Moregaon is a village located at a
distance of about 50 km from Pune, enroute to Aurangabad in Maharashtra, and it houses a
shrine to Mayureshwar Vinayak.
Moregaon Mayureshwar is
considered to be one of the Ashta Vinayak shrines
of Maharashtra, celebrating eight instances of legends related to Ganesha.
The name Moresh or Moregaon arises
from the fact that this region once abounded in peacocks. The name Mayureshwar
also arises from the legend that Vinayak rode a peacock mount in a battle against evil
demons.
Legend has it that a demon by name
caused untold hardship to the inhabitants of the Universe, and that responding to the
pleas of the Gods, Ganapati came down to the earth on a peacock mount, waged a battle
against Sindhu and vanquished him. The peacock rider Ganapati assumed the
name Mayureshwar or Moresh. The original image of Ganesha made of precious metal was
installed by the creator Bhrahma. The Pandava princes
are said to have installed a copper image, when they visited Moregaon in the course of
their pilgrimage.
The Temple: An east facing
image of Ganesha flanked by brass images of his consorts Siddhi and Riddhi is
enshrined in this temple. Ganesha is depicted armed with a spear, while a cobra encircles
his head. Interestingly, the peacock mount, the cobra and the spear (Vel) are all
considered to be attributes of Kartikeya
(his brother). The temple is a well visited one, fortified with lofty walls.
Festivals: As with all other Vinayak
temples, Ganesha Chaturti is celebrated in great splendor here. Vijaya
Dasami is celebrated commemorating Ganesha's victory against the demons.