Girijatmaj Ashtavinayak Temple

Girijatmaj Ashtavinayak – Lenyadri Ganpati temple is the sixth Lord Ganesha Temple to be visited on the Ashta Vinayaka Mandir Pilgrimage. Located at Lekhan Hills, Girijatmaj Ashtavinayak Temple is the only temple of the Ashtavinayak which is on a mountain and is built in the locale of Buddhist Cave Temples. It is approached after climbing 307 steps. Out of 18 Buddhist caves on mountain, Girijatmaj Ganpati’s Temple is in the 8th cave. These caves are also known as Ganesh Gufa. Here, Lord Ganesh is worshipped as Girijatmaja. The Lord is believed to be his manifestation as an infant. Girija is another name for Goddess Parvati and Atamaj means ‘Son’.

Lenyadri is situated on the North-west bank of river Kukadi. Lenyadri carries an ancient myth which says that when the great Pandavas were living in agyatvas during their 13th year of exile, they sculptured these caves in just one night. The current name “Lenyadri” literally means “mountain cave”. It is derived from ‘Lena’ in Marathi meaning “cave” and ‘adri’ in Sanskrit meaning “mountain” or “stone”. The name “Lenyadri” appears in the Hindu scripture Ganesha Purana as well as in a Sthala Purana, in association to the Ganesha legend. It is also called Jeernapur and Lekhan parvat (“Lekhan Mountain”).

Lenyadri is one of the eight revered Ganesha temples collectively called Ashtavinayaka. While some believe that order of visiting the temples in an Ashtavinayak pilgrimage is irrelevant, Lenyadri is usually visited as the 6th temple.

Girijatmaja’s idol faces east. Parvati consecrated Ganesh idol in the cave wherein she had performed penances. Idol here is not a separate and distinct one. It has been carved on stone wall of the cave. Previously idol was covered with armour. Now, since the armour is fallen Girijatmaj’s idol with neck turned to left side can be seen. As such only one eye of the idol can be seen.