ASHTAVINAYAKA:

 The elephant God or Ganapati is the favourite god of Mumbai and Maharashtra. Hence 11 pilgrimage of the eight principal Ganesh idols are a must for any devout believer .Each of the 'Swaymbhuor self appeared idols have a distinctive feature. Foremost among the shrines is Mayureshwar at Morgaon. 64 km from Pune. It was built in the 14th century by Morya Gosavi. Legend has it that he found the Ganesh statue in a sacred tank. Closely linked with Morgaon is the Chintamani Ganapati Temple at Theur, 25 kmfrom Pune. Morya Gosavi attained Siddhi (knowledge) here and his son, Chintamani Dev built the temple to commemorate the event.

At Ranjangaon, the deity is known as the Mahaganapati because the original statue had as many as 10 trunks and 20 aImS. According to local folk, the towering idol was hidden to avoid destruction at the hands of non-believers. Sri Siddhi- Vinayak in Ahmednagar is also closely associated with Morya Gosavi. The main temple was constructed by Ahilyabai Holkar. Built in 1833, the temple at Czar is fa- mous for its 'deepmala' (garland of lights). The deity is worshipped as 'Vigneshwara' the remover of obstacles. It is 102 kID from Pune on the road to Narayangaon. The golden dome of the temple was gifted by Chimaji Appa, Bajirap Peshwa's younger brother.

On the banks of Kukdi river, the temple of Lenyadri can be reached only by climbng 283 steps. Goddess Parvati spent her time in penence and prayer and gave birth to Ganapati here. The temple of Pali 38km from Khopoli was named Ballaleshwar after the devotee Ballal to whom Ganapati is said to have revealed himself at this sacred spot. The wooden temple was constructed in 1770 by Nana Phadvanis. The Mahad Ganesh 20 km from Khandala is known as Sri Varad Vinayak - the bestower of blessings.

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