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FAMOUS GANESHA TEMPLES IN INDIA


List of some famous temples of Lord Ganesha, i visited...




1. DODDA GANESHA TEMPLE-( BANGALORE)




I visited this on one weekend in Bangalore..Sri Dodda Ganapathi Temple is located in Basavanagudi. The monolithic Ganapathi is about 18 ft in height and 16 ft in width. The most famous is the butter coating the idol. More than 100 kg of butter is used for this purpose.This ancient temple is found just next to Bull temple.


DODDA GANESHA TEMPLE







2: ANNEGUDDE VINAYAKA (KUNDAPURA.)

I visited this on Karnataka temple trip..Its a single temple structure dedicated to the Lord vinayaka. It is believed when drought hit this area sage Agasthya came here to perform yagna to please the rain god. The demon Kumbhasura tried to disrupt the yagna by troubling the sages performing the yagna. To rescue the sages Lord Ganesha blessed Bheema, the strongest among the Padavas with a sword, using which Bheema killed the demon and facilitated the completion of the yagna. Inside the main sanctum sanctorum we can see the majestic figure of 'Sri Siddhi Vinakaya' in resplendent Silver Armor, in standing posture. Of the four arms two are "varada hasta" indicating his inclination to grant boons. Two hands point to his feet, as a means to salvation. Anegudde is rewarded one of the seven 'Mukti Sthalas' of karnataka (Parashurama kshetra). Tulabharam,( a custom of offering to God valuables in weight equivalent of a person) is frequently done in this Temple by devotees. Auspicious ceremonies like wedding, naming ceremony etc are also held here. Timings is 6 am to 9 am.

SOUTH KARNATAKA TEMPLES

  


3.Southadka Mahaganapathi kshetra - (DHARMASTALA)

I visited this on Karnataka temple trip..The uniqueness of the place is Lord Maha Ganapathi is out in the open field and there is no proper structure of the temple.A lot of cows can be seen freely wandering around the place of worship. In Kannada language, Sowthe means cucumber' and Adka means 'field'. Cowherds in this place were growing cucumber and they offered the same to Lord Ganapathi of this place during their worship. Hence, means 'this place gets the name as Southadka. According to the sthala purana of Southadka, a Ganapati temple revered by a royal family was once destroyed by enemies. Not to let the enemies destroy the beautiful idol of Ganapati that was at the temple, cow herds of the place carried it along with them and installed it in a place where cucumber was grown in plenty. Since southe means cucumber and adka means meadow in Kannada, the place soon gained popularity as Southadka.The farmers of the place reaped huge harvests of cucumber, offered it to Lord Ganapati and even wished to build a temple there. But, according to a popular belief, Ganapati graced their dreams and asked them not to build a temple for him at Southadka as that would mean restrictions on devotees visiting the place to seek his blessings. The Lord expressed his wish to remain in open air with no formal structure surrounding him so that devotees could access him round-the-clock. Lord Ganapati’s wish was the farmers’ command and to this day the Lord sits majestically in the lush green surroundings of Southadka, blessing his devotees 24/7.


Sowthadka Ganapathi.
     

                      



4. Kurdumale: KOLAR

I visited this on Kolar temple trip..Kurudumale, a place in kolar, famous for vinayakar temple built by a famous scuplture jackanachari under vijayanagar kingdom..Kurudumale was actually ‘Koodu-Malai’, a Tamil name meaning ‘meeting hill’. It is called so because this place is supposed to be a meeting place of Gods for the purpose of recreation.The idol is very big and huge, Ganesha is 13.5 ft in height. It’s believed that Brahma-Vishnu-Maheshwara, the Trimurthis, themselves installed Ganesha here to bless the land with prosperity. It’s said that the Trimurthis performed the pooja for Ganesha here as well.


Lord Ganesha in Kurudumale



5. Sasivekalu Ganesha: - HAMPI


HAMPI TRIP

Sasivekalu ganesha is first thing we visited in hampi, which is located in the base of Hemakuta hill. This Ganesha is about 2.4 metres tall and ironically named as Sasivekalu or mustard seed. The God is seated in a large open mantapa with plain rough square pillars. The right hands hold the ankusa and broken tusk, while the upper left holds a looped pasa or noose.The lower left hand and the trunk are broken. The belly is tied with a snake. This Ganesha is fashioned out of a single boulder in sitting position. According to inscriptions found nearby this pavilion was built by a trader from Chandragiri in memory of one of the vijayanagar king – Narasimha II (1491-1505 AD).

                                  Sasivekalu Ganesha1

6. Kadle kalu ganesha - HAMPI
 
Kadle kalu ganeshawhich is 4.5 meters (15 feet) This giant statue of Ganesha was carved out of a huge boulder The belly of this statue resembles a Bengal gram (Kadalekalu, in Kannada)

 

7. Pillaiyar patti  - Karpaga Vinayagar - THIRUPPATHHUR.


MADURAI - KARAIKUDI TRIP

I visited this temple during our trip to Karaikudi..Pillaiyar patti Pillaiyar temple is an ancient rock-cut cave shrine dedicated to vinayaka, located at Thiruppatthu.The presiding deity of the temple is Karpaka Vinayakar.The Vinayagar sannidhi (Sanctom Sanctorum) is a cave where the 6 feet of Karpaga Vinayagar has been carved inside. As this is a cave formation, there is no provision to go around for the pradakshina. The inner sanctum is well illuminated with oil lamps and the whole idol is covered with gold. It is only during the Abhishekam, or the holy bath, when one can see the full idol in its pristine glory.This temple is the only one in Tamil Nadu which contains a 6 feet rock-cut Pillaiyar idol. The Thumbikai of Lord Pillaiyar is curled towards his right side and so the God is also known as Valampuri Pillaiyar.













   





 
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