Skip to main content

Dhundiraj Ganeshji Mandir

The Oldest Ganapati Temple of Gujarat at Vadodara (Baroda).



The beautiful city of Vadodara was ruled by the Gaekwads, a Hindu Maratha dynasty. Lord Ganesha,the destroyer of all obstacles and harbinger of prosperity and happiness was revered deity of the Maratha clan. The Maharashtrian community since then has raised many prominent Ganapati temples for their beloved god in the city of Vadodara. Vadodara was one of the largest and wealthiest princely states, during the British era. As a part of the heritage is Gujarat’s oldest Ganapati temple, a jewel in the crown of Vadodara.

More than 170 year old, this Ganapati Temple is no less magnificent and truly represents the glory of the royal days.Nestled within a humble fortification in Rangmahal,Wadi area of old Vadodara city,Dhundiraj Ganeshji Mandir is a fantastic heritage structure.Themajestic facade of the two storied building brings alive a confluence of Maharashtrian and Gujarati style of architecture.



The temple structure is made entirely of teak wood. It is supported by 44 wooden pillars of 16-inch diameter each and has elaborate wooden carvings and elegant floral motifs in bright colours all over the beams and the walls. Devotees completely get mesmerized by the charm of the place.

Gopalrao Mairal was a wealthy diwan during the reign of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad II. Gopalrao, an ardent Ganapati devotee built this temple in over 44,000 sq. ft. of area during the reign of Ganpatrao Gaekwad(successor of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad II). The temple is still looked after by the present members of Mairal Family.

The main idol of Ganesha has been placed alongside his two wives Riddhi, Siddhi and two sons Labh, Laksh. The idol has 4 hands.The 2 left hands hold lotus leaf and modak and the right hands hold an elephant tooth and Parshu respectively.

An astonishing fact about the temple is that there is another room behind the sanctum sanctorum which has a passage leading to two brick arch tunnels!!! During that time one tunnel lead to Gopalrao’s house and the other to Mohammed Lake. The tunnel is said to be 8 feet high,10 feet wide and has a length of 200 feet.



Moushaqa, the Vahana (a deity’s mount) of Ganesha is placed on a marble pedestal outside the temple, where worshippers bow down to the God as a mark of respect.It is believed, that one’s wishes when whispered into Moushaqa’s ear, are carried to  Lord Ganesha by him, and then with Ganesha’s blessings, they come true.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ayikudi Balasubramanya Swami Temple

The Ayikudi Balasubramanya Swami Temple is a relatively smaller temple located at the Ayikudi village of the Thirunelveli district,Tamil Nadu. About The Deity The idol of Balasubramanya swamy at this temple depicts Lord Muruga in the form of a young boy with four hands having Vajram, Shaktivaram & Abhayam. His sacred vahana, the Peacock is seen on his left. The lord appears sitting on a lotus Padmapeetam. The name of one of the five trees of the temple (sthala virksham), is Madhulai and not Madhalai. Legend And Stories Thirunelveli was under control of the Travancore Kings until 1947 when unification of India happened. The Balasubramania Swamy temple is situated on the banks of Hanuman Nadhi. Lord Hanuman is believed to have stopped by and rested on the banks of this river, on his way to Lanka. Thus this river go to be named the Hanuman nadhi. Lord Karthikeya graces in this temple along with five Vrikshas (trees) and the five Devatas, in the form of a ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bhramari Shakti Peetha

Bhramari Devi Mandir is one of the 51 Shaktipeethas belonging to Devi Sati/ Durga where the left leg of Devi Sati fell at Trisotra, Salbari village, Bodaganj, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. It is a famous Shakti Peethas in West Bengal. Lord Brahma performed a yajna (Vedic ritual of fire sacrifice) to please Shakti and Shiva. Goddess Shakti emerged, separating from Shiva and helped Brahma in the creation of the universe. Brahma decided to give Shakti back to Shiva. Therefore his son Daksha performed several yajnas to obtain Shakti as his daughter in the form of Sati. It was then decided that Sati was brought into this world with the motive of getting married to Shiva. However, due to Lord Shiva's curse to lord Brahma that he would not be worshiped and also his fifth head was cut off due to his lie in front of lord Shiva, Daksha started hating lord Shiva and decided not to let lord Shiva and Sati get married. However, Sati got attracted to Shiva and finally one day lord Shiva and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sri Subramanyeswara Swamy Temple, Mallam

The temple was constructed by the Chola rulers around 11th century in Mallam village near Nayudupeta, about 90 km away from Nellore. The Vasanta Mandapam in the temple is in the form of a chariot drawn by a pair of horses. The 64 pillars of the mandapam are decorated with pictures of creepers and tales from Ramayanam, Bharatham, Bhagavatam and Siva Puranam. The Sthala Purana says, Lord Muruga killed a demon by name Mallasura at this very place and the demon prayed to the Lord asking to be forgiven and have the place named after him and so the place came to be known Mallam. Another story does the rounds that the village was actually called “Thirugu Mallam” owing to the unique natural phenomenon where the water from nearby lakes would fill up the nearby fields whenever there were rains and return back to the lake, “thirugu mallam” in the local dialect of Telugu means “turn back”. How far this phenomenon is true, we do not know. For now, most of these regions would be grateful if ...
Post a Comment
Read more