How Can I Go To Ashtavinayak Darshan From Nashik?

Bhallal was a very ardent devotee of Lord Ganesh and his father Kalyansheth wanted to put a stop to it. One day, a very angry kalyasheth tied his son to the tree and told him to free himself with the help of lord Ganesha. The lord, after hearing the plea of his devotee came down in the form of a Brahmin and freed Bhallal. On Bhallal’s request, a temple with the deity was built on the spot. This is worth noting because this is the only temple in this circuit that is named after a devotee of his. Siddhivinayak Temple of Siddhatek is one of the Ashtavinayaka and the only Ashtavinayaka shrine in Ahmednagar district.

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.

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.

He is also called theVighnahartaor the one who removes obstacles and disruptions. This is the reason why Hindus first remember God Ganesha before beginning any of the important tasks. And a small prayer is made to Ganesha to take care of obstacles and disruptions.

Nodding His head Shri Ganesha made his permanent stay at Pali as Ballal Vinayak and disappeared in a large stone. Behind this temple is the temple of Shri Dhundi-Vinayak which is West facing. The story says that this idol was the same ashtavinayak mandir one which was thrown by Ballala's father (Kalyani-seth) while Ballala was worshipping it.

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