Ashtavinayaka Tour - Girijatmaja Temple Story

The temple of Shri Girijatmaja, the sixth temple of the Ashtavinayaka's - at Lenyadri, is situated 94 km from Pune near a village named Narayangaon.  It is present in one of the caves (Cave 7) of the series of 30 rock cut Buddhist caves called Lenyadri. The temple stands atop a mountain for which one has to take around 307 steps. The temple features a wide hall with no supporting pillars, which is 53 feet long, 51 feet wide and 7 feet in height.

There is no electricity inside the hall but the temple is so constructed that during the day it is always lit by the Sun rays. Ganesha idol faces north with its trunk to the left but compared to other Ashtavinayaka idols, it is not well carved off.

The name Girijatmaja literally means "Mountain-born" or "Atmaja (Son) of Girija". The story about Shri Girijatmaj Ganesha goes like this :

Once Parvati asked Shiva as to whom he was meditating on to which Shiva said that he is meditating on "the supporter of the entire universe - Ganesha". Parvati desired to have a son like Ganesha and she meditated on Ganesha for 12 years at Lenyadri.

Ganesha blessed Parvati that he would be born as her son and the clay image which Parvati worshipped came alive. Thus Ganesha was born to Parvati Devi at Lenyadri. Ganesha's escapades with childhood years, spanning around 15 years, were spent at Lenyadri during which he showed so many of his powers and innocence.

Ashtavinayaka Tour - Chintamani Temple Story

The fifth temple for the Ashtavinayaka tour, Chintamani temple is located in Theur, some
25 km from Pune. Theur, literally means Sthavar, which in turn means stable in Sanskrit. According to legends, God Brahma meditated at this place to get rid of his worries and owing to Ganesha's blessings, he was able to bring his restless minds to a stable state.

Theur Chintamani temple was built by a Ganapatya saint Morya Gosavi. Exact date is hitherto unknown. Ganesha idol faces east and is studded with jewel eyes and the trunk facing left. It is interpreted that the idol is sitting in a cross legged posture.

Another legened about the Chintamani Ganesha goes like this :
A warrior king named, Ganasura and his army once came to the hermitage of Sage Kapila, who had the wish granting jewel named, Chintamani. As the King had come to his doorstep, the sage felicitated them with delicious food. On seeing the prowess of Chintamani, the King forcefully wanted to take the jewel from the sage.

Kapila, a devotee of Ganesha, prayed to him and the God appeared and beheaded Ganasura. Ganesha returned the jewel back to sage Kapila but he asked the divine God's presence instead of the jewel. Thus, Ganesha stayed in Theur with the sage and became popular with the name, Chintamani Ganesha

Ashtavinayaka Tour - Varada Vinayaka Ganesha Temple Story

Varada Vinayaka is the fourth ashtavinayaka and the name literally means, the giver of bounty and success. The idol was found in the village of Mahad in 1690 AD in an adjoining lake in an immersed position and that is the reason why the idol has a weathered look. In 1725 AD, the Varadavinayaka temple was built in its primeval form.

The temple is located 80 KM from Pune, near Khopoli off the Pune Mumbai highway and is closest to the Mumbai city. The Ganesh idol faces east direction and its trunk is also facing east. There are 4 elephant idols guarding the 4 sides of the temple. The hall is 8 x 8 feet and the dome is 25 feet high, with golden top and having designs of cobra. There is also an oil lamp, which is said to be constantly burning since 1892.

The unique aspect of this temple, compared to other ashtavinayaka's is that this is the only temple which allows the devotees to pay their homage and respects to the immediate vicinity of the idol. It is said that during Maghi Chaturthi, if the coconut received as prasad is taken then the devotees are blessed with a son. Huge crowds get amassed during the Maghi Utsav, which is usually held during the month of February, on the temple premises.

Ashtavinayaka Tour - Ballaleshwara Temple Story

The third Ashtavinayaka is called Shri Ballaleshwar. The temple is located at the location called Pali, a town off the Mumbai-Pune highway.

Shri Balleshwar’s structure resembles that of the mountain just behind the temple. The idol is studded with jewels in the eyes and the navel. The temple hall consists of 8 carved pillars which represent 8 directions. It is said that the temple is constructed in such a way that the after the winter solstice, the sunrays falls on the Ganesha idol after sunrise.

                              

                                            Mountain that resembles Lord Ballaleshwara

Another unique thing about this temple is that the offerings made to the Lord is not the usual Modaka but Besan Laddu.

Legends narrate the story of Ballaleshwar as follows :

Kalyanseth, a merchant and his wife were childless for a long time. After some years, they had a son, who was named Ballal. Ballal was a huge devotee of Lord Ganesha and used to worship with utmost devotion. He used to go to forests and along with his friends worship Ganesha idols.

Sometimes, as they were late in coming home from forests, his friends parents complaint to Ballal’s father. His father was anyways angry on his son for not concentrating on his studies. In a fit of rage, he went to the forest and threw Ganesha idol into the river. He destroyed the Puja materials too. Seeing this, Ballal’s friends ran away but Ballal was so engrossed in his puja that he did not even notice what is happening around.

His father beat him profusely and tied him to a tree and asked him to call Lord Ganesha and ask him to free him, if he is so powerful and then went home.

It is said that in the utmost pain, Ballal called Lord Ganesha for help. The Lord immediately appeared before him and hugged his devotee. And blessed him with superior life and lifespan.

It is said that the idol which Ballal’s father had thrown into the river is presently called Dhundi Vinayaka. This temple is just behind the Ballaleshwar temple. And from ancient times, devotees first visit the Dhundi Vinayaka before going to Ballaleshwara temple.

Ashtavinayaka Tour - Siddhivinayaka Temple Story

Siddhivinayaka Temple

Siddhivinayaka Temple is the second in line to be visited for the Ashtavinayaka darshanam and is placed on a small hill facing north. The temple is located off Pune Solapur highway baout 48 Km from Srigonda, Ahmadnagar district.

The unique thing about this idol is that out of all the 8 ganesha’s idols, this is the only one whose trunk is positioned towards the right. Rest all the idols would have their trunk positioned towards left.

The idol is 3 feet tall and 2.5 feet wide and Ridhi and Sidhi murthys are also present on one thigh. In order to make one round of the temple, or as we call it pradakshina, one has to go round the hill, which takes around 30 minutes on a moderate speed.

It is said that there was one Peshwa’s general, named Haripant Phadake. He lost his position and out of dismay, he came to the temple and did 21 pradakshinas around the hill. After completion of the rounds, his army men came and took him back to the royal abode as the general.

Also, it is said that Lord Vishnu was able to vanquish 2 demons, Madhu and Kaitabh, only after making Siddhivinayaka happy in this pious place.

Ashtavinayaka Tour - Moreshwara Temple Story

Last year I had gone to a long-awaited and long-dreamt Ashtavinayaka tour in Maharashtra. As the name suggests, it signified visiting of 8 ancient Ganesha temples, which houses 8 ganapatis, in their own magnaminous avatars and grandiose poise.

I would be narrating the significance and the story behind each of the Ganesha's avatars. The 8 ganapatis in their religious significance are :

Temple	Location	District
Moreshwar	Morgaon	Pune
Siddhivinayak	Siddhatek	Ahamadnagar
Ballaleshwar	Pali	Raigad
Varadavinayaka	Mahad	Raigad
Chintamani	Theur	Pune
Girijatmaja	Lenyadri	Pune
Vighnahar	Ozar	Pune
Mahaganapati	Ranjangaon	Pune

According to Shastras, we have to visit the temples in the order as mentioned above to finish the Ashtavinayaka yatra. It is said that some of these idols are swayambhus or self-existent effigies.

Mayureshwara (or Moreshwara) Temple

This is the the most important temple of the tour because it marks the beginning and the end of the tour. The temple is surrounded by 4 minarets which makes it resemble as if it is a mosque from a distance.

There is a Nandi (Shivas bull mount) in front of the temple premises, which is quite surprising as usually we would find Nandi's in front of Shiva's temples. It is said the Ganesh idol along with the Nandi was being transported to a Shiva temple and the carriage broke in between. And then afterwards, it was not possible to remove the idols from the current place.

The Mayureshwar name came because Ganesha, riding a peacock, killed a demon named Sindhu at this spot. The idol's trunk is turned towards left and has a cobra poised over it to protect it. The idol also has 2 other murtis beside i.e. Siddhi (which means capability) and Riddhi (which means intelligence)

It is said that Moregaon used to have lots of peacock and hence the name, Mayureshwar came into being.

Story behind Onam - Kerala's Biggest Festival

Come September 9, 2011. The day would happen to be the most popular and big festival of my native state, Kerala. It is called Onam or Tiruvonam. Almost all the local channels, hoardings and shopping malls would be buzzling with the offers, discounts and debits - to happen from the shopping cards !!!

Well, to commemorate the advent of Onam, here's the real story behind the festivities in God's Own Country.

It marks the advent of a great demon King, called Mahabali(grandson of Bhakt Prahlad), who used to reside in Kerala long time ago. It is said that everyone in his kingdom were happy and prosperous and no one was touched with the sadness or unhappy quotient.

His rule and vigor became so famous that he was thought to be a replacement of Indra, the God of Gods. Maha Vishnu then took the Vamana (Dwarf) avataram and came with the intention of tricking him

When he came, he asked Mahabali to grant him some land. The majestic king humbly agreed and asked him to take as much land as he wants. The Vamana then started increasing in size in cosmic proportions and in first step, he measured the whole of earth. On the second step, he measured the whole of skies.

Third step was still to be kept and there was no place to keep or measure anything. The noble king asked Mahavishnu, in disguise, to keep the third step on him and he was pushed to Patala (the nether world).

It is said that Mahavishnu was so touched by his generousity that he asked him any wish he wanted. And the king, as he was attached to his kingdom, asked him to let him come and visit his kingdom atleast once a year.

The day happens to be now called "Onam". To wish any Keralite, here's the magic age-old mantra "Hridaya Neranja Onam Ashamsakal" which means "Heartful wishes for Onam to You"