Off the Pune-Pandharpur Road, about 64 miles from Pune, is the ancient and legendary Ganesha temple of Mayureshwar, connected with stories of killing demon Sindhu by Ganesha, and of the creator Brahma himself building the temple. In this village of Moregaon, Brahma gave away Siddhi and Buddhi in marriage to Ganesha. It is common knowledge that, in North India, legend speaks of Ganesha as wedded to Siddhi and Buddhi.

Legend has it that Ganesha was born to Parvati in the Treta Yuga, in the caves of a place called Lenyadri. Ganesha took the form of a fair Mayureshwar with six arms, riding a peacock, in order to vanquish Sindhu, who was terrorising the land. According to John Grimes (in his work Ganapati: Song of the Self), the young Ganesha, who was fond of climbing trees knocked off an egg, from which a peacock emerged. Thus Vinayaka here is seen riding a peacock and hence his name is ‘Mayureshwar.’ ‘Mayur’ stands for ‘Peacock.’ The place, once said to be overrun with peacocks, came to be known as Moregaon (‘Mor’ in Marathi is peacock). The main deity is known by various names, Vinayak, Moreswar, Moraya or Mayureshwara (the one who rides a peacock). Ganesha, after completing his mission of slaying the demon, legend avers, gave the peacock to his brother Kartikeya.

The Temple today

The stories spring alive when we stand in front of the pale pink tower of the temple. The road is bumby made so by tractors that ply day and night to nearby sugar mills. We across fertile fields of corn, sugarcane, and pomegranate amid quaint houses made of a kind of a grass that comes off the sugarcane plant. The river Karha takes a turn near Moregaon, and on the bank stands the Mayureshwar temple, rich in architectural splendour.

According to the locals it is one of the temples in the famous Ashtavinayak circuit in Maharashtra and that the pilgrimage has to begin and end at Mayureshwar. Saint Samartha Ramdas was so inspired on seeing this deity that he came up with the chant ‘Sukhharta Dukhharta varta Vighnachi,’ immortalised by the legendary Lata Mangeshkar, who has sung the Aarathi song.

Over a lakh of devotees attend the week-long Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations here. And if Friday coincides with Chaturthi it is considered auspicious and it brings more people to the temple.

Mughal influence

The temple dates back to pre-17th century. The priest informs that Saint Moraya Gosavi, a prominent saint of the Ganapatya sect was associated with the temple, though the exact date of building it is unknown.

After him, the temple flourished during the 18th century due to patronage of the Peshwa Rulers of the Maratha Empire. The temple is built with minarets like a mosque and a Muslim chieftain is said to have patronised this temple. A characteristic of Muslim architecture are the gates — four to indicate Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.

The temple looks like a small fortress, full of vahanas — the nandi, the mouse and the peacock. A small flight of steps leads us to a tall black Deepmala, a stone pillar, for lighting oil lamps right next to a flourishing dark green tree.

According to Pratap Rele in the book on Ashtavinayak, a Hindu officer in the Bahmani regime (14th-16th century Sultanate) built the main temple made of black stone in Moghul architectural style. The four temple gates stand tall — the Eastern gate bearing the sculpture of Lakshminarayana indicates dharma, the Southern gate bearing the sculpture of Siva and Parvati indicates Artha, the Western gate with the sculpture of Rati and Manmatha indicates Kama, and the Northern gate bearing the sculpture of Mahivaraha indicates Moksha.

At the temple on a sunlit September morning, we bow low entering the sanctum doorway. It welcomes us to a beautifully benevolent Mayureshwara idol, smeared with sindhur mixed with oil, its eyes and naval set with polished gems. The Nagarjuna hood over the murti, the idols of Siddhi and Buddhi on either side, and the Mooshika and peacock figures in front, all add to the deity’s charm.

Things have changed since the time of the legend, rulers and the dynasties. The Vinayaka, however, continues to attract thousands of common people, pilgrims from far and wide.