01The hill is the murti
At Ganpatipule the Ganapati is a swayambhu rock at the foot of a hill that rises straight from the sand. Devotees hold the hill to be the god’s body, so instead of circling only the shrine they walk the path right round it, about a kilometre. The murti faces west, out to the Arabian Sea, and for that reason Ganpatipule is called the Paschim Dwar Devata, the deity of the western gate. The village holds that the shrine has been in worship here for at least four centuries, cared for by local families of priests.
02Sea and sanctum
The temple stands right on the beach, and the waves can be heard in the sanctum. Maghi Chaturthi in Magha and Ganeshotsav in Bhadrapad bring the biggest crowds; on ordinary days it is a quiet Konkan village of mango and coconut groves. The sea here is rough, and the beach in front of the temple has dangerous currents, so bathing is best left alone.
About 25 km north of Ratnagiri on the coast road; Ratnagiri is on the Konkan Railway.
