Ashtavinayak Yatra Marg
The Dhundi Vinayak Temple is situated behind the main temple. The idol in this temple is believed to be swayambhu. The musical Ganesha bhajan, "Sukhkarta Dukhharta Varta Vignachi" is chanted by hundreds of followers, isn't it?
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.
In Hindu faith, even if you see the top of the temple called ‘Kalas’ in Marathi or the Steeple of the temple, it is equivalent to visiting and paying respects to God. So, if you see my pictures below, it is like you have virtually visited all the temples. The temple is located in the town of Pali, off the Mumbai-Pune highway, about 11 km before Nagothane on the Mumbai-Goa highway. This is located 30 km to the South-West of Karjat Railway Station. Legend has it that a demon by name Tripurasura,caused suffering to all beings in the heaven and on earth. On hearing the pleas of the Gods, Shiva intervened but he realized that he could not defeat the demon.
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.
After completing their worship, he and his friends would return home late in the evenings. As the name suggests, Lord Moreshwar portrays Ganesha riding a peacock('Mor' or 'Mayur' means peacock). Lord Mayureshwar is believed to have killed the demon Sindhu at this very spot. The idol has its trunk turned to the left, with the Nagaraja poised over it, protecting it. This form of Ganesha has his wives Riddhi and Siddhi accompanying him. Actually, Riddhi and Siddhi are the qualities of Capability and Intelligence.
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 looks so ugly. ashtavinayak ashtavinayak yatra But later when I thought about it then I realised it’s actually all set to be a beautiful butterfly.