|
The Mahad village is situated in Khalapur taluka (Raigad
District) at 63 kms from Mumbay, on the Mumbai-Pune railway line. Mahad is
at a distance of 24 kms from Karjat and 6 kms from Khopoli. Regular buses
are easily available from Khopoli and Karjat. Mahad is surrounded by
picturesque surroundings, especially in the monsoon season. Population is
very few around. Mahad enshrines Varadvinayak (the bestower of boons), in
commemoration of a legend.
"Bhaktabhimani Ganaraj Ekam
Kshetre MadhaKhye Vardam Prasanam
Yastishtati Shree Vardo Ganesham
Vinayakasta Pranamami Bhaktam"
Meaning : I salute
lord Ganaraj who is leader of Ganas , who is proud of his devotees & who
abodes at Mahad & has pleasant appearance
The legend
In an ancient period there was a great king, Bhima of
Kudinyapur. He had no children. He and his wife came to a forest for
penance; there, they met Sage Vishwamitra who gave the king the Ekashar
Gajanana Mantra to get a child. On chanting the mantra, the king got a son,
who was named Rukmaganda. He was a very beautiful boy, with a golden luster
and an excellent character. Later on, Rukmanganda went once to forest for
hunting. Getting thirsty and tired, he went to the nearby hermitage of Rishi
Vachaknavi. Rishi's wife became enamoured by the prince's beauty and asked
him to fulfil her desire. But the prince had a good morality and he flatly
refused. After he left, Mukunda became lovesick. Knowing her plight, King
Indra took the form of Rukmaganda and had pleasure with her. Mukunda became
pregnant and gave birth to a son, who she named Gritsamada. Later, on
knowing truth, Gritsamada cursed his mother to become a thorny plant. At the
same time, Mukunda cursed the boy that a cruel rakshas (demon) would born
from him. Then, there was a voice from heaven telling that Gritsamada is
Indra's son. Both mother and son were shocked. Mukunda was converted to
plant. Gritsamada, very ashamed, went to a forest called Pushpak to perform
penance. Shri Ganesh was satisfied and agreed to grant him boons. He told
the boy that he would get a brave son who cannot be defeated by anybody
other than Shankara Shiva. In addition, Gritsamada asked for the forest to
become holy. Devotees get attainment of their aims on that place. He urged
Ganapati to stay there permanently and asked for knowledge of Brahma. 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.
The Murti
It was found by Shree Dhondu Paudkar in 1960 A.D. in a
lake. It was outside the sanctum of the temple. As the idol was in bad
weather condition, temple trustees immersed it and consecrated a new one
inside the sanctum. This was objected by few and a suit was filed in the
district court. Thus, nowadays, two idols can be seen one inside and one
outside the sanctum. One is smeared in vermillion in sitting position with
the trunk turned left and the other is made of white marble with trunk
turned to right.
The Temple
Varadvinayaka's temple was built by Peshwa Sardar Ramji
Mahadev Biwalkar and he gifted this to the village. The temple looks like a
house with a tiled roof. There is a Gomukh towards north with Holy water
coming out of it. A small lake lies at the west. The temple is only 2.5
meters long and 2.5 meters broad. Dome is 8 meters high with a golden
pinnacle. The sanctum of the temple, made up of stone and surrounded by
beautiful elephant carvings, houses the mūrti.
How to Reach There :
-
Mahad is 83 km from
Mumbai.
-
On the Mumbai-Panvel-Khopoli
road, 6km before Khopoli is a village called Haalgaon. Mahad can be
reached from this village.
-
On the Mumbai Pune Rail
route one can get down at Karjat or better still at Khopoli.
-
From Karjat which is 24
km from Mahad one can board State Transport buses known as ST buses.
-
Khopoli is just 6 km from
Mahad. One can board local buses or take autorickshaws from here.
Puja Schedule of
Varad Vinayaka Temple:
-
Lord Varad Vinayak is
worshipped morning noon and night.
-
The temple trust has
offered a unique opportunity to any devotee who donates Rs31000/- to the
temple. Such a devotee is given an entire day, to not only worship the God
but also run the entire temple the way he would wish. The individual along
with the family members can worship the lord for an entire day the temple
priests will not in anyway interfere with the proceedings for that day.
-
The temple trust can be
contacted at the following address.
-
Shri Ganpati Devasthana
Mahad, Mahad, Taluka Khalapur, Zilla Raighad,Maharashtra, India
|