Morgaon Temple, also known as Mayureshwar Temple, is considered the foremost of the
Ashta Vinayaka temples dedicated to
Lord Ganesh in
Maharashtra. It was built by Morya Gosavi in the 14th century. The temple enshrines Lord Ganesh along with his consorts Siddhi and Buddhi. The presiding deity here is known as Mayureshwar or Moreshwar. Morgaon Temple is situated at Morgaon, on the
Pune-
Baramati Road, about 64 km south-east of Pune.
The presiding deity here is installed in a sitting posture, facing east with the trunk curled towards his left. The idol has three eyes and has diamonds in the eyes and on hands. On the head of the deity is the hood of Lord Nagaraja. Most noteworthy feature of the temple is that here one finds two vahanas for Ganesh - one is the usual Mooshika (mouse) and then the peacock, which is the vahana of his brother Lord Muruga.
Morgaon Temple faces north and resembles a small fortress. The main temple complex has a dome, surrounded by a 50 ft high enclosure and decked with four pillars in each corners. The main temple, made of black stone, has four gates. In the eastern gate is Lakshminarayana while in the southern gate are Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi. Lord Kama and Rati resides on the western gate. Lastly in the northern gate reside, Mahivaraha (earth and sun).
There are eight statues of Lord Ganesh installed in the eight corners of the temple, known as Ekdanta, Mahodara, Gajanana, Lambodar, Vikata, Vigharaja, Dhumravarna and Vakratunda. The temple has a shrine dedicated to Nagnabhairava, son of Ganesh.
A big Nandi made of black stone can be seen installed facing Mayureshwar. This is the only temple of Ashtavinayka with Nandi.
The temple has the Turiya Teerth, the Karha River, which is believed to have even washed off the sins of Lord Brahma.
Ganesh Chaturthi celebrated here amid much pomp and splendor with the Ganesh of Chinchwad, a suburb of Pune, joining him for the celebrations. The festival draws thousands of devotees from far and near.
