Ashtavinayaka
अष्टविनायक
8 temples in the tradition. Listed in the order tradition follows. The note at the foot of the page says how much of that order a text actually fixes.
In the traditional order
- 1
Mayureshwar Temple, Morgaon
मयूरेश्वर मंदिर, मोरगाव
Morgaon, Maharashtra
The peacock rider and the demon who swallowed the nectar. In the Treta Yuga the demon Sindhu holds a bowl of amrita given to him by the Sun and swallows it so that no one can take it from him. Ganesha, born to Parvati after her penance at…
- 2
Siddhivinayak Temple, Siddhatek
सिद्धिविनायक मंदिर, सिद्धटेक
Siddhatek, Maharashtra
Vishnu learns to begin with Ganesha. At the start of creation Brahma sits on the lotus that grows from Vishnu's navel. Two demons, Madhu and Kaitabha, spring from Vishnu's ear and wreck Brahma's work. Vishnu wakes and…
- 3
Ballaleshwar Temple, Pali
बल्लाळेश्वर मंदिर, पाली
Pali, Maharashtra
The boy tied to the tree. Ballal, the son of the Pali merchant Kalyan, leads the village children in worshipping a large stone as Ganesha. His father, angry that the boys stay out late, breaks their shrines,…
- 4
Varadavinayak Temple, Mahad
वरदविनायक मंदिर, महड
Khopoli, Maharashtra
Gritsamada's boon in the Bhadraka forest. Gritsamada is born when Indra, disguised as Prince Rukmangada, comes to Mukunda, the wife of the sage Vachaknavi, after the real prince had refused her. Learning of his birth, Gritsamada…
- 5
Chintamani Temple, Theur
चिंतामणी, थेऊर
Theur, Maharashtra
The sage who gave back the wish-jewel. The sage Kapila owns the chintamani, a wish-granting jewel, and uses it to feed a visiting prince, Gana, and his retinue. Gana demands the jewel and takes it by force. Kapila worships…
- 6
Girijatmaj Temple, Lenyadri
गिरिजात्मज, लेण्याद्री
Junnar, Maharashtra
Born to the daughter of the mountain. Parvati, also called Girija, meditates at Lenyadri for twelve years, seeking Ganesha as her son. Ganesha grants the boon. Parvati shapes a clay image of him and, through her worship, it…
- 7
Vighneshwar Temple, Ozar
विघ्नेश्वर, ओझर
Ozar, Maharashtra
The obstacle demon who asked for a name. King Abhinandana performs a sacrifice and leaves Indra without a share. Indra sends Kala, Time, to destroy it; Kala becomes the demon Vighnasura, who wrecks the sacrifice and goes on…
- 8
Mahaganapati Temple, Ranjangaon
महागणपती, रांजणगाव
Ranjangaon, Maharashtra
The god even Shiva had to begin with. Tripurasura, protected by three cities no ordinary attack can destroy, drives the gods from their places. Shiva marches against him and fails, because he went to war without first…
Plan the circuit
Side by side, so you can see the season, the walking and the nearest station for each. Where we have not confirmed something, the cell says so. Always check dates and conditions before you travel — especially with elders.
Not yet confirmed for any of these temples: main months, darshan hours, altitude.
- Mayureshwar Temple, Morgaon
- Walking and access
- Level ground inside a walled compound; no trek or ropeway is involved. No published count of the steps into the sanctum has been found.
- Nearest station / airport
- Jejuri railway station · Pune International Airport (Lohegaon)
- Siddhivinayak Temple, Siddhatek
- Walking and access
- The temple is on a hillock; the circuit of the hill that pilgrims walk is an unpaved path. We have not yet found a count of the steps to the shrine.
- Nearest station / airport
- Daund Junction · Pune International Airport (Lohegaon)
- Ballaleshwar Temple, Pali
- Nearest station / airport
- Panvel · Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai
Not yet confirmed: walking and access.
- Varadavinayak Temple, Mahad
- Nearest station / airport
- Panvel · Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai
Not yet confirmed: walking and access.
- Chintamani Temple, Theur
- Nearest station / airport
- Pune Junction · Pune Airport
Not yet confirmed: walking and access.
- Girijatmaj Temple, Lenyadri
- Walking and access
- There is no road to the shrine; it is reached only on foot up a staircase in about ten flights. Elderly and disabled visitors should plan for the climb.
- Nearest station / airport
- Pune Airport
- Vighneshwar Temple, Ozar
- Nearest station / airport
- Pune Airport
Not yet confirmed: walking and access.
- Mahaganapati Temple, Ranjangaon
- Nearest station / airport
- Pune Junction · Pune Airport
Not yet confirmed: walking and access.
Where this list and its order comes from
- Scholarship: Anne Feldhaus, Connected Places: Region, Pilgrimage, and Geographical Imagination in India, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003, pp. 142–3, 145–6, 160, for the Morgaon anchor — the pilgrimage is considered incomplete unless the pilgrim returns to Morgaon at the end. The Maharashtra Department of Tourism independently calls Morgaon 'the first and last stop of the Ashtavinayak Yatra' but gives no sequence for the middle six, and lists the eight alphabetically. maharashtratourism.gov.in · seen 2026-09-18
A note for the curious
The order is a loop that begins and ends at Morgaon, and it is deliberately not geographic — slots 3 and 4 cross the Sahyadri ghats to the Konkan side and the route comes back. Several sources call the sequence scripture-prescribed but none names a text; the Mudgala and Ganesha Puranas attach to the sites' legends rather than to the sequence.