Ashtavinayak Ashtavinayak Yatra

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 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.

The village Morgaon also gets the name from the large population of peacocks that used to live around this region. These were made to make it look like a mosque from a distance, to avoid constant attacks on the temple. This is the most important temple in all the Ashtavinayak temples.

The temples visited in descending order are Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Thevur, Lenyandri, Ozar, Ranjangaon. The pilgrimage is concluded with a second visit to Moregaon. The legend revolves around a special Gem called Chintamani. The sage Kapila had this Gem in his possession which has the capacity to grant one’s wishes.

The idol faces the east, is seated in a cross-legged position with a broad forehead, with its trunk pointing to the left. Ranjangaon Ganpati is one among the Ashtavinayak, celebrating eight instances of legends related to Ganesha. This Temple Ganpati Idol was inaugurated and donated by "Khollam" family one of the Gold Smith family in Ranjangaon.

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 ashtavinayak temple 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 looks so ugly. But later when I thought about it then I realised it’s actually all set to be a beautiful butterfly.