The Hindu Pilgrimage of Ashtavinayaka

The Eight Temples of Ganesh Near Pune in Maharashtra

Aug 17, 2009

Ganesh, the elephant-head God, is revered in Maharashtra. The Ashtavinayaka pilgrimage consists of darshan in eight special temples around the city of Pune.

“Ashta” means "eight" in Sanskrit. Vinayaka is another name for Ganesh. Therefore Ashtavinayaka translates as the "Eight Ganeshas." It refers to eight temples dedicated to Ganesh, which house special idols of the deity. These idols have not been sculpted by human hand. They have been found naturally sculpted and have been installed as found. In Hinduism such idols are referred to as swayambhu, which literally means "self begotten."

The Ashtavinayaka Temples

The TempleNet web site lists the Ashtavinayaka temples. The location of the temple is also indicated. To obtain the full merit of the darshan, the pilgrimage should begin at the Moreshwar temple and follow sequentially. The Moreshwar temple should be visited again to complete the circle. The temples are situated around Pune, which is an important city in the state of Maharashtra.

The idol at each temple is different and so is the legend that narrates how and why the temple was established. Learning about these legends is as much a part of the pilgrimage as is the darshan.

Ashtavinayaka Memorabilia

Most pilgrims who visit the Ashtavinayaka temples return with some remembrance. The extremely devout bring home the charan raj or soil from the different temples and place it in their puja rooms. Worshiping the charan raj earns them the merit of performing the pilgrimage. "Charan raj" literally means "dust of the feet."

The most common Ashtavinayaka memorabilia is a set of eight miniature representations of the Ganesh idols. Usually these were made of clay, but now they are made of more durable material like wood or plastic. The set is small enough to be placed on a desk or in the puja room. Another common item is a picture of the eight idols arranged in a 4 x 2 matrix. Some Ashtavinayaka pictures are large enough to be framed and put on walls, whereas others are small enough to be kept in pocket diaries.

It is hardly surprising that the Ashtavinayaka images are now available in electronic form. A set of all eight idols can be put on a computer desktop or they can be converted into an Ashtavinayaka screensaver with the images appearing one at a time.

Ganesh Chaturthi had always been a popular festival in Maharashtra. But it was Bal Gangadhar Tilak who used this occasion to catalyze the people into a united front against the British. Statues of Ganesh were erected in public places and people of all castes and economic strata worshiped together for ten days. Since Tilak was a Maharashtrian from Pune, this way of celebrating the Hindu festival took root in Maharashtra and continues even today.

Performing the Ashtavinayaka pilgrimage during the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations is even better because there is more pomp and religious fervor.

The copyright of the article The Hindu Pilgrimage of Ashtavinayaka in Hinduism is owned by Harsh Nevatia. Permission to republish The Hindu Pilgrimage of Ashtavinayaka in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.