5 most prominent Lord Ganesha temples to visit in India

Lord Ganesha is widely worshipped across India and is considered the remover of obstacles and the god of wisdom and intellect. And since Ganesh Chaturthi is around the corner, we have curated a list of some prominent Lord Ganesha temples from across the coutnry that one must visit to seek his blessings and to worship him.

Let’s take a look at the magnificent Ganesha temples all over India:

The Shri Moreshwar temple is located in Morgaon in the Pune District of Maharashtra. This Hindu temple is dedicated to the worship of Lord Ganesha and is also the starting and ending point of a pilgrimage of eight famous Ganesha temples called Ashtavinayaka. According to legends, this temple is connected to the killing of the demon Sindhura by Ganesha. In this temple, Ganesha is depicted as riding a peacock, and his trunk is also turned to the left, protected by a cobra. The architecture of this temple is like a fort with four minarets around it and was built during the reign of the Bahamanis. What is most surprising about this temple is that it has a big Nandi statue at the entrance that faces Lord Ganesha, whereas normally the Nandi statue is situated in Shiva temples.

Located on the banks of the Bhima river, this temple was built by the Peshwas to celebrate their victories. It has a seven-foot stone idol of Lord Ganesha, and what adds a rare element to it is that it has a right-curving trunk which symbolizes extraordinary power. This temple is also one of the Ashtavinayaka temples and is also the only Ashtavinayaka temple where the trunk of Ganesha is to the right. The idol of the deity here is seated cross-legged with Siddhi seated nearby. It is considered that this temple was built by Vishnu but had gotten destroyed over time until a cowherd got a vision of the ancient temple and found the icon of Siddhivinayaka.

A unique temple amongst the Ashtavinayaka temples, it is named after a child devotee Ballal. This temple features an idol with diamond-studded eyes and navel and is also facing towards the east, which soaks it in the morning sun. Located in the village of Pali, which is 28 km from Roha in the Raigad district of Maharashtra. Adding a unique element to the temple, it is built in the shape of the letter Shri. One will also find two lakes inside the temple complex, and there are two sanctums within the complex, out of which the outer complex has an idol in the shape of a murti which is holding a modak in its hands while facing Lord Ganesha.

Located in the Haveli taluka of the Pune district, this Hindu temple is one of the eight shrines of the Ashtavinayaka, and legends suggest that this temple describes how Lord Ganesha retrieved the wish-giving jewel Chintamani for his devotee sage Kapila and also pacified the uneasy mind of God Brahma. This temple has also been of great spiritual importance for the Peshwa rulers, mainly Madhavrao I, who renovated and made additions to the temple structure.

One of the most known and revered Hindu temples, it is dedicated to Lord Ganesha. This temple was built by a devout farmer named Laxman Vithu Patil and funded by a wealthy, childless woman named Deubai Patil, who built the temple with the hope that Lord Ganesha would bless other childless women with offspring. Today, this temple has great prominence and attracts millions of devotees. The architecture of this temple is a perfect blend of traditional Hindu and modern architectural styles. The structure of the temple has a gold-plated central dome. The idol of the deity here has four arms, each holding a lotus, a small axe, a garland of holy beads, and a plate of modaks