Ashtavinayaka means eight Ganeshas in Sanskrit and the Ashtavinayaka Yatra or the trip, is famous in India, especially Maharashtra. The eight temples are located the city of Pune and each one is known for its individuality. Each deity is different from the other and all the deities are Swayambhu deities (not created by human beings, completely formed by nature). Each one of the temples should be visited in the order of sequence and the first temple to be visited is Moreshwar Temple at Morgaon followed by Siddhivinayak Temple at Siddhatek, Ballaleshwar Temple at Pali, Varadavinayak Temple at Mahad, Chintamani Temple at Theur, Girijatmaj Temple at Lenyadri, Vighnahar Temple at Ozar, Mahaganapati Temple at Ranjagaon and finally visit the Moreshwar Temple again to complete the Ashtavinayak Yatra.
Mayureshwar Temple at Moreshwar is the most important temple of the tour and this temple is build from black stone during the rule of Bahamani. The temple is located in the centre of the village and is covered from all sides by four minarets. These minarets give the temple the look of a mosque when looked from a distance and this was purposefully done to avoid attacks on temples during the Mughal reign. The temple has huge falls around it and a Nandi is placed in front of the temple entrance. Nandi in a Ganesha temple is rare because it will be seen only in Shiva temples. It is said that the Nandi statue was taken to a Shiva temple but the vehicle carrying it broke down and the statue could not be moved later on. The idol of Lord Ganesha is seen riding a peacock and hence called Mayureshwara and is believed to have killed the demon Sindhu at this particular spot. The idol has its trunk to left side and has Nagaraja (Cobra) on it. The temple is 55kilometers from Pune and is near river Karha in Moregaon village.
