Shree Varadavinayak - Mahad

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Om Shree Ganeshaya Namah...

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Bhaktbhimani Ganaraj Ekam |Kshetre MadhaKhye Vardam Prasanam ||Yastishtati Shree

Varado Ganesham |Vianyakasta Pranamami Bhaktam ||

Meaning

I salute Ganaraj who is the leader of Ganas, who is proud of his devotees & who

abodes at Mahad & has pleasant appearance.

In the temple of Varadvinayak, one Nandadeep(lamp) was lighten for last one

hundred seven years. In the ancient period it was called as Bhadrak. Many sages

were residing over there.

Stories about Shree Varadavinayak

Out of Ashtavinayaka the place of Lord VaradaVinayak is in Mahad in Khalapur

Taluka of Raigad District. Long ago a king called Bhima , ruled over the Earth.

Sage Vishvamitra had given him a one-word mantra (prayer) and by ceaseless

reciteration of the mantra, a son named Rukhamangad was born to him.He was a

very beautiful boy, with a golden luster and an excellent character. Later on,

Rukmanganda went once to the forest for hunting. Getting thirsty and tired, he

went to the nearby hermitage of Rishi Vachaknavi. Seeing the beauty of

Rukhamangad, wife of the sage, Mukunda was attracted towards him and asked him

to fulfil her desire. But the prince had a good morality and he flatly refused.

So she gave a curse to Rukhamangad and his body became ugly due to leprosy. He

lived with his ugly body for many years. Then he met sage Narad, and on his

advise he worshipped Lord Chintamani Ganesha and also took

a bath in the holy Lake in the Kadamba city. Thereby ,Rukhamangad was freed from his curse.

After he left, Mukunda became lovesick.After taking into consideration of

amorous dalliance of Mukunda (wife of sage Vachaknavi) God Indra in disguise of

Rukhamangad satisfied her desire and Mukunda gave birth to a son named

Gritsamada.Later, on knowing the truth, Gritsamada gave a curse to his mother

to become a thorny jujube tree. At the same time, Mukunda cursed the boy that a

cruel rakshas (demon) would be born from him. At this, there was a voice from

the heaven telling that Gritsamada was actually Indra's son. Both mother and

son were shocked to know this. Mukunda was converted to a thorny plant. On the

other hand, Gritsamada, was very ashamed and inorder to become free from the

sins of his mother ,he started penance in the forest called Pushpak. By

standing on the tree and by eating only dried leaves of trees he prayed to Lord

Vinayaka. Lord Vinayaka was pleased with his

worship and asked him for a boon.He told the boy that he would get a brave son

who could not be defeated by anyone else other than Shankara Shiva. Gritsamada

said in return that his only wish is that God should stay in this forest and

make it holy and that Devotees get attainment of their aims on that place. Lord

promised him what he asked and gave Gritsamada ultimate knowledge of the

universe. That auspicious forest is present in Mahad town. Lord Vinayaka is

residing at this place. The forest is called Bhadraka today. Gritsamada built a

temple there and the idol installed there is called Varadavinayaka. It is said

that if the coconut received as prasad during Maghi Chaturthi is consumed, one

will be blessed with a son. Hence, there is heavy rush during Maghi Utsav.

Temple

Located on the Pune-Bombay Highway, the most unique attraction of the temple is

a lamp that has been burning continuously since 1892 AD.

The temple of Lord Varad Vinayak faces towards East. The temple looks like tiled

house from outside. Actually that temple is built up of carved stone and the

fine carving is very beautiful. Elephants were carved on four sides of the

temple.There is a Gomukh towards north with Holy water coming out of it. A

small lake lies at the west. There is a belief that a devotee of Lord Ganesha

found this idol in the lake in 1690. He installed the idol on the rock and the

temple was built later. Since 1992 the light was lit over there. Entering the

nave, one can see the carved stone idols of Shri Buddhi and Shri Siddhi. The

dome of the temple has a golden coloured pinnacle and there is an assembly hall

next to the nave, which is 8 feet by 8 feet.Festivities take place at the temple

in the Hindu month of Bhadrapada and Magha, on the 5th auspicious day of the new

moon.

The Idol

The idol of Varad Vinayak is facing towards East and trunk is going towards left

side. In addition to Lord Varad Vinayak idol, two other idols of Lord Ganesha

are present in the nave, one is white marble idol whose trunk is going towards

right side.

How to reach Mahad

1. Mumbai - Mahad distance is 63 km. On Mumbai - Panvel - Khopoli road 6 km

before Khopoli. Take a road at Hal phata which will lead to Mahad.

2. On Mumbai - Pune railway line, Mahad is at a distance of 30 km from Karjat.

3. Regular State Transport buses are available from Khopoli & Karjat.

Sai bhakt,

Deepa H debu7366

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