अष्टविनायक दर्शन : श्री गिरिजात्मक

Submitted by पल्ली on 29 August, 2009 - 03:07

lenyadri_0.jpgश्री गिरिजात्मक- लेण्याद्री, लेण्याद्रीचा डोंगर, जि. पुणे.

मार्ग- पुणे-जुन्नर रस्त्यावर जुन्नरपासुन ५ कि.मी. अंतरावर कुकडी नदी ओलांडुन डोंगरावर जावे लागते. डोंगर्‍यातल्या २८३ पायर्‍या चढाव्या लागतात.

यात्रा- भाद्रपद व माघ मासात इथे दोन मोठे उत्सव होतात, त्यानिमित्त यात्रा भरते.

मूर्ती- ओबडधोबड. डाव्या व उजव्या अंगाला हनुमान व शंकर यांच्या मूर्ती. या देवाची मूर्ती अशी उभी केली आहे की तिचे मुखदर्शन होऊ शकत नाही. म्हणून तिच्या पाठीचीच पूजा केली जाते.

मंदिर- लहानसे. त्याच्या उजव्या बाजूला बर्‍याच ओव्या कोरलेल्या आहेत. याचा अर्थ मुळात हे एक बौद्ध लेणे होते. ते नावातूनच सिद्ध होते. मध्ययुगीन काळात कधीतरी त्यात गणेशाची स्थापना झाली असावी.

इतिहास
- या मंदिराला तसा खूप इतिहास नाही. लेण्याद्रीच्या डोंगरात एकूण अठरा गुहा आहेत त्यातल्या आठव्या गुहेत श्रीगणेशाची स्थापना केली आहे. ह्या लेण्यांना गणेश लेणी असेही म्हणतात.

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Lenyadri is an Ashtavinayak temple located on the northwest bank of the River Kukadi in the state of Maharashtra in India. The temple is the only Ashtavinayak temple situated on a mountain, and the temple is also in the vicinity of Buddhist caves.

[edit] Legend
Parvati desired to have Vinayak as her son and so performed penance for 12 years in the caves of Lenyadri. Ganapati was pleased by this and decided to grant her wish. On one Bhadrapada Shudh Chaturthi, while Parvati was worshipping an idol of Ganesh which she had made from a scarf, the idol came alive. It told Parvati that, as per her desire, Lord Ganesh had taken Avatar in her house. On the 11th day she named him Ganesh, meaning a person who keeps three qualities—Satva, Raja and Tama—under control. Lord Shiva gave him a boon that whosoever remembers Ganesh before starting a work, will successfully complete that work.

Ganesh grew up for 15 years at Lenyadri. The demon king Sindhu, who knew that his death would be at the hands of Ganesh, sent demons like Krur, Balasur, Vyomasur, Kshemma, Kushal, etc. to kill Ganesh in Lenyadri. Instead Ganesh killed all these demons in his childhood. Ganpati also performed many bal-leelas in this place. Hence Lenyadri is considered a holy place.

At the age of six, Vishwakarma worshipped Ganesh and endowed him with Paasa (noose), Parasu (axe), Ankush (hook) and Kamal (Lotus).

Parvati's second name is "Girija," and "Aatmaj" means son, so one of Ganesh's names is "Girijatmaj."

[edit] Shree Girijatmaj's Temple and idol
Girijatmaj Vinayak's temple is in the 8th of 18 Buddhist caves known as Ganesh Gufa, or "Ganesh caves." The entire temple is carved out of a single stone and faces south. It is located on a mountain, and one has to climb 307 steps to reach the top. In front of the main mandir there is a large hall, approximately 53 by 51 feet. The main mandir hall is 7 feet high and has 6 stone pillars with cows, elephants and other animals carved on them. Girijatmaja's idol faces east and is carved out of the stone wall of the cave. Only one of the idol's two eyes can be seen. The earlier idol was covered with armour, obstructing a full view of it. After the armour was removed, Girijatmaj's idol could be seen, with its neck turned to the left side.

[edit] Getting there
One can reach Lenyadri from Mumbai or Pune in the following ways:

State transport buses are available for Junnar from the Shivajinagar bus stand of Pune, Kalyan ST bus stand in Thane district and from the Mumbai Central bus stand of Mumbai. Lenyadri is 5km from Junnar. Rickshaws, jeeps and buses are available from the Junnar bus stand for travel to Lenyadri.
On the Pune-Nasik Highway, Lenyadri is 94km from Pune.
From the main temple, one can view the river flowing and the town of Junnar spread near the river.

If you want a nice pleasant stay without spending much , then "hotel pratik" is the best place to hangout , this hotel provides lodging and boarding facility at cheap rates. It is situated in junnar village , near narayan gaon - junnar haighway.

( source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenyadri)