Ashtavinayak Yatra

Ashtavinayak literally means "Eight Ganeshas" in Sanskrit. Lord Ganesha is the Hindu deity of prosperity and learning. Ashtavinayak Yatra refers to a pilgrimage to the below eight Hindu temples in Maharashtra (India) that house eight distinct idols of Ganesha, The Ashtavinayak yatra or pilgrimage covers the eight ancient holy temples of Lord Ganesha .Each of these temples has its own individual legend and history, as distinct from each other as the murtis in each temple. The form of each murti of Ganesha and His trunk are distinct from one another.

The Eight Temples Of The Ashtavinayak in their religious sequence are :

1.     The Mayureshwar Temple at Moregaon,Maharastra,India

2.     The Siddhivinayak Temple, Siddhatek, Maharastra ,India

3.     The Ballaleshwar Temple, Pali,Maharastra, India

4.     The Varadavinayak Temple, Mahad, Maharastra,India

5.     The Chintamani Temple, Theur, Maharastra, India

6.     The Girijatmai Temple, Lenyandri, Maharastra ,India

7.     The Vighnahar Temple, Ozar, Maharastra, India

8.     The Mahaganapati Temple, Ranjangaon, India

Some of these murtis are called Swayambhu, or the self-existent in Sanskrit. This is to indicate that no human created these murtis, they were found completely formed by nature.

(The legends of the eight temples to be continued tomorrow onward)