Temples in Maharashtra

Maharashtra holds one of the densest concentrations of living pilgrimage traditions in Bharat. At its heart is the Ashtavinayaka yatra — eight svayambhu (self-manifested) Ganesha temples ringed around Pune: Mayureshwar at Morgaon, Siddhivinayak at Siddhatek, Ballaleshwar at Pali, Varadvinayak at Mahad, Chintamani at Theur, Girijatmaj at Lenyadri, Vighnahar at Ozar and Mahaganapati at Ranjangaon. Girijatmaj sits carved into a Buddhist-era cave hill, Ballaleshwar is the only Ganesha temple named after a devotee, and the circuit as a whole was nurtured under Peshwa patronage in the eighteenth century.

Shiva, Devi and Vitthal complete the picture. Three of the twelve Jyotirlingas stand here: Bhimashankar amid the forested Sahyadris, Trimbakeshwar at the source of the Godavari near Nashik, and Grishneshwar beside the Ellora caves — traditionally counted as the twelfth and final Jyotirlinga. In the south, Mahalakshmi (Ambabai) of Kolhapur is revered as a Shakti Peetha, where the setting sun's rays fall directly on the deity during Kiranotsav each year, and north of Nashik the eighteen-armed Saptashringi Nivasini keeps her seven-peaked gad above Vani; at Pandharpur on the Bhima, Vitthal stands on his brick for the Warkaris. The geography travels well: the eight Ashtavinayaka temples and Bhimashankar radiate from Pune, Trimbakeshwar and Saptashringi are both easy runs from Nashik, Grishneshwar pairs naturally with an Ellora visit from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), and Kolhapur and Pandharpur anchor a southern leg — so most pilgrims cover Maharashtra's fourteen in three or four unhurried trips.