Untold Facts Of Visiting Ashta Vinayaka Temples On Ganesh Chavithi - అష్టగణపతి గుడులు గురించి తెలుసా - With Subtitles/CC
Ashtavinayak: A tour of eight abodes of Lord Ganesha
Ashtavinayaka literally means "eight Ganeshas" in Sanskrit. Ganesh is the Hinduism/Hindu deity of unity, prosperity & learning and removes obstacles. The term refers to eight Ganeshas. Ashtavinayaka yatra trip refers to a pilgrimage to the eight Hindu temples in Maharashtra state of India that house eight distinct idols of Ganesha, in a pre-ascertained sequence. The Ashtavinayaka yatra or pilgrimage covers the eight ancient holy temples of Ganesha which are situated around Pune. Each of these temples has its own individual legend and history, as distinct from each other as the murtis in each temple. The form of each murti of Ganesha and His trunk are distinct from one another. However, there are other temples of eight Ganesha in various other parts of Maharashtra; the ones around Pune are more well known than the former. It is believed to be for completion of Ashtavinayak Yatra visit the first ganpati after visiting all the eight ganpati's again, to complete the yatra.
The eight temples/idols of the Ashtavinayak in their religious sequence are:
Ashtavinayak Temples
1. Moreshwar Temple - Morgaon, Pune district
2. Siddhi vinayak Temple - Siddhatek, Ahmednagar district
3. Ballaleshwar Temple - Pali, Raigad district
4. Varada vinayak Temple - Mahad, near Khopoli, Raigad district
5. Chintamani Temple - Theur, Pune district
6. Girijatmaj Temple - Lenyadri, Pune district
7. Vighneshwar Temple - Ozar, Pune district
8. Mahaganapati Temple - Ranjangaon, Pune district
Traditionally, Moreshwar of Moregaon is the first temple visited by the pilgrims. The temples visited in descending order are Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Thevur, Lenyandri, Ozar, Ranjangaon. The pilgrimage is concluded with a second visit to Moregaon.
All these murtis are called Swayambhu effigies, or the self-existent in Sanskrit. This is to indicate that they were not sculpted but they were found formed by nature.
Mayureshwar
This is the most important temple on this tour. The temple, built from black-stone during the Bahamani reign, has four gates (It is supposed to have been built by one of the knights named Mr. Gole, from the court of Bidar's Sultan). The temple is situated in the centre of the village. The temple is covered from all sides by four minarets and gives feeling of a mosque if seen from a distance. This was done to prevent attacks on the temple during Mughal periods. The temple has 50 feet tall wall around it.
There is a Nandi (Shiva's bull mount) sitting in front of this temple entrance, which is unique, as Nandi is normally in front of only Shiva temples. However, the story says that this statue was being carried to some Shivamandir during which the vehicle carrying it broke down and the Nandi statue could not be removed from its current place.
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 Riddhi (Intelligence).
However, this is not the original murti -which is said to have been consecrated twice by Brahma, once before and once after being destroyed by the asura Sindhurasur. The original murti, smaller in size and made of atoms of sand, iron, and diamonds, was supposedly enclosed in a copper sheet by the Pandavas and placed behind the one that is currently worshiped.
The temple is situated at a distance of 55 km from Pune, next to the river Karha in the village of Moregaon. The village derives its name from the Marathi name of the bird Peacock - there used to be a lot of peacocks in this village in the ancient time, and the village is also set out in the shape of a peacock.
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