Although Pali is only 38 kms from Mahad, it turned out to be longest & most painful part of our yatra. The roads were in very poor shape due to the concreting work being done. Our vehicle was shaking & rocking making us feel terrible. Additionally, it was getting warmer as it was mid-day and the dust from the roads made us feel suffocated.
It took nearly 2 hours to reach Pali and we were glad when we entered the town. The temple was a short walk away from the parking lot. As in the case of Mahad, this temple too had very few devotees. We were now certain that Covid19 had drastically reduced the flow of devotees. Due to this, all the traders / shopkeepers who depend on tourist inflows are having a terrible time. We were told that business is down 90% since Covid restrictions began.
Ballaleshwar Ganapati temple in Pali is probably the only temple named after a devotee of the Lord. The temple is so constructed that the Sun's rays falls on the east facing Deity during worship. The Lord with His trunk turned left has Riddhi & Siddhi waving fans in the silver background. Moreshwar Vittal Sindkar (Dhige) built this temple in 1640 and it was renovated in 1760.
Legend has it that a young boy named Ballal was an ardent devotee of the Lord and he was once blessed with a darshan of the Lord after intense prayers. Ganesh ji came in the form of a Sadhu. Ballal recognised the Lord and prayed that He always stays in that place and bless the devotees who come here. The Lord agreed and also said that His name will be preceded by Ballal's name. It is a practice here to have a darshan of Dhundi Vinayak before seeing the Lord. Dhundi Vinayak is the original swaymbhu which was worshipped by young Ballal.
We had a leisurely darshan of both Dhundi Vinayak and Sri Ballaleshwar Ganesh. We had ample time to recite our prayers, do our prostrations and pradakshina. Unlike Mahad, here we were not allowed to go inside the Sanctum and had to be content with the darshan from a distance.
After darshan, we came out and had a taste of the subsidised lunch (Rs.20 per meal) which comprises of rice, daal, sabzi, sweet and pickle. We then treated ourselves with sugarcane juice in one of the shops outside the temple premises.
We then boarded for a long trip to Pune. Unfortunately, we had to return via Khopoli which meant going over the bad roads one more time. This road trip to Pali & back was the worst part of our entire yatra. We were relieved once we touched the expressway to go to Pune.
The trip to Pune was long and we decided to have our packed lunch in the vehicle itself. It comprised of lemon rice, chips, wafers and curd rice washed down with cool bottled water. When we reached our hotel at 3.15 p.m, we were ready for a short nap to feel refreshed and prepare ourselves for the next trip in the evening to Ranjangaon...
2 comments:
Great work
The interior of the temple looks very nice and the leisurely darshan at the shrines surely made up for the bad patch of road.
It is generally believed that some hardship undergone before reaching a temple adds to the punyam. That could be the reason for devotees opting for climbing the hill orfor an arduous walk.
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