Vinayak is another name
for Ganesh. Ganesh is the God who is loved and worshiped by Hindus
all over. Lord Ganesh is the protector of his devotees. The word
'Astha' means eight, the eight important 'Ganapatis' are collectively
termed the 'Ashtavinayaka'.
It is believed that the idols have self-appeared sculpted stone
statues which have been housed in old temples at eight different
places. The Ashta Vinayak temples are within the range of 20 to
110-km of each other. The following are the eight places where the
eight temples are located Ozar, Theur, Pali, Mahad, Morgaon, Ranjangaon,
Lenyadri, Siddhatek. Out of these eight places, Ozar, Theur, Morgaon,
Ranjangaon and Lenyadri are in Pune district. Pali and Mahad are
in Raigad district whereas Siddhatek falls under the Ahmednagar
district.
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