FAMOUS GANESH TEMPLES IN INDIA
1) Madhya Pradesh :
a) Bade Ganesh in Indore : Ganesh idol is 12 feet high.
b) Shree Chintamani of Ujjain
c) Dwibhuj Siddhivinayak of Amarkantak
2) Rajasthan :
a) Bali Ganapati : Consecrated by king Bali.
b) On the banks of river Tapi, Lord Shriram had consecrated Ramaji Ganesh before killing demon Tratika.
3)Uttar Pradesh :
a) Omkar Ganesh (Prayag)
b) Dhundiraj Ganesh in Kashi : This Ganesh is in the temple of Kashivishveshwar.
4) Himachal Pradesh :
a) Shadbhuj Ganesh - Baijanath, Dist:Kangada : Great Saint Dnyaneshwar while describing Shri Ganesh in his book Dnyaneshwari has given names of the weapons in the six hands of Shri Ganesh. The same weapons are found in the hands of this Shadbhuj (six hands) Shri Ganesh.
b) Ice idol of Bal Ganesh in Amarnath Gumpha.
c) Shri Ganesh in Ganesh Gumpha where Ganesh had pendown the Mahabharat.
5) West Bengal :
a) Ashtabhuja Ganesh in village Vadanagar on the banks of river Hubli.
6) Bihar :
a) Ganesh temples are situated in Rajgriha, Mountain Mandar, Ramgad etc.
7) Orissa :
a) Ajanatha Ganesh in Jagannatha Temple of Puri.
b) Ganesh caves in Ganesh gumpha of Khandagiri.
8) Andhra Pradesh : Various Ganesh temples are situated in Bhadrachalam, Vijayawada, Kalahasti etc.
9) Kerala :
a) King Dharmagupta of Trigart consecrated Ganesh idol in Shreemadnant temple. King of Mysore Tipu Sultan came her to destroy the temple. His mind was changed after dinking the water from the well in the temple. Tipu Sultan then gave gifts & annuities to temple.
b) Shree Ganesh of Madhupur : he likes famous sweet Udupa.
10) Karnataka :
a) Vighnantak Vinayak, Hampi : Idol is not elephant headed instead it is man headed. Vighnantak Vinayak killed demon Gajmumukhasur.
b) Kaudinya Mahaganapti of Kurdamale in Kolar district : Idol of Mahaganapati is 9 feet high & is made of green marble.
c) Gokarna Mahabaleshwar : Here Shree Ganesh is in the guise of young Brahmin with two hands. This Ganesh is Worshipped before worshiping gokarna Mahabaleshwar. This Ganesh in the guise of young Brahmin saved Lord Shankara’s Lingam from the hands of demon Ravana. Ravana had hited this Ganesha & the mark is till present on the idol.
11) Tamilnadu :
a) Kurumbithar Vinayak of Kumbhakonam : This Vinayak is also called as Sudha Ganesh. At the time of Amrut Manthan when Amrut (heavenly necter) was not coming out of the sea, Gods consecrated Ganesh idol here at Kumbhakonam & worshipped him & prayed for their success. Ganesh was pleased & gods got the Amrut from the sea.
12) Gujrat :
a) Bhadraganesh : Temple of Ahmedabad is from Peshwa time.
b) Siddhanath temple of Baroda & Revati Ganesh temple on Girnar mountain are very famous.
c) Sisodra Village of Navsari district has a Banyan tree with Ganesh idol in it. It is said that this Ganesh idol appeared in this banyan tree nearly four hundred years ago.
d) Durgakut Ganesh near Sorati Somnath.
FAMOUS GANESH TEMPLES & IDOLS ABROAD
In abroad Ganeshji is recognised by different names. In Nepal, he is called as Suryaganapti, Mahapini in Burma, Dhotakar in Mangollia, Sokaprak in Tibet, Prahakness in Kambodia. In Japan Ganapati is called as Vinayaksha & Kalantak on Java island. In Japan Ganesh Temples are called as Kangiten. It is said that Emperor Ashok’s daughter Charumati constructed a Ganesh Temple in Nepal. In Nepal Herambh Ganesh with ten hands & five heads is very popular. There is big Suryavinayak Temple in Bhalgaon district near Kathmandu. Suryavinayak with one head & four hands is sitting on two rats. The bronze idol of Ganesh in Kambodia belongs to 13th century. The idol has broken elephant tusk in right hand & one holy book in left hand. However, the crown is of typical Kambodian style. Ganapati is Java is known as ‘Boro’s Ganesh’. Head of this Ganesh is very big & he is eating prasad with his trunk. Speciality of the idol is that soles of feet are attached to each other. Stone idol of Ganesh is found on Bali island. Here Ganapati is called as Fire God. Idol is sitting on throne of flames & has a mashal (Burning Stick) in right hand & bowl in left hand. In Vietnam, ancient sayami book has been found. It has 6 photoscapes of Ganapati. It also has photo of Ganapati standing on Tortoise. Ganesh idol in Bornea has four arms & has matted hair like Lord Shivshankar. While excavating in Luristhan in Iran (i.e. Persia) Ganesh idol was found carrying a sword in his hand. This idol is now kept in national Museum of Paris. It is said that the idol might be 1200 years ago. This warrior Ganesh possess snake in his left hand & a divine tridend in right hand. The speciality of this idol is that Ganesha has beard. In Afganisthan Ganesh idol in the form of ‘Alidharuna’ has been found. People of Kabul worship this Ganesh. From the statement carved on the base of the idol, it appears that this idol belongs of 6th century. Mexican people in south American still worship elephant headed God. Ganesh idol found in Kopan’s temple is recognised as God of rain. It has two light lines in its both hands which symbolises lighteneing. Greece mythology also mentions presence of God of wisdom known as “Janus”. The idol of Janus is elephant headed 7 has two trunks. Janus is worshipped before starting any new work. We, Indians also worship Ganesh before Starting any new work & call him God of wisdom. As such there is very much similarity between Ganesh & Janus. In Sri Lanka, at a distance of 200 kms. From Columbo, Ganesh idol is found in Subramaniyam Temple of Kadargam. Today also Shri Ganesh is worshipped according to vedic system. There is a big Ganesh Temple in Noshiville city of U. S. A. This is the story of Ganapati’s all over the world.
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