The Ashta Vinayak Sri Ganesha images are courtesy:
https://mahatourism.in/destination/Ashtavinayak/ashtavinayak.html
A PILGRIMAGE BEYOND COMPARE!
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| Ashta Vinayak Glory |
Our Ashta Vinayak pilgrimage was a 2-day,
one night journey. Braving the wintry chill, we set off at 7 a.m. by
bus. The first stop was at Morgaon, for darshan of the Lord
Mayureshwar, as Lord Ganpati is known here. The idol has the Naga Raja’s
hood on its head. It is believed that Lord Brahma had constructed this
temple. Legend says that Lord Ganesh, as Mayureshwar (Moresh) or the
peacock-rider, vanquished the asura Sindhu, after entreaties by all the
Gods. The temple’s Mughal architecture is distinct. A Nandi sitting in
front of the temple’s entrance is unique, as this is found only in front
of Lord Shiva’s temples.
We had a plate of hot vegetable pohe and tea for breakfast and then
set off for Siddhivinayak darshan at Siddhatek, near Daund. God Vishnu
supposedly vanquished the asuras Madhu and Kaitabh after propitiating
Ganesha here. This Ganapati has his trunk pointing towards the right,
hence is known as Siddhivinayak. Devotees can complete the 5 kms.
Pradakshina, only by circumambulating the hill.
When
we had earlier visited this temple, we had crossed the swollen Bhima
river in a row-boat. But now a bridge over the river has made it
possible for the bus to directly reach near the temple and cut down the
journey time.
Our co-passengers broke juicy, sour
tamarinds from the trees and distributed them. After a delicious buffet
lunch at a restaurant there, we proceeded further to Theur.
The
Chintamani Ganapati of Theur is believed to relieve all the devotees
from their worries. The wooden temple has a small stone fountain inside
it. A huge paved courtyard, an enormous bell and a Shiva temple, are
the other attractions here. It is believed that the Lord retrieved the
precious Chintamani jewel from Guna, for Sage Kapila, here. In return,
the Sage garlanded him with the jewel and named him as Chintamani
Vinayak.
The last Ganapati darshan for that day was of
the huge Ranjangaon Ganapati known as Maha Ganapati. This Ganapati had
aided Lord Shiva in fighting the demon Tripurasura. This idol is
believed to have 10 hands and 20 trunks. The sun’s rays fall directly on
the idol, at a particular time of the day.
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| The awesome entrance arch of Ranjangaon Temple |
Security
being strict, none of the pilgrims was allowed to carry anything inside
the temple. Hence we visited the temple by turns.
Then
we went to Lenyadri, watching the movie “Oh My God” enroute; again had a
sumptuous buffet dinner and spent the night at the Lenyadri Ganapati
Devasthan Trust’s lodgings. The room was very neat, with clean
bed-sheets, pillows and blankets. The attached toilet - cum- bathroom
was also spic and span.
Next morning at 5.30 a.m., we
had tea and started climbing the steep 283 steps to the Lenyadri, the
3rd century, Buddhist-cave shrine of Girijatmaja Ganapati. The idol is
carved on the stone wall of the cave and faces eastward, with its trunk
turned to the left, with Lord Shiva and Hanuman on either side. Legend
has it that Goddess Parvati created her son Ganapati by bringing a mud
idol to life there. Lord Ganapati had supposedly spent his childhood
days there.
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| The steep climb to the cave-shrine at Lenyadri |
We saw the glorious sunrise with a
panoramic view of the surroundings from the temple’s precincts. We
participated in the 7 a.m. aarti, clicked photos of the 6 stone pillars,
with carvings of cows, elephants, etc. and started descending.
A
huge horde of monkeys was making its presence felt there. One huge
monkey leapt at me and vigorously tugged my carry-bag, denting it. As
my husband shooed it off, it retreated reluctantly. A baby monkey
clambered on to a man’s back and sat cutely on his head. That man
didn’t seem to mind it! We warily descended the hill.
We had a
breakfast of piping hot upma and tea at the same restaurant where we had
had dinner, shopped for collectibles and resumed our pilgrimage to
Ozhar.
The Vighnaharta/Vigneshwara Ganapati of Ozhar
relieves one of all the obstacles in one’s life. Lord Ganesha killed a
demon named Vighnasur, hence the name. The idol has gems for its eyes,
on its forehead and in its navel. Brass statues of His divine consorts
Riddhi and Siddhi flank the idol. The temple, with its gold dome, twin
deepastambhs (stone pillars for holding oil lamps) and two life-sized,
stone-carved, dwarapalas (guards); is awesome.
Behind
the temple, was a huge lake. It appeared misty and tranquil. As there
wasn’t any time for boating, we started for Mahad.
Mahad,
is very far, about 200 kms. from Ozhar. It was a 4- hour journey to
this place in Raigad district. En route, we saw fresh sugarcane crop
being harvested and ferried for crushing by trucks, tractors and
bullock-carts. The cleaner of our bus adeptly pulled some sugar-cane
from the passing vehicles and gave them to some passengers (who had
strong teeth!).
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| The magnificent entrance to Ozar temple |
We passed by horticulture farms. The
farmers were busy in their fields as we feasted our eyes on the lush
greenery all around. Nature was kind to this part of the state, it
seemed, as abundant water was visible in the water-bodies there.
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| The serene lake behind Ozar temple |
The
elongated idol of Varada Vinayak at Mahad is benign and this is the
only Ganapati in this yatra that can be touched by the pilgrims. We can
personally offer garlands and flowers here. This idol is swayambhu and
had emerged from a pond behind the temple.
Then it was
time for the last of the Ashta Vinayaks, the Ballaleshwar temple at
Pali. This is the only Ashta Vinayak Ganapati named after an ardent
devotee of the Lord. The idol in this temple is attired in traditional
clothes, as he appeared to Ballal, in the form of a Brahmin. The prasad
offered here is besan laddu, instead of the customary modak. The
Dhundivinayak Ganapati must be visited before the Ballaleshwar Ganapati,
as per tradition.
A refreshing glass of kokam sarbat was served to us instead of tea.Then we returned to Pune at 7.30 p.m.
We had already vowed to return for the pilgrimage at the earliest; as the pilgrimage had satiated our souls.
The copyright of this travelogue and photographs (apart from the first one), are with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.
This travelogue has been published in the Sakal Times' Spice edition dated 28th June, 2015.
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