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.