Famous Temples in India

LENYADRI GIRIJATMAJ GANPATI TEMPLE

Lenyadri, Junnar, Pune, Maharashtra, India

Share

God

This temple is dedicated to Lenyadri Ganapathi. Ganesha could be seen with his trunk turned to the left side, facing east, with one of his eyes visible. The icon is covered with sindoor and is directly formed/sculpted on the stone wall of the cave.

Interesting Facts

  • Since the Lenyadri Ganpati is rock-cut, devotees cannot circumambulate. However, they are free to worship the Lord themselves.
  • Furthermore, the main mandap is 53 feet long and interestingly there are no pillars supporting the entire structure.
  • The main mandap also known as the sabha mandap has 18 indents or small rooms that pilgrims use for meditation.
  • Once there, a serene atmosphere, with pleasant vibrations from the Lekhan mountain and a beautiful view of the nearby Kukadi river is a treat for the senses.

Best Season To Visit

The best season to visit the temple is Winter season. The best months to visit are September to February.

Weather

Highest - March to May (39°C during day and 22°C during night)Average - May (35°C during the day and 25°C during night)Lowest - December to February (34°C during day and 16°C during night)Monsoon season - June to September

Dress Code

  • For men the dress code is Shirt & Trouser, Dhoti or Pyjamas with upper cloth.
  • For women the preferred dress code is saree or half-saree with blouse or chudidhar with pyjama and upper cloth.
  • Shorts, mini-skirts, middies, sleeveless tops, low-waist jeans and short-length T-shirts are not allowed.

Do's & Dont's

  • Do bathe and wear clean clothes before you enter the temple.
  • Do respect ancient customs and co-piligrims while at temple.
  • Smoking and drinking is prohibited in this temple.
  • Chewing betel leaves, tobacco, gutka and spitting inside temple is strictly prohibited.

transport connections

Name Distance Contact Number
Narayangaon Bus Stand
19.2 KM 02132-242035
Chinchwad Railway Station
83.1 KM 139
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport
155 KM 022-66851010

Architecture

The temple is also known as Girijatmaj temple. It gets its name from the words Girija (Parvathi) and Atmaj (son), thus the son of Parvati. This is the only Ashtavinayak temple which is on a mountain. Girijatmaj Temple is approached after climbing 307 steps. Out of 18 Buddhist caves on mountain, Girijatmaj Ganpati’s Temple is in the 7th cave. These caves are also known as Ganesh Gufa. Here, Lord Ganesh is worshipped as Girijatmaja. Lenyadri is situated on the North-west bank of river Kukadi. Lenyadri carries an ancient myth which says that when the great Pandavas were living in agyatvas during their 13th year of exile, they sculptured these caves in just one night. The current name “Lenyadri” literally means “mountain cave”. It is derived from ‘Lena’ in Marathi meaning “cave” and ‘adri’ in Sanskrit meaning “mountain” or “stone”. The name “Lenyadri” appears in the Hindu scripture Ganesha Purana as well as in a Sthala Purana, in association to the Ganesha legend. It is also called Jeernapur and Lekhan parvat (“Lekhan Mountain”). Lenyadri is one of the eight revered Ganesha temples collectively called Ashtavinayaka. While some believe that order of visiting the temples in an Ashtavinayak pilgrimage is irrelevant, Lenyadri is usually visited as the 6th temple.

The Ganesha temple is located in Cave 7, the largest excavation around Junnar, about 100 feet (30 m) above the plains. It is essentially a Buddhist Vihara (a dwelling for monks, mostly with meditation cells) in design, an unpillared hall with 20 cells with varying dimensions, 7 on either side and 6 on the rear wall. The hall is large, can be entered by a central door, under a pillared veranda. The hall is 17.37 metres (57.0 ft) long, 15.54 metres (51.0 ft) wide and 3.38 metres (11.1 ft) high. There are 2 windows on either side of the entrance. The hall is treated now as a sabha-mandapa (“assembly hall”) of the Ganesha temple. 283 steps built (by devotees) in stone masonry over eight flights lead to the entrance. The steps are believed to represent sensual pleasures, which Ganesha has overcome. The veranda has six pillars and two pilasters (half-pillars) that support “an architrave from which projects eaves relieved with a railing resting on beams and rafters”. The pillars have octagonal shafts and “over benches and back rest and topped by an inverted ghata, compressed amalaka in between two square plates, inverted stepped pyramid and finally crowned by a bracket” with tigers, elephants and bulls. In a later period, the two central cells of the rear wall have been combined by breaking the partition in between to house the Ganesha image. The old entrance was also widened during the conversion to the Ganesha temple. There are two other smaller entrances to the hall. All entrances bear marks of sockets for fixing wooden doors, added during the conversion, and still have doors. The hall also has traces of plaster and paintings, both added during the conversion and renewed in later times, possibly as late as the 19th century. The Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency (1882) records that the hall was plastered and white-washed. The paintings depicted Ganesha’s childhood, marriage preparations, battle with demons and so forth, along with scenes of other Hindu deities like Devi, Krishna, Vishnu and Shiva. Some of the cells fitted with wooden doors were used for storage. Nine Sati memorials were added on the left wall during the conversion, each is in the shape of a long pillar with an arched top, and to the right of each pillar a hand raised above the elbow, with an open palm, signifies Sati’s blessing. While three panels were plain, the other memorials were sculpted. All of them are worn out, but one of them hints that its subject may be the immolation of Sati on her husband’s funeral pyre. In front of the huge entry gates of Shri Girijatmaj Ganpati temple are enormous pillars with pictures of elephants, horses, lions and various other animals carved on them. Similarly there are pillars with different carvings in front of every other cave.

The Sabhamandap of the temple is 60 feet wide with exactly 18 rooms of 7x10 feet area. These rooms, it is said, were used by saints for tapascharya. The speciality of this Sabhamandap is that it is not supported by any pillar. It is in the form of a very large room. Outside the Gabhara (sanctum) of the temple rest carved pillars. The sanctorum (Garbhagraha) of the temple show-offs a wide range of astonishing art in the form of devotional paintings of Shri Guru Dattatray, Lord ganesh resting on Shiv-Parvati’s lap, Bal Ganesh playing ancient game like ludo made using natural colours.

Religious Significance

As per Ganesh Puran, Goddess Sati, who was reborn as Goddess Parvati had a desire to give birth to Ganesh. She performed penance on the Lenyadri hill. Pleased with her penance, Lord Ganesh fulfilled her wish. On the day of Bhadrapad Shudh Chaturthi, Goddess Parvati wiped her body and created an idol from her body dirt. Lord Ganesh entered this idol and appeared as a young boy with six arms and three eyes. He was called as Girijatmaj or the son of Parvati. Lord Girijatmaj stayed at Lenyadri for nearly 15 years.

History

According to Ganesh Puran, this place is also known as Jirnapur or Lekhan Parbat. Moreover, Devotees believe that the Pandavas carved the caves during their exile period. The caves date from between the 1st and 3rd century A.D.

Temple Timings

Day Timings
All Days 05:00 AM - 08:00 PM

Pooja

Tours










Airports

Airport Name Distance
Shamshabad 40 KM
Lorem Ipsum 12 KM

Railway Stations

Railway Station Name Distance
Secunderabad 10 KM
Nampally 12 KM
Begumpet 6 KM
Lingampally 20 KM

Bus Stations

Bus Station Name Distance
MGBS 35 KM
CBS 28 KM
kukatpally 20 KM
Lingampally 30 KM
Uppal 35 KM

Private Transports

Transport Name Distance Contact Number
Private Transport 8 KM 9546858757
Private Transport1 8 KM 9546858757
Private Transport1 8 KM 9546858757
Private Transport1 8 KM 9546858757
Private Transport1 8 KM 9546858757

Local Transports

Transport Name Distance Contact Number
Local Transport 5 KM 9546858757
Local Transport1 5 KM 9546858757
Local Transport1 5 KM 9546858757
Local Transport1 5 KM 9546858757
Local Transport1 5 KM 9546858757

Nearest Temples

SHREE VIGHNAHAR GANPATI TEMPLE
 Ozar, Pune, Maharashtra, India

7th temple to be visited in the Ashtavinayak circuit, pilgrims often visit Ozar 5fth, as it is a more convenient route

Distance: 15.1 KM
RANJANGAON MAHAGANAPATI MANDIR
 Ranjangaon, Pune, Maharashtra, India

Shiva invoked Ganesha & defeated Tripurasura is Ranjangaon

Distance: 77.8 KM
SHRI BHIMASHANKAR TEMPLE
 Bhimashankar, Pune, Maharashtra, India

One of the famous Jyotirlinga amongs twelve jyotirlingas

Distance: 79 KM

Nearest Attractions

Fort SHIVNERI FORT
  Junnar, Maharashtra, India

Shivneri fort is birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

Distance:6.7 KM
Boating THERGAON BOATING
  Akurdi, Pune, Maharashtra, India

Thergaon boating is famous for water rides and birds

Distance:93.7 KM
Caves PATALESHWAR CAVES
  Pune, Maharashtra, India

Pataleshwar cave is One of the Oldest monuments in Pune

Distance:96.7 KM
Museum RAJA DINKAR KELKAR MUSEUM
  Shukrawar Peth, Pune, Maharashtra, India

It has statues of lord Ganesha,lord Shiva and goddess Parvati

Distance:99.5 KM

User Reviews

Map

LENYADRI GIRIJATMAJ GANPATI TEMPLE

Lenyadri, Junnar, Pune, Maharashtra, India

You can upload a maximum of 15 photos (max 15 MB per Image) of temple and accepted formats are gig, .jpeg,.gif and .pn g. You will be credited with the images and videos If they abide by our photo guidelines and our top contributors ore eligible for discounts on tour packages offered by us.

I certify that the review is based on my own experience on visiting the temple/attraction and have not been paid to write the review, and I don't have any personal or business relationship with anyone managing the temple/attraction. I understand that my review will not be posted if it does not comply with content guidelines of Velpu.com.