The Karpaka Vinayakar Temple, Thiruppatthur

The Pillaiyarpatti Pillaiyar temple, also known as Arulmigu Karpaka Vinayakar Kovil is an ancient rock-cut cave shrine located at Thiruppatthur in Sivaganga district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to Lord Ganesha known as Karpaka Vinayakar or Desi Vinayaka Pillaiyar, and he is the presiding deity of the temple; but in the temple rock cut images of Lord Shiva as well as other gods and several other shrines are also present.

According to the Agama texts found on stones in the temple, its construction dates between the years 1091 and 1238 and is estimated to be aged around 2500 years old. It is the only temple in Tamil Nadu, which contains a 6 feet rock-cut Pillaiyar deity. The early Great Pandya kings built the temple in a cave of Pillaiyarpatti Hillock. The image of Pillaiyarpatti Pillaiyar and that of a Shiva Lingam were carved out of a stone located in a cave where the temple is situated by a sculptor named Ekkattur Koon. There are 14 other stone sculptures in the cave and these stone sculptures state the ancient names of Pillaiyarpatti such as Ekkattoor, Thiruveenkaikkudi, Maruthangudi, and Rajanarayanapuram.

The 6-feet idol of Lord Pillaiyar is carved on a stone in the Vinayakar sannidhi, which is a cave. The inner sanctum is well illuminated with oil lamps and the whole idol is covered with gold. The Thumbikai (trunk) of Lord Pillaiyar is curled towards his right side and hence the idol is also known as Valampuri Pillaiyar. And the Lord is seated facing the northern side. There are other deities also present in this temple such as goddess Karthiyayini, Nagalingam, Pasupatheeswarar, and like all Shaivite temples, it also has Lord Shiva as its presiding deity known as Lord Arjunapureeswarar.

People from all over the state come to the temple for the worship of Pillaiyar, the Lord of Wisdom. The devotees who observe the Chathurthi Fast for a year come to Pillaiyarpatti on Avani Sukkilaptcha Chathurthi day. The Ganesh Chathurthi / Vinayaka Chathurthi festival, is celebrated for 10 days in a grand manner every year during the months of August and September here. During that time, great numbers of pilgrims gather to worship Lord Pillaiyar here.

For more information on various Ganesh Temples, visit Ishtadevata.

The Dashabhuja Ganesha Temple, Pune

The Dashabhuja Ganesha Temple is located in Pune, Maharashtra and it is one of the most important worship places for Lord Ganapati devotees in the city. It is situated on Karve Road and is barely 5 minutes away from the famous Mrutyunjayeshwar Temple, which is a holy shrine of Lord Shiva.

The period or era of construction of the temple is unknown but according to various references the temple had belonged to Sardar Haripant Phadke along with the Mrutyunjayeshwar Temple, a nobleman in the court of the Maratha Peshwas, and he later donated the temple to the Peshwas as a part of dowry. The temple is one of the five temples maintained by the Shri Devdeveshwar Sansthan, other being Parvati and Kothrud Pune, Sarasbaug Ganesh Temple, Parvati Temple, Mrutyunjayeshwar Temple and the Ramana Temple.

‘Dahsa’ is a Sanskrit word, which means ‘ten’ in English, and ‘Bhuja’ is the Sanskrit equivalent for ‘arms’. The idol of Ganesh here has ten arms and hence the temple is known as Dashabhuja Ganesha Temple.

As one enters the temple one can feel he divine presence of Lord in the surroundings along with peace and serenity. The Shikara of the temple is a beautiful display of artwork. The main attraction in the temple is the beautiful idol of Lord Ganesha in the sanctum of the temple. It has been beautifully crafted out on the stone of the main arch. It is in chrome colour and is an exquisite piece of artisanship. The trunk of the Lord in the idol is towards right and it is considered to be very sacred sign among his devotees. Goddess Riddhi is sitting on the lap of Lord and is beautifully carved out in stone along with the idol of Lord. There is a small temple of Lord Hanuman on the left side, just outside the Dashabhuja Ganesha Temple. The devotees offer garlands and oil to the idol of Lord Hanuman on every Tuesday and Saturday.

Every year on Ganesh Chaturthi, thousands of devotees come here to worship and pray to Lord Ganesha and participate in the aarti and celebrations. Lord Dashabhuja Ganesha has always occupied an important place in the hearts of thousands of devotees of Lord Ganapati and he continues to be the source of inspiration and spiritual exaltation for many.

For more information on various Ganesh Temples, visit Ishtadevata.

The Siddhivinayak Mahaganapati Temple, Titwala

The Siddhivinayaka Mahaganapati Temple is a Hindu temple located in Titwala in Maharashtra, a small town in Kalyan in the Thane district. The temple is dedicated to Lord Ganesha, the Hindu god of wisdom. Titwala is believed to be the putative site of the hermitage of sage Kanva, foster parent of Shakuntala who was born here. It is believed that the temple was created by Shakuntala on the directive of sage Kanva in the ancient times, and it was recently renovated in the years 1965-66. The temple is also known as Titwaleshwar Ganapati is built in north Indian Architectural style and there is a legend surrounding it that separated married couples could be united and marriages of desired people could be fixed easily if the Ganesha image installed in the temple is worshipped with devotion, and hence it is frequented by a very large number of devotees throughout the year.

According to a legend, this village was part of Dandakaranya forest where the Katkari tribe lived. Sage Kanva, the author of several hymns of the scripture Rigveda and one of the Angirasas, had his hermitage here. He had adopted Shakuntala, who was abandoned by her parents, sage Vishwamitra and Menaka, immediately after birth. Once when King Dushyanta was passing through the forests met Shakuntala; they fell in love with each other and got in the hermitage. Since Dushyanta had to leave after some time due to unrest in his capital city, he gave Shakuntala a ring as a sign of their love, promising her that he would return for her. But son after he left, when sage Durvasa was visiting the hermitage felt offended by Shakuntala, cursed Shakuntala saying that the person she was loved would forget about her altogether and when Dushyanta returned as per the curse, he refused to recognize her. Then sage Kanva, realizing the gravity of the issue, directed Shakuntala to build a shrine in honour of god Ganesha as Siddhi Vinayaka. He assured her that by her sincere prayers Siddhi Vinayaka would bless her and she would once again join her husband Dushyanta. This eventually came true after considerable effort and lapse of time, and hence Shakuntala was reunited with her husband Dushyanta.

The original Siddhivinayaka Mahaganapati temple built by Shakuntala was submerged under a tank. Once when the tank was de-silted to provide drinking water to the town, the temple was found buried. The image of god Ganesha was found buried in the silt. Soon thereafter, the renovation of the temple was undertaken and a stone temple was built. In front of the temple, there is an impressive lamp tower and the temple Shikhara is decorated with sculptures of the Ashtavinayaka.

Ganesh Chaturthi or Ganeshotsav, which is the central festival of Ganesha is celebrated with great fervor here. And thousands of devotees visit the temple during this period.  

For more information on various Ganesh Temples, visit Ishtadevata.

Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Mandir, Mumbai

The Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Mandir is a Hindu temple located in Prabhadevi in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was built by Laxman Vithu and Deubai Patil on November 19, 1801. It is one of the richest temples in Mumbai. The temple is dedicated to Lord Ganesh who is known as Siddhivinayak here and is popular among the devotees as "Navasacha Ganapati" or "Navasala Pavanara Ganapati" in Marathi, and when translated to English it means 'Ganapati bestows whenever humbly genuinely prayed a wish'. 

The temple was built by Deaubai, who herself was childless, so that the Lord should grant children to other barren women. Then in the temple premises Ramakrishna Jambhekar Maharaj, a disciple of the Hindu saint Akkalkot Swami Samarth, buried two divine idols in the front of the presiding deity of the temple on the orders on his guru. As prophesied by Swami Samarth, after 21 years after the burial of the icons, a Mandar tree grew at that spot with a Svayambhu Ganesh in its branches. Then around 1952, a shrine for Lord Hanuman was also added to the temple complex and an idol of Lord Hanuman was installed which was found near Elphinstone Road during a road extension project.

Originally the temple structure was a small brick construction with a dome-shaped brick sikhara. But now the temple has a small mandapam (hall) with the shrine of Lord Siddhivinayak. The wooden doors to the sanctum are carved with images of the eight manifestations of Lord Ganesh. The inner roof of the sanctum where the idol of Lord Ganesh is placed is plated with gold. The Hanuman temple is located in the periphery of the central sanctum.

The Siddhivinayak Mandir evolved from a small, tiny place of worship to the grand temple that stands today. The fame of the temple spread significantly by the 1950s and a large number of devotees began visiting. But after 1975, the number of devotees increased dramatically and the temple continues to be very popular among the devotees to date. The Siddhivinayak temple receives donations of around ₹100 million – ₹150 million every year, which makes it Mumbai city's richest temple trust. A lot of politicians and Bollywood actors are known to visit the Siddhivinayak temple frequently.

For more information on various Ganesh Temples, visit Ishtadevata.

The Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple, Chittoor

Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple or Sri Varasidhi Vinayaka Swamy Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha. It was constructed in the early 11th century by the Chola King Kulothunga Chola I and was expanded further in 1336 by the Emperors of Vijayanagara dynasty and is located in Kanipakam in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.

According to a legend, the ‘swayambhu’ (self-manifested) idol of the temple was found in a well by three brothers who were digging up a dried up well. The brothers each had a deformity; one was deaf, another dumb, and the last one was blind.  While they were digging up the well, they suddenly saw blood coming out of earth and within a few moments the entire well was full was full of blood. And soon after the brother become normal and got rid of their deformities. Hearing of this divine miracle when the villagers went to the well, an idol of Lord Vinayaka emerged from the blood red waters of the well. Then the villagers offered a large number of coconuts to the deity and offered prayers before him. The waters of the coconuts started flowing in a channel from the well and created perennial springs, hence imparting the word ”KANIPAKAM” to the name of the temple. Even today the idol has been preserved in the well and is worshipped by a large number of devotees. The holy water from the well is offered to the devotees as theertham or prasadam.

A strange but interesting feature of the idol of Lord Vinayaka is that it has been growing in size ever since it was discovered. Around 50 years ago an ardent devotee of the temple had offered an armour to the Lord but today it is out of size and doesn’t fit the idol anymore.

The swayambhu idol of Kanipakam is widely known as the up-holder of truth. Disputes unresolved between people are resolved by taking a 'special oath' in front of the Lord. The people involved in the dispute take a holy dip in the water tank of the temple and swear before the Lord. There have been instances when the person who committed that sin voluntarily agrees as soon as he takes a dip in the waters or on entering the temple after the dip. It is believed by the devotees that Lord dawns invisibly on the sinner and makes him repent and feel guilty for his sinful deeds. Thus the glory of Sri Vinayaka is spread far and wide and the honorable courts uphold the 'special oath' in their judicial pronouncements.

For more information on various Ganesh Temples, visit Ishtadevata.