Varadhavinayak Temple Mahad

Varadvinayak Temple is the fourth of Lord Ganesha’s temples to be visited during the Ashtavinayak Yatra. The temple is located in Mahad, 3 km away from the Pune-Maharashtra highway near Khopoli, which is 80 Km away from Pune. The closest railway station to reach the temple is Karjat Railway Station, 24 Km away from Mahad and 6 km away from Khopoli.

The legend of the temple states that Rukmangad is the son of King Bheema of the Kaundinya dynasty. Once he went to a forest where he met Mukunda, the wife of Vachanakvi. She desires him, but he, being a staunch Ganesh devotee, refuses her advances. Angered by this, Mukunda cursed Rukmangad with leprosy. On turning into a Leper, Rukmangad penanced on Chintamani Ganesha and was relieved from his curse. Meanwhile, Indra came to know about Mukunda's inclination towards Rukmangad, took his form and satisfied her. Mukunda gave birth to Gritsamada. On learning about his origin, Gritsamada cursed his mother to become a thorn berry-bearing, unattractive tree called Bhor. Mukunda also cursed Gritsamada to bear a cruel demon as his son. At this juncture, they heard a divine voice saying: Gritsamada is Indra’s son”. Both were shocked, but curses cannot be reversed, so Mukunda transformed into Bhor, and with shame and guilt, Gritsamada went to Pushpak Forest to do penance to Lord Ganesha. Lord Ganesha, pleased with Gritsamada’s penance, assured him that his son Tripurasur would be defeated by Lord Shiva. Gritsamada, after requesting Lord Ganesha to stay in the forest and bless the devotees with their desires, built a temple and established Lord Ganesha as “ Varadvinayak”

The idol of Varadavinayak was found in a pond adjacent to the temple by Mr. Dhondu Paudkar in 1690 AD. The temple was reconstructed by Mr. Ramji Mahadev Biwalkar in 1725 AD. The idol faces east with its trunk turned to the left and is said to be swayambhu. There has been an Akanda Deep burning for the past 107 years, since 1892. This is the only temple where devotees are allowed to perform personal pooja to the idol.
With such a rich heritage and history, the Varadavinayak temple is a temple where all the desires and wishes come true, if worshipped with true thoughts. So, if you wish to visit Varadvinayak Temple and invoke the blessings of Lord Ganesha, do purchase divine products like dhoop, agarbathi, and Kumkum available at Giri Trading in Pune or visit our online store, giri.in to get the products delivered at your doorstep.