Ashtavinayaka
The Ashtavinayaka Yatra refers to a pilgrimage to the eight Hindu temples in the state of Maharashtra, India, centered around the city of Pune.
The eight temples house eight distinct idols of Ganesha, the Hindu deity of unity, prosperity, learning, and removing obstacles.
[1] The Ashtavinayaka Yatra is a pilgrimage covering these eight holy abodes of Ganesha in and around Pune and Raigad districts of Maharashtra.
The temples should be visited in this order Moregaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyandri, Ozar, Ranjangaon.
The murti of Ganesha, riding a peacock, in the form of Mayureshwara is believed to have slain the demon Sindhu at this spot.
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 worshipped.
[citation needed] According to regional legend, Vishnu is believed to have vanquished the asuras Madhu and Kaitabha after propitiating Ganesha here.
The main road towards the temple was believed to be built by Peshwa's general Haripant Phadake.
Haripant promised the God that he will bring the stones of the castle which he will win from the first war he will fight as the general.
Ganesha is believed to have saved this boy-devotee, Ballala, who was beaten by local villagers and his father (Kalyani-seth) for his single-minded devotion to him.
The legendary story of Ballaleshwar is covered in Upasana Khand Section -22 occurred in Pali – the old name Pallipur.
Immediately he reached the place of worship in the forest and devastated Pooja arrangements organized by Ballal and his friends.
Ballal semiconscious and tied to the tree in the forest was lying as that with severe pain all over, started calling his beloved God, Ganesha.
"O Lord, Ganesha, I was busy in praying you, I was right and humble but my cruel father has spoiled my act of devotion and hence I am unable to perform Pooja."
Nodding His head Ganesha made his permanent stay at Pali as Ballal Vinayak and disappeared in a large stone.
In the above-mentioned story the stone idol which Ballal used to worship and which was thrown away by Kalyan Sheth is known as Dhundi Vinayak.
From ancient time, it is a practice to take darshan of Dhundi Vinayak before proceeding to main idol Shree Ballaleshwar.
The handsome Prince Rukmangad refused sage Vachaknavi's wife Mukunda's illicit call, and was cursed to suffer from leprosy.
The idol faces the east, has its trunk to the left and has been in the constant company of an oil lamp - said to be burning continuously since 1892.
The temple is located three kilometers off the Mumbai-Pune highway near Khopoli (80 km from Pune), and is thus closest to Mumbai city.
Ganesha is believed to have got back the precious Chinatamani jewel from the greedy Guna for sage Kapila at this spot.
The main temple is supposed to have been built by Dharanidhar Maharaj Dev from the family-lineage of Shri Moraya Gosavi.
However, the demon went a step further and destroyed all vedic, religious acts and to answer the people's prayers for protection, Ganesha defeated him.
The temple top is Golden and is possibly built by Chimaji Appa after defeating the Portuguese rulers of Vasai and Sashti.
The temple was built by Shiva where he worshipped Ganesha, and the town he set up was called Manipur which is now known as Ranjangaon.
The idol faces the east, is seated in a cross-legged position with a broad forehead, with its trunk pointing to the left.
Legend has it that when a sage had once sneezed he gave out a child; since being with the sage the child learnt many good stuff about lord Ganesha, however had inherited many evil thoughts within; when he grew he developed in to a demon by name Tripurasura; thereafter he prayed to Lord Shiva and got three powerful citadels (the evil Tripuram forts) of gold, silver and bronze with a boon of invincibility until all the three are in linear; with the boon to his side he caused suffering to all beings in the heavens and on earth.
It was upon hearing Narada Muni's advice that Shiva saluted Ganesha and then shot a single arrow that pierced through the citadels, bringing an end to the demon.
Upon realizing his act of omission, Shiva saluted his son Ganesha, and then proceeded victoriously to a short battle against the powerful demon.
(The Tamil lines of 15th century saint poet Arunagirinathar: 'Muppuram eri seida, Acchivan urai ratham, acchadu podi seida athi deera' where he describes Ganesha as the valiant hero, who caused the axle of Shiva's chariot to crumble to dust, as Shiva headed out to destroy Tripurasura, narrate this legend.)
