01Gritsamada’s forest
Rishi Gritsamada is the seer of the second mandala of the Rigveda, and from his hymn comes the line every Ganesha puja still opens with, gananam tva ganapatim havamahe (Rigveda 2.23.1). The Ganesha Purana tells that he came to the Pushpaka forest here in sorrow over the curse of his birth and did tapas to Ganesha. Pleased, Ganesha granted him boons; Gritsamada asked that the forest bless all who prayed in it and that Ganesha remain there. He consecrated the murti and named it Varada Vinayaka. The forest is called Bhadraka.
02Found in the lake
The svayambhu murti was found lying in the lake beside the temple in 1690. In 1725 Subhedar Ramji Mahadev Biwalkar, an officer of the Peshwas, built the present temple on the bank of that pond. It is small and plain, with four stone elephants at its four sides. The murti faces east with the trunk turned left. An oil lamp in the shrine is said to have burned without a break since 1892. Unlike most great temples, here anyone may go into the garbhagriha and offer worship with their own hands. On Magha Chaturthi the coconut given as prasad is taken home by couples who pray for a child.
The life of this place
- 1690The murti is found in the lake beside the present temple.
- 1725Subhedar Ramji Mahadev Biwalkar builds the temple.
- 1892The nandadeep in the shrine is lit; it is said to have burned ever since.
Mahad is a short drive off the Mumbai–Pune Expressway near Khopoli, about 80 km from Mumbai. Do not confuse it with Mahad town in south Raigad.
