Shri Mayureshwar – Morgaon
Morgaon is situated on the banks of River Karha. The main temple facing towards the north, houses the presiding deity of ‘Shri Moreshwar’ Ganapati. The temple constructed during the Bahamani regime, is built in the typical Moghul style.
Air : The nearest airport is Pune.
Rail : The nearest rail head is Jejuri (17 Km) on the Mumbai – Kolhapur section.
Road : Morgaon is well connected by road. It is 225 Km from Mumbai. State Transport and private buses are available from Mumbai, Pune and other major towns and cities.
Religious Importance
This is the most important temple on this tour. The temple, built from black-stone during the Bahamani reign, has four gates (It is supposed to have been built by one of the knights named Mr. Gole, from the court of Bidar’s Sultan). The temple is situated in the centre of the village. The temple is covered from all sides by four minarets and gives feeling of a mosque if seen from a distance. This was done to prevent attacks on the temple during Mughal periods. The temple has 50 feet tall wall around it.
There is a Nandi (Shiva’s bull mount) sitting in front of this temple entrance, which is unique, as Nandi is normally in front of only Shiva temples. However, the story says that this statue was being carried to some Shivamandir during which the vehicle carrying it broke down and the Nandi statue could not be removed from its current place.
The murti of Lord Ganesha, riding a peacock, in the form of Mayureshwara is believed to have slain the demon Sindhu at this spot. The idol, with its trunk turned to the left, has a cobra (Nagaraja) poised over it protecting it. This form of Ganesha also has two other murtis of Siddhi (Capability) and Riddhi (Intelligence).
However, this is not the original murti -which is said to have been consecrated twice by Brahma, once before and once after being destroyed by the asura Sindhurasur. The original murti, smaller in size and made of atoms of sand, iron, and diamonds, was supposedly enclosed in a copper sheet by the Pandavas and placed behind the one that is currently worshiped.
The temple is situated at a distance of 55 km from Pune, next to the river Karha in the village of Moregaon. The village derives its name from the Marathi name of the bird Peacock – there used to be a lot of peacocks in this village in the ancient time and the village is also set out in the shape of a peacock.
