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Chintamani Ganpati Temple, Theur
The Chintamani Ganpati temple in Theur is the fifth Ganesha temple to be visited during the Asthavinayak Darshan tour. The idol of the deity is swayambhu (self-emanated) and is east facing called purvabhimukha, with his trunk turned left and beautiful diamonds studded in his eyes. The idol is in a cross-legged seated position.
Chintamani Ganpati Temple, Theur
The Chintamani Ganpati temple in Theur is the fifth Ganesha temple to be visited during the Asthavinayak Darshan tour. Theur (Theyoor) is situated at a distance of 22 Km from Pune City and is in Haveli taluk of Pune district in Maharashtra.
At Theyoor in the Haveli Taluka of Pune district in Maharashtra is the Ashtavinayak temple dedicated to Chintamani Ganpati. Theur itself is an important mythological place located at the confluence of three major regional rivers i.e. Bhima, Mula and Mutha. Lord Ganesha as Chintamani is god who brings peace of mind and drives away all perplexities of the mind.
At Chintamani Ganpati Temple, the idol of the deity is swayambhu (self-emanated) and is east facing called purvabhimukha, with his trunk turned left and beautiful diamonds studded in his eyes. The idol is in a cross-legged seated position.
Architecture of Chintamani Ganpati Temple
Shri Daharnidhar Maharaj Devji, from the family-lineage of Maurya Gosaviji, constructed the famous Chintamani Ganapati Temple at Theur. After hundred years, Madhavrao Peshwa erected the Sabhamandap of the temple. A few years ago the shikhar (crest), of the temple was anointed in gold.
As Peshwas visited these place very frequently, the two 5 metal bell bought from Europe from the church was one kept in Mahad and other one was kept here. As after the death of Madhav Rao Peshwa, his wife went for sati, the beautiful garden was made in her memory is very attractive to see.
Described as “one of the larger and more famous” of the Ashtavinayaka temples, the temple’s main gate located to the North is relatively smaller compared to the scale of the temple, however the central icon of Chintamani Ganpati faces East. The temple has a wooden Sabha-mandapa (assembly hall), which was built by Madhavrao. The hall also has a black stone water fountain in it. Besides the central shrine dedicated to Ganesha, there are number of smaller shrines in the temple complex: Mahadeva (Shiva) temple, Vishnu-Lakshmi temple, Hanuman temple etc. Behind the temple is the Peshwa Wada – the Peshwa Palace. Once the residence of Madhavrao, today the day-to-day activities of the temple are carried from this place.
One of the interesting things about the temple is that it offers special secluded room for those interested in meditation. It is called as a Overry. This type of separate sections or rooms presently can only be found in the older temples in India.
Chintamani Ganpati Temple, Theur
It is said that once Morya Gosavi of Chinchwad performed several harsh penances in the forest. Being pleased with his devotion, Lord Ganesha emerged in the form of two tigers. It is also said that Morya Gosavi of Chinchwadi attained ‘siddhi’ (divine knowledge) here & in honor of this attainment, his son Chintamani built this temple.
Shri Chintamani Ganpati is also the family god of Shreemant Madhavrao Peshwa. His palace was near the temple and now it is converted into a garden. It is said that Madhavrao Peshwa had stayed here during his last days. He gave the temple a new look and organized a number of important religious events at the temple.
The Mudgala Purana narrates: Abhijeet was one of the greatest and most influential kings of his times. By god’s grace, he was blessed with all happiness in life except a worthy successor. The king and his wife carried out great penance on the suggestion of Rishi Vaishyampayane and were finally rewarded with a son whom they named as Gana. The son later acquired the name Ganaraja. The son was courageous but extremely destructive by nature. Sage Kapila once invited Ganaraja to his ashram and nearby place. The sage showed good hospitality with the help of the precious stone Chintamani Ratna. Impressed by the ratna, Ganaraja asked that for himself, but when the sage refused to give it, he took it away from him forcibly.
Meanwhile, Sage Kapila’s mentor Goddess Durga guided him to worship Lord Ganesha and seek his help. Lord Ganesha thus started off a fierce battle against Ganaraja under a Kadamba tree and won the precious ratna back from him and presented it to Sage Kapila. By the time Sage Kapila received his ratna back, he had lost all curiosity and excitement about possessing the stone. The sage thus gave the stone as a present to Lord Ganesha who tied it around his neck. After wearing the Chintamani Ratna around his neck Lord Ganesha became popular amongst his devotees as Chintamani Vinayak.Shri Madhavrao Peshwa was a staunch devotee of Lord Ganesha in his form of Chintamani. Thus, Lord Ganesha was named as Chintamani Ganpati. The incident happened under the Kadamb tree. Therefore, Theur was also known as Kadambanagar in ancient days.He would take time off from administrative matters to visit the Ganapati temple at Theur to relax his mind. He even spent the last days of his life at Theur.
The name Theur originates from the Sanskrit word Sthavar meaning stable. According to another legend, the god Brahma meditated here and his restless mind became sthavar due to Ganesha’s blessings. Since Ganesha got rid of Brahma’s Chintas (“worries”), he became known as Chintamani. According to another tale, the god-king Indra worshipped Ganesha here under the Kadamba tree to get rid of the sage Gautama’s curse. The place was thus known as Kadamaba-Nagar, the town of Kadamba trees. The lake in which God Indra had bath, is called as Chintamani sarovar.
The temple celebrates three main festivals. The Ganesha Prakatostav which corresponds to the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. The festival is celebrated from the first to the seventh day of the Hindu month of Bhadrapada, where Ganesh Chaturthi is the fourth day. A fair is held on this occasion. The Maghotsav festival is held to commemorate the birthday of Ganesha – Ganesha Jayanti, which falls on the fourth day of the Hindu month of Magha. The temple festival is celebrated from the first to the eighth of the month. A fair is also organized. The Rama-Madhav Punyostav on the eighth day of the Kartik month commemorates the death anniversary of the temple’s best known patron, Madhavrao and his wife Ramabai, who performed Sati on his funeral pyre and was burnt with him.
Road:
Pune Municipal Corporation as well as the MTDC ply buses from Pune to Theur.Through Roadways the city has excellent road network connects Mumbai and Pune. State-run as well as private buses operate on a frequent basis between the two cities. Pune is very well connected to the other major cities by air, rail and road. Nearby Cities Mumbai, Nasik, Nagpur.
Rail:
The nearest railway station is Manjri Railway Station pune.
Air:
Pune is the nearest airport (30-km).
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It’s been a couple of months since i have been there and even today the image of the the lord stays in my mind. With his trunk tilted to one side and the beautifully studded eyes, in a cross legged seated position it simply captured my heart. The temple is located around 25 km from Pune and is not so difficult to access .It is considered that praying to this lord can wash away all our worries and perplexities and bring immense peace to our life. One thing which you might not find in most of the temples is a secluded room where in you can go and meditate and remain peaceful. It was totally a divine experience.