spacious and beautiful. The idol of Lord Ganapati here is also known by the name Mahottak.

According to a popular belief, the original idol of the temple is hidden in the basement. In old days when foreign invaders invaded this place, the idol was placed in the basement to protect it from them.