Morgaon (Ashtavinayaka)
This temple is amongst the eight Ashtavinyakas in Maharashtra and holds a lot of importance. The Morgaon Moreshwar temple is the starting and ending point of the Ashtavinayak yatra. This temple is of primary importance to those belonging to the Ganapataya sect. The temple is beautiful and offers great peace to the pilgrims. The image of Ganesha provides tranquility to the mind & it’s a must for a nice spiritual experience. A beautiful temple with stunning architecture, it’s a must visit if you are a worshipper of Lord Ganesha to seek his blessings. Ganesh Puran says that there are the three most important places for Ganesha and the only one on earth is Moregaon. One legendary story is this place was full of peacocks, in Marathi language peacock means More (मोर) so it is called Morgaon.
According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha is incarnated as Mayuresvara , who has six arms and a white complexion. His mount is a peacock. He was born to Shiv and Parvati in the Treta Yug for the purpose of killing the demon Sindhu , who was giving sufferings to sages while performing Yadnya and other holy work. There are various legendary stories regarding Moreshwar. Sindhu, granted the boon of an ever-full bowl of amrita (अमृत) by the Sun-god, became a formidable threat to the three worlds. The gods sought Ganesha’s help to defeat Sindhu. Ganesha engaged in battle, defeated Sindhu’s army, and ultimately killed Sindhu by cutting open his body and emptying the amrita bowl. At the end of this incarnation, Ganesha returned to his celestial abode, and his peacock mount was given to his elder brother Skanda (Kartikeya). This connection with the peacock earned Ganesha the names Mayureshwar or Moreshwar (“Lord of the peacock”). The village where this incarnation took place is named Morgaon, which means “Village of peacocks.”
This temple has surrounded with tall stone boundaries wall and having Minars at 4 corners. There are 4 gates in cardinal direction with an image of Ganesha, each gate depicting him in the form that he appeared in each of the four Yugas. There are 2 Deepmala , sculpted 6 ft. mouse, Nagarkhana, Huge Nandi facing the Lord, just outside the temple gates. Moreshwar’s eyes and naval is diamond studded.
Here daily Ganesh is worshipped Trikal ie. at 7.00 am., 12 pm and 8 pm. There are festivals on Maghi Chaturthi, Bhadrapad Chaturthi this celebration last for Ashwin Shukla Chaturthi, there is fair on Vijayadashami, Krushna Chaturthi and Somvati Amavasya.
How to reach here:
Chaufula is located around 55km from Pune on the Pune-Solapur highway and from Chaufula to Morgaon is 23 km. . Board a Solapur bound Maharashtra State Transport from the Swargate depot in Pune to reach there. There are also private buses and taxis also. Morgaon is close from Pune.
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