Ganesha

Ganesha, the god of good fortune and wisdom, is one of the most popular Hindu deities. People call upon him at the beginning of any task, because his blessing supposedly ensures success. Ganesha is portrayed as a short man with a pot belly, four hands, and an elephant's head with one tusk. He is the son of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, and his wife, Parvati.

He has been called the "pope" of Hindu gods in that he is the gateway though which one much pass to come into contact with any of the millions of other Gods & Goddesses in Sanatana Dharma which is the more proper name for Hinduism. He is also invoked before any important endevor is started

Several legends tell how Ganesha came to have an elephant's head.

One says that Parvati was so proud of her son that she asked all the gods to look at him, even the god Sani. Sani's gaze burned to ashes everything he saw, including Ganesha's head. Brahma, the god of creation, instructed Parvati to give her son the first head she found, which turned out to be that of an elephant.

According to another account, Shiva struck off Ganesha's head and later attached an elephant's head to his son's body.

Ganesha's single tusk is also the subject of various stories.

In one tale, he lost his second tusk in a fight with Parasurama, a form of the god Vishnu*.

Another myth claims that Ganesha lost the tusk after using it to write the epic the Mahabharata.

Ganesha is associated with the concepts of
Buddhi (intellect)
Siddhi (spiritual power), and
Riddhi (prosperity)
These qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives.

Festivals associated with Ganesh are "the Vināyaka caturthī (Ganesh Chaturthi) in the śuklapakha (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the
Ganeśa jayanti (Ganeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the krishnapaka (fourth day of the waning moon) in the month of māgha (January/February).

According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called muladhara.
Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation".
The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests

Ashtavinayaka

Shri Ballaleshwar

The temple is constructed in such a way that after the winter (dakshinayan : southward movement of the sun) solstice, the sun rays fall on the Ganesha murti at sunrise. The temple is built with stones which are stuck together very tight using melted lead.

Like a few other murtis, this one has diamonds embedded in the eyes and navel, and with His trunk pointing to the left.

One speciality of this temple is that the prasad offered to this Ganapati at Pali is Besan Laadu instead of Modak that is normally offered to other Ganapatis.
The temple is located in the town of Pali, off the Mumbai-Pune highway, about 11 km before Nagothane on the Mumbai-Goa highway.
This is located 30Km to the South-West of Karjat Railway Station. Mumbai-Panvel-Khopoli-Pali is 124Km. Pune-Lonavla-Khopoli-Pali is 111Km.

Shri Chintamani

Ganesha is believed to have got back the precious Chinatamani jewel from the greedy Guna for sage Kapila at this spot. However, after bringing back the jewel, sage Kapila put it in Vinayaka's (Ganesha's) neck. Thus the name Chintamani Vinayak. This happened under the Kadamb tree, therefore Theur is known as Kadambanagar in old times.

The lake behind the temple is called Kadambteertha. The temple entrance is North facing.This idol also has a left trunk, with carbuncle and diamonds as its eyes. The idol faces the East side.

The temple is located 22 km from Pune, off the Pune-Solapur highway, and is hence the nearest from Pune

Shri Girijatmaj

It is believed that Parvati (Shiva's wife) performed penance to beget Ganesha at this point. Girija's (Parvati's) Atmaj (son) is Girijatmaj.

The idol faces north with its trunk to the left, and has to be worshipped from the rear of the temple

The temple is situated 12 km from Narayangaon, which is about 94 km from Pune on the Pune-Nashik highway. Nearest railway station is Talegaon.

Shri Mahaganapati

Shiva is believed to have worshipped Ganesha before fighting the demon Tripurasura here.

The temple was built by Shiva where he worshipped Ganesha, and the town he set up was called Manipur which is now known as Ranjangaon.

The idol faces the east, is seated in a cross-legged position with a broad forehead, with its trunk pointing to the left. It is said that the original idol is hidden in the basement, having 10 trunks and 20 hands and is called Mahotkat

Constructed so that the rays of the sun fall directly on the idol (during the Southward movement of the sun), the temple bears a distinct resemblance to the architecture reminiscent of the 9th and 10th Centuries and faces the east.

The temple is situated 50 km from Pune on the Pune-Ahmednagar highway in the village of Ranjangaon.

Shri Mayureshwar

The murti of Lord Ganesha, riding a peacock, in the form of Mayureshwara is believed to have slain the demon Sindhu at this spot.

The idol, with its trunk turned to the left, has a cobra (Nagaraja) poised over it protecting it.

This form of Ganesha also has two other murtis of Siddhi (Capability) and Buddhi (Intelligence).

The temple is situated at a distance of 55 km from Pune, next to the river Karha in the village of Moregaon

Shri Siddhivinayak

The idol faces North-direction. The stomach of the murti is not wide, but Riddhi and Siddhi murtis are sitting on one thigh.

This murti's trunk is turning to the right. The right-sided-trunk Ganesha is supposed to be very strict for the devotees.

This temple is situated off the Pune-Solapur highway about 48 km from the town of Srigonda in Ahmadnagar district.

Shri Vighnahar

The history encompassing this idol states that Vighnasur, a demon was created by the King of Gods, Indra to destroy the prayer organized by King Abhinandan.

However, the demon went a step further and destroyed all vedic, religious acts and to answer the people's prayers for protection, Ganesh defeated him.

The story goes on to say that on being conquered, the demon begged and pleaded with Ganesha to show a mercy. Ganesha then granted in his plea, but on the condition that demon should not go to the place where Ganesha worshipping is going on.

In return the demon asked a favour that his name should be taken before Ganesha's name, thus the name of Ganesha became Vighnahar or Vighneshwar

There is a diamond on the forehead and some jewel in the navel. Idols of Riddhi and Siddhi are placed on the two sides of the Ganesha idol.

This temple is located just off the Pune-Nashik Highway, in the town of Ozhar.

Shri Varadavinayak

Ganesha is said to reside here in the form of Varada Vinayaka, the giver of bounty and success.

The idol faces the east, has its trunk to the left and has been in the constant company of an oil lamp - said to be burning continuously since 1892.

This is the only temple where devotees are allowed to personally pay their homage and respects to the idol. They are allowed in the immediate vicinity of this idol to perform their prayers.

The temple is located three kilometers off the Pune-Mumbai highway near Khopoli (80 km from Pune), and is thus closest to Mumbai city. Karjat Railway Station, Karjat on Mumbai-Pune railway is 24Km from this place and 6Km from Khopoli.