Moreshwar temple travel guide

Come to the state of Maharashtra in India and visit the district of Pune and get enchanted by the calm ambience of the Moreshwar temple. Also known as Mayureshwar temple this lies along the River Karha in the village of Moregaon. The presiding deity is the Mayureshwar idol which lies in the main sanctum or the garbagriha . Only the head priest is allowed to enter this area.

The deity has three eyes, and is seated and the specialty is that the trunk is turned towards the left. There are invaluable diamonds in the navel and the eyes of the deity and the whole sight is very enchanting and mesmerizing. There are the idols of Siddhi and Buddhi on either side of the deity. These are made of brass and they are the consorts of Lord Ganesh. There is a peacock and a mouse in front of the deity. The actual idol is much smaller in size but the fact that devotees have put a lot of sindoor on it has made the idol seem bigger than it looks. It is said that the sindoor layers are around 100 or 150 years old.

Legend has it that Lord Brahma predicted that Lord Ganesha would take another incarnation as Vinayak n the Kritayug, as Gajanan in the Dwaparyug , as Mayureshwar in the Treta yug and as Dhumraketu in the Kalyug. These incarnations have a lot of relation to all the legends of Lord Ganesha.

The story of Moreshwar goes down to the ages when there was a King called Chakrapani who ruled over Mithila. After being childless for many years they invoked the blessings of Lord and the queen got pregnant. Unable to bear the brilliance exuded by the Surya blessed embryo, the queen let it out in the sea. The sea gave birth to the child and disguised as a Brahmin went to King Chakrapani and gave it to him. The child was named Sindhu as it was born in the sea. Sindhu received immortality with the blessings of Lord Surya. Sindhu misused this by attacking all the Gods. The Gods thus requested Lord Ganesh to help them. Ganesha took birth as Parvati’s son to kill this demon king Sindhu.

Goddess Parvati recited the Om mantra and pleased the Lord and created a clay statue of Lord Ganesha. This idol took the form of a child which was Lord Ganesh. When he turned 10 years of age, Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva decided to go to Mount Kailash from Mt. Meru. On the way, Lord Ganesha killed a demon Kamalasura. He also attacked Sindhu and killed him and asked him to release the Gods held captive. Lord Ganesha rode a peacock during this fight and got the name Mayureshwar or the one who rides a peacock. Mayureshwar decided to live in Morgaon so that he could be closer to devotees.

There are a lot of festivals that are celebrated in Moreshwar temple. The Dassera celebrations are held with lot of pomp and glory. There is a palanquin or a palkhi on which the deity is brought. The names of all the important families are read out. Then the deity is brought back to the temple.

The Anna Santarpana is celebrated on the day of Magh Shudh Panchami. On this day, food is collected from all houses and offerings are prepared. Then the Prasad is distributed amongst all the devotees.