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FAMOUS GANESH TEMPLES IN MAHARASHTRA
1) Ganapatiphule : This is very famous awakened & swayambhu
place near sea shore. It is said that Sage Parashuram had omen & he
consecrated Ganesh idol on hill top. The hill is itself in Ganesh
form. As such if you have to take holy rounds (pradakshina) of the
temple, you have to go round the hill itself
2) Dashabhuja Laxmi Ganesh : Hedvi, Tal. Guhagar, Dist. Ratnagiri.
It is near to Chiplun & Guhagar. Magh Ganesh Jayanti is celebrated
on grand scale.
3) Shri Siddhivinayaka : Nandgaon Dist. Raigad, Mumbai - Murud
& Murud - Nandgaon S. T. buses are available.
4) Shree Ganapati Devasthan - Sangli : Situated on banks of
river Krishna. This is most awakened & beautiful temple in Sangli.
It is a tutelar deity of Sangli. Thorle (elder) Chintamanrao Patwardhan
consecrated the idol in 1843.
5) Digambar Siddhivinayak of Kadav : It is situated in Taluka
Karjat of Raigad district. Sage Kanva consecrated this idol. Since
the idol is without cloths it is call a Digamber Ganesh. It is at
a distance of 9 kms. From Karjat.
6) Kasaba Ganapati - Pune : It is tutelar God of Pune. Rajmata
Jijabai consecrated the idol. In weddings ceremony, first invitation
is give to this Ganesh.
7) Mangalmurti Chinchwad - Dist. Pune : Great hermit Moraya
Gosavi found Ganesh idol in Morgaon & consecrated the same at Chinchwad.
The place is spiritually awakened. Regular P.M.T. buses are available
from Pune.
8) Rajur Ganapati of Rajpur : After killing demon king Sindurasur,
Vinayak told Ganesh Geeta to king Varenya at Rajpur. It is treated
as one peetha out of three & half Ganesh Peethas. Regular state transport
buses are available from Aurangabad. Idol is swayambhu.
9) Shree Modakeshwar - Nashik : Blasted by a curse of Lord
Shiva, Kamdeva attained his previous form by worshipping Shree Ganesh.
It is also popular by name Kamvarad Mohotkat. Idol is in the form
of Modak. Moda means happiness, one who gives happiness is Modakeshwar.
10) Ekchakra Ganesh of Kelzar : Before killing demon Bakasur,
Pandav prince Bhima had worehsipped Shri Ganesh in city Ekchakra.
Ekchakra is presently called as Kelzar & it is at a distance of 24
kms. From Vardha.
11) Shree Vidnyan Ganesh Rakshas Bhuvan (Marathwada) : Situated
on the banks of river Godavari, Rakshas Bhuvan is at a distance of
36 miles from Jalana. Shree Dattatreya propitated Vidnyan Ganesh &
consecrated the idol.
12) Lake Ganapati - Pune : This temple is in the middle of
lake situated in a garden Saras of Pune. Idol with trunk turned to
its right was consecrated in 1774 by Shreemant Sawai Madhavrao Peshwe.
Siddhivinayak fulfills the vows.
13) Shree Ganapati - Sitabardi (Nagpur) : Idol with trunk turned
to its right is very very strict & spiritually awakened. It has been
consecrated by Bhosale Sardar of Nagpur.
14) Verul (Ellora) Lakshvinayaka Kshetra : The ancient name
of the place is Ellapur. Kumar Kartikeya consecrated Vinayaka here,
before starting war with demon King Tarkasura.
15) Shri Vakratund - Aawas : It is at a distance of 12 kms.
From Alibaug. King Abhijeet & his queen performed strong penance of
Lord Kanakeshwar. They learnt Vakratund Mantra & on chanting the same
for years they got a son. On their request Shree Ganesh had stayed
there for ever. Mountain Kanakeshwar is at a distance of 5 kms. Toward
east.
16) Shree Chintamani ( Kalamb Dist : Yavatmal): It is one of
the 21 famous Ganesh Kshetras. Spiritually awakened place.
17) Bhalchandra Ganesh Kshetra : 26 Miles away from Parbhani,
there is a station called Sailu Nearly 15 miles away from Sailu, Bhalchandra
Ganesh temple is in the midst of river Godavari.
18) Shree Siddhivinayaka : Anjarle, Tal. Dapoli, Dist. Ratnagiri
: Temple is on Mountain.
19) Shri Ganapati : Balgir Maharaj’s math, Naded. It fulfills
the vows.
Famous Ganesh Temples in Greater Mumbai.
20) Shri Siddhivinayak - Prabhadevi : Siddhivinayak fulfills
the vows. As such devotees come in big numbers on every Tuesday &
on Chaturthi. Original small temple is now renovated & you will see
a big & beautiful temple with golden pinnacle. Shri Phadke
21)Ganapati - Goregaon : This temple has celebrated its centenary
year in 1996.
22)Udyan Ganapati Shivaji Park, Dadar
23)Shri Ganapati - Vazira Naka, Borivli : Idol is inborn (swayambhu)
spiritually awakened place. Devotes come in big numbers.
24) Shri Mahaganapati (Titwala) : By propitating Ganesh Idol,
Consecrated by sage Kanva, Devi Shakuntala & king Dushyant came together
after a long period of disagreement. Shakuntala & king Dushyant god
married here only. Idol from Mahabharat period was vanished, while
constructing lake peshwa saradar Ramchandra Mehendale got the present
idol. The Madhavrao Peshwe consecrated this idol. If Mahaganapati
is worshipped regularly marriages of desired people can be fixed easily.
If Mahaganpati is propitlated properly, conflicts between husband
& wife come to end. Those who desires to have son, will get son. In
Mahaganpati’s temple, there is sanctum of Lord Shivshankar towards
right. In the right hand corner of the sanctum, padukas of great Ganesh
devotees late Shri Vengaonkar Joshi are consecrated. Devotes should
take darshan of these padukas. Since Mahaganapatis idol was worshipped
properly & scientifically by sages in ancient times, today also idol
looks alive. Ther is a temple of Vithoba - Rukmini near Mahaganpati’s
temple. One iron tube is sent out of sanctum of this temple. It is
said that sound of Bhajans (holy songs in praise of God) going on
in the temple of Pandharpur can be heard from this tube. You can also
visit nearly places like satis memorial, jaypal maharaj’s Samadhi,
shiv temple in vasundry village. Lodging & boarding arrangements are
availabe with ancestral poojary Shri Govindrao Joshi. Private hotels
& lodges are not available in Titwala. Titwala is a third railway
station from Kalyan on Mumbai-Nashik railway line. Titwala, Asangaon,
Kasara locals are available from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus of Mumbai.
FAMOUS GANESH TEMPLES IN INDIA
1) Madhya Pradesh :
a) Bade Ganesh in Indore : Ganesh idol is 12 feet high.
b) Shree Chintamani of Ujjain
c) Dwibhuj Siddhivinayak of Amarkantak
2) Rajasthan :
a) Bali Ganapati : Consecrated by king Bali.
b) On the banks of river Tapi, Lord Shriram had consecrated Ramaji
Ganesh before killing demon Tratika.
3) Uttar Pradesh :
a) Omkar Ganesh (Prayag)
b) Dhundiraj Ganesh in Kashi : This Ganesh is in the temple of Kashivishveshwar.
4) Himachal Pradesh :
a) Shadbhuj Ganesh - Baijanath, Dist:Kangada : Great Saint Dnyaneshwar
while describing Shri Ganesh in his book Dnyaneshwari has given names
of the weapons in the six hands of Shri Ganesh. The same weapons are
found in the hands of this Shadbhuj (six hands) Shri Ganesh.
b) Ice idol of Bal Ganesh in Amarnath Gumpha.
c) Shri Ganesh in Ganesh Gumpha where Ganesh had pendown the Mahabharat.
5) West Bengal :
a) Ashtabhuja Ganesh in village Vadanagar on the banks of river Hubli.
6) Bihar :
a) Ganesh temples are situated in Rajgriha, Mountain Mandar, Ramgad
etc.
7) Orissa :
a) Ajanatha Ganesh in Jagannatha Temple of Puri.
b) Ganesh caves in Ganesh gumpha of Khandagiri.
8) Andhra Pradesh : Various Ganesh temples are situated in
Bhadrachalam, Vijayawada, Kalahasti etc.
9) Kerala :
a) King Dharmagupta of Trigart consecrated Ganesh idol in Shreemadnant
temple. King of Mysore Tipu Sultan came her to destroy the temple.
His mind was changed after dinking the water from the well in the
temple. Tipu Sultan then gave gifts & annuities to temple.
b) Shree Ganesh of Madhupur : he likes famous sweet Udupa.
10) Karnataka:
a) Vighnantak Vinayak, Hampi : Idol is not elephant headed instead
it is man headed. Vighnantak Vinayak killed demon Gajmumukhasur.
b) Kaudinya Mahaganapti of Kurdamale in Kolar district : Idol of Mahaganapati
is 9 feet high & is made of green marble.
c) Gokarna Mahabaleshwar : Here Shree Ganesh is in the guise of young
Brahmin with two hands. This Ganesh is Worshipped before worshiping
gokarna Mahabaleshwar. This Ganesh in the guise of young Brahmin saved
Lord Shankara’s Lingam from the hands of demon Ravana. Ravana had
hited this Ganesha & the mark is till present on the idol.
11) Tamilnadu :
a) Kurumbithar Vinayak of Kumbhakonam : This Vinayak is also called
as Sudha Ganesh. At the time of Amrut Manthan when Amrut (heavenly
necter) was not coming out of the sea, Gods consecrated Ganesh idol
here at Kumbhakonam & worshipped him & prayed for their success. Ganesh
was pleased & gods got the Amrut from the sea.
12) Gujrat :
a) Bhadraganesh : Temple of Ahmedabad is from Peshwa time.
b) Siddhanath temple of Baroda & Revati Ganesh temple on Girnar mountain
are very famous.
c) Sisodra Village of Navsari district has a Banyan tree with Ganesh
idol in it. It is said that this Ganesh idol appeared in this banyan
tree nearly four hundred years ago.
d) Durgakut Ganesh near Sorati Somnath.
FAMOUS GANESH TEMPLES & IDOLS ABROAD
In abroad Ganeshji is recognised by different names. In Nepal, he
is called as Suryaganapti, Mahapini in Burma, Dhotakar in Mangollia,
Sokaprak in Tibet, Prahakness in Kambodia. In Japan Ganapati is called
as Vinayaksha & Kalantak on Java island. In Japan Ganesh Temples are
called as Kangiten. It is said that Emperor Ashok’s daughter Charumati
constructed a Ganesh Temple in Nepal. In Nepal Herambh Ganesh with
ten hands & five heads is very popular. There is big Suryavinayak
Temple in Bhalgaon district near Kathmandu. Suryavinayak with one
head & four hands is sitting on two rats. The bronze idol of Ganesh
in Kambodia belongs to 13th century. The idol has broken elephant
tusk in right hand & one holy book in left hand. However, the crown
is of typical Kambodian style. Ganapati is Java is known as ‘Boro’s
Ganesh’. Head of this Ganesh is very big & he is eating prasad with
his trunk. Speciality of the idol is that soles of feet are attached
to each other. Stone idol of Ganesh is found on Bali island. Here
Ganapati is called as Fire God. Idol is sitting on throne of flames
& has a mashal (Burning Stick) in right hand & bowl in left hand.
In Vietnam, ancient sayami book has been found. It has 6 photoscapes
of Ganapati. It also has photo of Ganapati standing on Tortoise. Ganesh
idol in Bornea has four arms & has matted hair like Lord Shivshankar.
While excavating in Luristhan in Iran (i.e. Persia) Ganesh idol was
found carrying a sword in his hand. This idol is now kept in national
Museum of Paris. It is said that the idol might be 1200 years ago.
This warrior Ganesh possess snake in his left hand & a divine tridend
in right hand. The speciality of this idol is that Ganesha has beard.
In Afganisthan Ganesh idol in the form of ‘Alidharuna’ has been found.
People of Kabul worship this Ganesh. From the statement carved on
the base of the idol, it appears that this idol belongs of 6th century.
Mexican people in south American still worship elephant headed God.
Ganesh idol found in Kopan’s temple is recognised as God of rain.
It has two light lines in its both hands which symbolises lighteneing.
Greece mythology also mentions presence of God of wisdom known as
“Janus”. The idol of Janus is elephant headed 7 has two trunks. Janus
is worshipped before starting any new work. We, Indians also worship
Ganesh before Starting any new work & call him God of wisdom. As such
there is very much similarity between Ganesh & Janus. In Sri Lanka,
at a distance of 200 kms. From Columbo, Ganesh idol is found in Subramaniyam
Temple of Kadargam. Today also Shri Ganesh is worshipped according
to vedic system. There is a big Ganesh Temple in Noshiville city of
U. S. A. This is the story of Ganapati’s all over the world. |
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