Ganapati Temples in India throw light on the essence of faith amidst the Indian clan. This God of knowledge and the remover of obstacles is also the older son of Lord Shiva. Lord Ganesha is also called Vinayak or knowledgeable or Vighneshwer or god to remove obstacles. He is worshipped, or at least remembered, in the beginning of any auspicious performance for blessings and auspiciousness.
Lord Ganesha has four hands, elephant`s head and a big belly. His vehicle is a tiny mouse. His fourth hand`s palm is always extended to bless people. A unique combination of his elephant-like head and a quick moving tiny mouse vehicle represents tremendous wisdom, intelligence, and presence of mind as well. There are some other names for this deity like Ganapati, Ekadanta, Vinayaka, Heramba, etc. There are various temples dedicated to the god of wisdom across India.
The major temples dedicated to Ganapati in India are Ashta Vinayak shrines, Siddhi Vinayak Temple situated at Mumbai, Vatapi Ganapati, Pillayaarpati Ganapati, Girijatmaja Vinayak Temple in Pune, Ganesh Tok in Gangtok, Chintaman Ganesh in Ujjain, Chinatamani temple in Pune, Ganapathy temple in Kottarakkara, etc.
Siddhi Vinayak Temple
Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai is one of the most-renowned Hindu temples of Maharashtra. Ganapati or the Lord Ganesha is the prominent deity worshipped by people from all parts of India. The foundation of this famous religious architecture was dated back to the earlier parts of the nineteenth century. This temple was constructed by Mr. Laxman Vithu in association with Mrs. Deubai Patil in the year 1801. Situated in Mumbai at Prabhadevi, the Siddhivinayak temple is visited by thousands of devotees from all parts of the city and various other parts as well.
Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple
Kanipakam Vinayaka Temple is a Hindu temple of Lord Ganesha. It is located in Kanipakam in Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. This historic temple is in Kanipaakam in Irala Mandal, Chittoor District. It is about 11 km from Chittoor town. The swayambhu idol of Kanipakam is known as the up-holder of truth.
Dashabhuja Ganapati Temple
Dashabhuja Ganapati Temple is located on Karve Road. There is flyover at the juncture to facilitate the traffic going to Paud Road. Earlier there was no such flyover and the place was called Paud Phata. The presiding god of the temple is Lord Ganapati also known as Ganesha. The God is having trunk on the right which is more sacred. There is small temple of Lord Hanuman besides the main temple. Every "Ganesh Chaturthi" thousands of devotees comes here to pray to Lord Ganesha and participate in the evening "aarti".
Siddhivinayaka Mahaganapati Temple
Siddhivinayaka Mahaganapati Temple is a Hindu temple located in Titwala, a small town in the Kalyan of Thane district, near Mumbai. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu, elephant-headed god of wisdom Ganesha. Titwala is believed to be the putative site of the hermitage of sage Kanva, foster parent of Shakuntala who was born here. The place is steeped in ancient legend and the temple is frequented by a very large number of devotees on account of the belief that separated married couples could be united and marriages of desired people could be fixed easily if Lord Ganesha image is installed in the temple and is worshipped with devotion.
Dagadusheth Halwai Ganapati Temple
Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Temple in Pune is dedicated to the Hindu God Ganesha. The temple is popular in Maharashtra and is visited by thousands of pilgrims every year.
Karpaka Vinayakar Temple
Pillaiyar patti Pillaiyar temple is an ancient rock-cut cave shrine dedicated to Lord Ganesha, located at Thiruppatthur, one km from Thiruppatthur bus stand or Thiruppatthur Thiruthalli Nathar Temple of Sivaganga district in the state of Tamil Nadu. In the cave temple, there are rocks cut images of Shiva and other gods as well as several shrines. The Agama texts found on stones in the temple help date the temple between the years 1091 and 1238. A unique Tamil image of Pillaiyar found in the temple helps to verify this dating. The presiding deity of the temple is Karpaka Vinayakar or Desi Vinayaka Pillaiyar.
