Ashta Vinayak Yatra - March 2021 (Part 4)

On the morning of 29th March, we woke up early, finished our morning ablutions & prayers and assembled at the hotel lobby by 7.30 a.m. Soon we were on our way to Theur to have darshan of Chitamani Ganesh. Theur is just 20 kms away from our hotel, which in the early morning light traffic took us no time to reach. Being Holi, streets were nearly empty.

We reached the temple parking lot by 8.30 a.m. The beautiful temple is about 50 meters away from here. There were few shops open at that time. 

When we entered the temple, it was almost empty and we could have darshan immediately. We chanted our prayers, and made our offerings to the Lord. As we did the customary circumambulation in the clockwise direction, we saw a cute Lakshmi Narayan temple behind the main Ganesh temple. 

The temple is believed to have been built by Ganpatya Saint Morya Gosavi and was renovated by various Peshwa rulers who were drawn to the temple. Legend goes that the wish-granting jewel Chintamani was retrieved by Ganesh ji for His devotee Sage Kapila from the greedy king Gana. It is here that Lord Ganesh pacified the uneasy mind of Lord Brahma who meditated on Him. 

The courtyard of the temple was very quaint and beautiful but we were not allowed to take pictures of ourselves here. Hence, we took pictures at the main doorway of the temple on our way out. We later had breakfast of Poha (the traditional Maharashtrian dish of cooked Puffed rice), Batata vada and Masala tea at a restaurant near the parking area. 

By 9.15 or so, that place had become a mini-market place for local villagers who came in various vehicles to sell their farm produce. The vegetables and fruits were fresh and chemical free and we bought Guavas and Chikoos to carry back home. After that we departed for our next destination - Moregaon to have darshan of Mayureshwar.