Vigneshwara Temple

Chimaji Appa, brother and military commander of the Peshwa Baji Rao I, renovated the temple and covered the shikhara(temple spire) with gold after seizing the Vasai Fort from the Portuguese. The temple was also renovated in 1967 by the Ganesha devotee Appa Shastri Joshi.

Although the Ozar is prescribed for the seventh temple to be visited in the Ashtavinayak circuit, pilgrims often visit the fifth Ozar as it is a more convenient route.

Mudgala Purana, Skanda Purana and Tamil Vinayaka Purana records: King Abhinandana performed a sacrifice in which he made no offering to the god-king Indra. Enraged, Indra ordered Kala (Time/Death) to destroy the sacrifice. Kala takes the form of the demon Vignasura (obstacle-demon) or Vigna (obstacle) who created obstacles in the victim and destroyed them. He further caused confusion in the universe and created obstacles in the good deeds and sacrifices of sages and other beings. The sages sought the help of the god Brahma or Shiva, who recommended the worship of Ganesha. Hearing the prayer of the ascetics, Ganesha began to fight the demon, who soon realized that it was impossible to win and surrendered to his adversary, agreeing not to trouble the beings of the world. It was agreed that the Vigna (obstacles) would reside only in places where Ganesha was not invoked or worshipped. In some versions, the penitent Vigna was made a servant of Ganesha to harass those who did not worship his Lord. Vignasura also asked Ganesha to take the name Vigneshwara (Lord of Vigna/Obstacles) to commemorate this event. The relieved sages consecrated an image of Ganesha as Vigneshwara at Ozar to mark the event.

The east-facing temple features a “spacious courtyard, a grand entrance, sculptural and mural work”. It is surrounded by a walled compound with a large gateway flanked by two large stone Dvarapala (gatekeepers) sculptures and a row of four musicians in bas relief on the lintel. One can view the Lenyadri shrine and Shivneri Fort standing on the wall. Two large stone Deepamalas (lamp towers) stand near the gateway in front of a fine corridor of seven cusped arches. There are owaris (small room for meditation) on both sides of the gateway.

The courtyard is tiled. The central temple has three entrances with sculptured side posts and lintels; the east one being the central one. The central one has a lintel with a Ganesha in relief surrounded with monkeys and parrots on trees. The temple has two halls, with first one (20 feet high) having the entrances to the north and south too and has the image of Dhundiraj Ganesha. The next one (10 feet high) has a white marble mushika (the mouse, which is the vehicle of Ganesha) seating in attendance. The temple walls is filled with murals and colourful sculptures. The shikhara – over the sanctum – is covered with gold foil. It also has two wide stone Prakarams (outer path outside a Hindu sanctum).

Like all Ashtavinayaka shrines, the central Ganesha image is believed to be svayambhu (self-existent), naturally occurring in the form of an elephant-faced stone.[11]

The central icon of Ganesha faces east and is flanked with brass images of his consorts Siddhi and Riddhi. He has a left-turning trunk and is covered with sindoor(vermillion). His eyes are emeralds and his forehead and navel is also adored with diamonds.