Ashtavinayak Temple Series- Ballaleshwar Temple Pali

Situated 200 km from Pune, Ballaleswar temple in the village of Pali is the third temple in the Ashtavinayak temple series. It is between the River Amba and the Fort of Saragad, 28 Km from Roha of Raigad in Maharashtra. Amongst the Ashtavinayak temples, Ballaleshwar is the only deity named after his devotee and is dressed up like a brahmin. Lord Ganesha as Ballaleshwar, with Ridhi and Sidhi, is known to respond quickly to prayers in all the Ashtavinayak.

According to the legend of Ballaleswar, Ballal, son of a successful businessman of Pali, Kalayan, used to play puja games with other village children, using stones instead of idols. Once, they used a large stone and worshipped it as Lord Ganesha, and got immersed in the worship of Lord Ganesha by chanting the Ganesha Purana. Worried, Kalyan destroyed all the small temples built by children and caught hold of Ballal and beat Ballal so furiously that Ballal’s dress was drenched with blood. Kalyan then binds Ballal to a tree and says,” Let's see which God protects you now”. Ballal, though in pain, hunger, and thirst, kept chanting Lord Ganesha’s names, and on seeing his devotion, the Lord appeared as a Sadhu and untied him from the tree. On seeing the Sadhu, Ballal recognised him as Lord Ganesha and prostrated towards him. Ballal’s pain, hunger, and thirst vanished. He asked for a boon, stating Ballal should be his unshakeable devotee, and Lord Ganesha should always stay in Pali. Lord Ganesha abided by the same and resided here as Ballaeswar, keeping his devotee’s name in front.

The older wooden temple was renovated into an east-facing stone temple in 1760, and the huge bell was gifted by Chimaji Appa, brother of Bajirao I, after defeating the Portuguese. Many celebrations are conducted throughout the year, yet two festivities are significant, one in the month of Bhadrapad, which is Ganesh Chathurthi in September and one in the month of Magha, which is Ganesh Jayanthi in January.
So, if you wish to visit Ballalesar Temple and invoke Lord Ganesha’s blessings, do visit Giri Trading Agency, a renowned Puja item store in Pune or their online pooja store, to buy pooja items like Kumkum, pooja oil, cotton batti, agarbatti, dhoop sticks and many more.