How Many Days Are Required For Ashtavinayak?
Grimatsav, a scholar, was deeply saddened to know about his non-Brahmanical and thus entered a strict penance in the forest of Pushpak. Lord Ganesh, upon hearing his prayers granted him two wishes of his choosing. One, to be known as a Brahmin and the second- for the lord to reside in the forest. This spot surrounding the Pushpak forest is believed to be the temple as we see today. The temple has an elegant architectural style too with the four minarets from the Mughal period adding to the overall effect. The four entrances also represent the beloved deity as he was seen every four years.
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 temple is covered from all sides by four minarets and gives the impression of a mosque if seen from a distance. This was done to prevent attacks on the temple during Mughal periods. These Ashtavinayaka temples have eight distinct forms of Ganesh idols. The form of trunk of each Ganesha idol is different from one another. The Girijatmaj idol is not as well designed or carved as the other Ashtavinayaka idols. Also, there is no electric bulb here - however, it is constructed in such a way that during the day, it is always well-lit naturally, by the Sun's rays.
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.
On being conquered, the demon begged for mercy and fell at the Lord's feet. Ganesha agreed on the condition that the asura should not go to any place where his worship was going on. The demon was saddened, but requested a return favor that his name should be taken everytime, before Ganesha was worshipped. Thus, the Lord also got the name Vighnahar or Vighneshwar . The Ganesha residing in this temple is called Shri Vighneshwar Vinayak. The Varadavinayak temple is situated 3 kms off the Mumbai-Pune highway, near Khopoli.
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 ashtavinayak darshan my mind from any doubts.