It is believed that Lord Shiva worshipped Ganesha before fighting the dreaded demon Tripurasura here. The temple is believed to build by Shiva himself and the town was called Manipur and this town is known as Ranjangaon now. The deity of Ganesha sits in a cross legged position and the idol faces the east. The Ganesha idol has large forehead and the trunk is pointing towards the left. The whole temple has been designed in such a way that the sunlight falls directly on the idol during the southward movement of the sun. The design of the temple reminds one of the 9th and 10th century architecture. The temple faces the east and Shrimant Madhavarao Peshwa used to visit the temple regularly and later on in 1790 AD Mr. Anyaba Dev was authorised to worship the idol. Mahaganapati is one of the Ashtavinayak shrines of Maharashtra commemorating eight instances of legends connected to Lord Ganesha.
Mahaganapati can be seen seated on a lotus accompanied by Siddhi and Ridhi on the sides. The main gate is guarded by the two statues of Jay and Vijay. Like all the Ashtavinayak temples, Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated in great grandeur and magnificence here. The temple is close to the town of Ranjangaon and the garbhagriha, the sanctum to house the swayambhoo statue was built by Peshwa Madhavrao. The tale says that Tripurasura paryaed to Lord Shiva and received three citadels of gold, silver and bronze with a boon of invisibility until all the three are in linear. He started misusing the boon and caused sufferings to all the beings in the heaven and earth. Gods complained to Lord Shiva and realised that he cannot defeat the demon. Narada Muni advised that he salute Ganesha and after doing that he shot a single arrow that pierced through the citadels and killed the demon. On this remembrance Shiva built the temple for Ganesha.
