Ashtavinayak Names, Temple Details, Story and Origin, Photos Hindu Gods



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 son later prayed to Ganesha in Bhadrakavana to absolve him of the sins. His prayers were granted by Varadavinayak of Bhadrakavana. Ashtavinayak Temples located in Maharashtra are dedicated to Lord Ganesha which is visited and revered by thousands of devotees. There are certain sacred trees in the temple premises, like Shami, Mandar and Tarati trees. Out of these the Shami tree is significant as it is referred to in the legend of Moraya Gosavi, a sage who did penance under his tree and Lord Ganesha gave him a glimpse.

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.

He is also called theVighnahartaor the one who removes obstacles and disruptions. This is the reason why Hindus first remember God Ganesha before beginning any of the important tasks. And a small prayer is made to Ganesha to take care of obstacles and disruptions.

Nodding His head Shri Ganesha made his permanent stay at Pali as Ballal Vinayak and disappeared in a large stone. Behind this temple is the temple of Shri Dhundi-Vinayak which is West facing. The story says that this idol was the same one which was thrown by Ballala's father (Kalyani-seth) while Ballala was worshipping it.

It is believed that Parvati, Lord Shiva's consort, performed penance at this very spot, in order to beget Ganesha as her child. Hence, the name of the temple came to be Girijatmat (Girija's son). Most interestingly, this temple is situated amidst a cave complex of 18 caves of Buddhist origin. This Buddhistvihara is alternatively called Ganesh-Leni and Lenyadri.

At this temple, I saw a caterpillar for the first time in my life. It had small wings which were just coming out of the cocoon. In short, the caterpillar was in the process of becoming a butterfly. My first reaction when I saw it was that it’s going to die soon, and it ashtavinayak darshan looks so ugly. But later when I thought about it then I realised it’s actually all set to be a beautiful butterfly.

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