Ashtavinayak Darshan Package

Bhallal was a very ardent devotee of Lord Ganesh and his father Kalyansheth wanted to put a stop to it. One day, a very angry kalyasheth tied his son to the tree and told him to free himself with the help of lord Ganesha. The lord, after hearing the plea of his devotee came down in the form of a Brahmin and freed Bhallal. On Bhallal’s request, a temple with the deity was built on the spot. This is worth noting because this is the only temple in this circuit that is named after a devotee of his. Siddhivinayak Temple of Siddhatek is one of the Ashtavinayaka and the only Ashtavinayaka shrine in Ahmednagar district.

The temple is located on the northern bank of the river Bhima on a hillock, surrounded by thick foliage of Babul trees. The idol faces north with its trunk to the left, and has to be worshipped from the rear of the temple. This idol seems little different from the rest of the Ashtavinayak idols in a sense that it appears to be poorly designed or carved like the other idols.

Incidentally, the Chintamani Vinayak was supposed to be the family deityof Shrimant Madhavrao I Peshwa. In the above-mentioned legend, the stone idol that Ballal's father threw away is known as Dhundi Vinayak. The birth celebration of Dhundi Vinayak takes place from Jyeshtha Pratipada to Panchami.

The idol of Ganesha was found in the lake, which is located right next to the temple. There is an oil lamp inside this temple which is alight continuously from 1892. There’s another reason why this temple is popular among couples. It is a common belief that eating the coconut prasad from this temple on a Maghi Chaturthi, will bless couples with a son. The deity is seated and flanked on both sides by Riddhi and Siddhi. There is a local belief that the real statue of Mahaganpati is hidden in some vault and this statue has ten trunks and twenty arms.

However, the demon went a step further and destroyed all vedic, religious acts and to answer the people's prayers for protection, Ganesh defeated him. In return the demon asked a favour that his name should be taken before Ganesha's name, thus the name of Ganesha became Vighnahar or Vighneshwar . Peshwa general Haripant Phadake lost his General's position and did 21 Pradakshina around the temple.

It also has rubies embedded in its eyes, a diamond on the forehead and some jewel in the navel as well. Riddhi and Siddhi are shown seated on either side of the murti. He is ashtavinayak ashtavinayak yatra said to have constructed it about a century or so before Senior Shrimant Madhavrao Peshwa built the outer hall.

Must visit Ganesha Temples in MaharashtraThe Lenyadri village is located in Junnar Taluka of Pune district on the bank of river Kukadi. While there is no specific route in which the Ashtavinayak yatra is performed, a particular order is popular among pilgrims.