The Chintamani Temple of Theur is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hin ...

dedicated to

Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva_(Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is ...

Located from

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

, the temple is "one of the larger and more famous" of the

Ashtavinayaka Ashtavinayaka ( mr, अष्टविनायक) literally means "eight Ganeshas" in Sanskrit. Ganesh is the Hinduism/Hindu deity of unity, prosperity, learning, and removing obstacles. The term refers to eight Ganeshas. Ashtavinayaka yat ...

, the eight revered shrines of Ganesha in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The temple lore describes how bhagwan Ganesh retrieved the wish-giving jewel Chintamani for his devotee, the sage Kapila from the greedy king Gana and how he pacifies the uneasy mind of the god

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

, who meditated on him in Theur. The temple is associated with the

Ganapatya Ganapatya is a denomination of Hinduism that worships Ganesha (also called Ganapati) as the Saguna Brahman.Morya Gosavi Morya Gosavi or Moraya Gosavi () alias Moroba Gosavi was a prominent saint of the Hindu Ganapatya sect, which considers Ganesha as the Supreme God. Morya Gosavi is considered the chief spiritual progenitor of the Ganapatyas and has been descri ...

(dated between 13th to 17th century). Though the temple is believed to have existed since antiquity, the current structure of the temple was built by him or his descendant. The Chintamani Temple was also a spiritual magnet for the

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later ...

rulers, especially Madhavrao I (1745–1772) who renovated and made additions to the temple structure.

Location

Theur is located in the

Haveli taluka Taluka Haveli is a subdivision of the district of Pune, Maharashtra. The Pune Municipal Corporation & Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, Pune are at the center of & entirely surrounded by the taluka for administrative purposes. The region of ...

Pune district Pune district (Marathi pronunciation: uɳeː is the most populous district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The district's population was 9,429,408 in the 2011 census, making it the fourth most populous district amongst India's 640 district ...

, near the confluence of river Bhima and the conjoint river

Mula-Mutha The Mula-Mutha is a river in India, formed by the confluence of the Mula and Mutha rivers in the city of Pune, which later meets the Bhima River, which itself later meets the Krishna River and finally emptying to the Bay of Bengal. The river ...

Religious significance

Though Theur is prescribed to the fifth temple to be visited in the Ashtavinayak circuit, pilgrims often visit Theur second in the circuit after Morgaon, as it is a more convenient route. The ''

Mudgala Purana The Mudgala Purana (Sanskrit:; ) is a Hindu religious text dedicated to the Hindu deity Ganesha (). It is an that includes many stories and ritualistic elements relating to Ganesha. The Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana are core scriptures ...

'' narrates: Gana or Guna or Ganasura was the son of king Abhijit and his wife Gunavati. A strong, but greedy and hot-headed warrior king, Gana pleases the god

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

– Ganesha's father with his worship. Shiva grants Gana the kingship of the three worlds – heaven, earth and underworld and decreed that Gana could not be killed by anything that possessed any of the three '' guna''s. Once, Gana and his entire arrives at the hermitage of the sage Kapila, who owned the wish-granting jewel Chintamani. Kapila serves the prince and his army with delicious food created with the help of the jewel. The greedy prince desires to acquire the jewel, however the sage refuses. However, Gana seizes it from the sage. Kapila, a devotee of Ganesha, prays to Ganesha to retrieve the gem. Ganesha with his army appears in Gana's dream; one of his soldiers cuts Gana's head. Gana wakes up and marches towards Kapila's hermitage with his army, intending to slay the sage. Abhijit tries to dissuade his son and advises him to return Chintamani to the sage, but in vain. Gana starts to destroy the hermitage. Ganesha's ''

shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and r ...

'' ("power") – the goddess Siddhi appears and creates a thousand-armed warrior Laksha, who destroys Gana's army while Ganesha himself beheads the arrogant prince. Ganesha returns the jewel to Kapila, however, the sage chooses to have his Lord instead of the jewel itself. So, Ganesha stays on in Theur with Kapila, taking the name of the jewel Chintamani.Grimes pp. 118–9 The name ''Theur'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''Sthavar'' meaning stable. According to another legend, the god

meditated here and his restless mind became ''sthavar'' due to Ganesha's blessings. Since Ganesha got rid of Brahma's ''Chinta''s ("worries"), he became known as Chintamani. According to another tale, the god-king Indra worshipped Ganesha here under the

Kadamba tree ''Neolamarckia cadamba'', with English common names burflower-tree, laran, and Leichhardt pine, and called kadam or cadamba locally, is an evergreen, tropical tree native to South and Southeast Asia. The genus name honours French naturalist Jean- ...

to get rid of the sage

Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

's curse. The place was thus known as Kadamaba-Nagar, the town of Kadamba trees.

History

Though Theur is believed to a

Ganapatya Ganapatya is a denomination of Hinduism that worships Ganesha (also called Ganapati) as the Saguna Brahman. the current temple was built by the Ganapatya saint

Morya Gosavi Morya Gosavi or Moraya Gosavi () alias Moroba Gosavi was a prominent saint of the Hindu Ganapatya sect, which considers Ganesha as the Supreme God. Morya Gosavi is considered the chief spiritual progenitor of the Ganapatyas and has been descri ...

or his descendant Dharmadhar (Dharanidhar). The exact date of the temple is unknown. Morya Gosavi often visited the temple on his trips between his home town Chinchwad and

Morgaon Shri Mayureshwar Mandir ( mr, श्री मयूरेश्वर मंदीर) or Shri Moreshwar Temple ( mr, श्री मोरेश्वर मंदीर) is a Hindu temple (''mandir'') dedicated to Ganesha, god of wisdom. It i ...

, the foremost of the Ashtavinayaka temples. On every fourth lunar day after the full moon, Morya used to visit the Theur temple. According to a story, as per his guru's orders, Morya performed penance at Theur by observing a strict fast for 42 days, within this period, he is believed to have "divine revelations". Ganesha is believed to have appeared in the form of a tiger to Morya and granted him '' siddhi'' (spiritual powers). The Theur temple along with other Ganapatya centres near

, enjoyed royal patronage from the

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

rulers of the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...

during the 18th century. The Peshwas, who worshipped Ganesha as their '' kuladaivat'' ("family deity"), donated in land and/or cash and/or made additions to these Ganesha temples, especially Theur and Morgaon. The Theur temple has been a spiritual magnet of the Peshwas, especially Madhavrao I. Madhavrao, who also renovated the temple, used to visit before engaging in any battle and after a battle to thank for the success in battle. Madhavrao spent his last days in the precincts of the temple. In the period of extreme illness that led to his death, Madhavrao tried to please the Lord by performing Him a perennial ''

abhisheka Abhisheka () means "bathing of the divinity to whom worship is offered." It is a religious rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid offering on an image or murti of a God or Goddess. Abhisheka is common to Indian religions su ...

'' of milk.

Chimaji Appa Chimaji Balaji Bhat was born in a Chitpavan caste family in 1707 and died in 1740, commonly referred to as Appa or Bhau, was the son of Balaji Vishwanath Bhat and the younger brother of Bajirao Peshwa of Maratha Empire. He was an able military ...

, brother and military commander of the Peshwa Baji Rao I, donated a large European bell, which still hangs in the temple. He had acquired it as war booty from the Portuguese after seizing the

Vasai Fort Fort Vasai (Fortaleza de São Sebastião de Baçaím) is a ruined fort of the town of Vasai (Bassein), Maharashtra, India. The structure was formally christened as the Fort of St. Sebastian in the Indo-Portuguese era. The fort is a monument o ...

. Currently, the temple is under the administration of the ''Chinchwad Devasthan Trust'', which also governs Morgaon and

Siddhatek Siddhatek is a town in the Ahmednagar district of the western part of India located on the Bhima River. The town is known for its temple to Sri Siddhi Vināyaka, the right-tusked incarnation of Ganesha as "Masterful Remover". Legends surrounding ...

Ashtavinayak temples.As per the official receipt of donation, provided by the Morgaon temple

Architecture

Described as "one of the larger and more famous" of the Ashtavinayaka temples, the temple's main gate located to the North is relatively smaller compared to the scale of the temple, however the central icon of Chintamani-Ganesha faces East. The temple has a wooden ''Sabha- mandapa'' (assembly hall), which was built by Madhavrao. The hall also has a black stone water fountain in it. Besides the central shrine dedicated to Ganesha, there are number of smaller shrines in the temple complex: Mahadeva (

) temple,

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

temple,

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

temple etc. Behind the temple is the ''Peshwa Wada'' – the Peshwa Palace. Once the residence of Madhavrao, today the day-to-day activities of the temple are carried from this place. Like other Ashtavinyaka icons, the central icon of Ganesha is considered self-manifested and hardly any features are visible except the elephantine head – studded with jewel eyes – and trunk, which turns to his left. The icon is interpreted to be seated in cross-legged posture. The icon is smeared with

sindur Sindooram is a traditional vermilion red or orange-red coloured cosmetic powder from the Indian subcontinent, usually worn by married women along the part of their hairline. In Hindu communities the sindoor is a visual marker of marital sta ...

like rest of the Ashtavinyaka images.

Temple festivals

The temple celebrates three main festivals. The ''Ganesha Prakatostav'' which corresponds to the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. The festival is celebrated from the first to the seventh day of the Hindu month of Bhadrapada, where Ganesh Chaturthi is the fourth day. A fair is held on this occasion. The ''Maghotsav'' festival is held to commemorate the birthday of Ganesha - Ganesha Jayanti, which falls on the fourth day of the Hindu month of Magha. The temple festival is celebrated from the first to the eighth of the month. A fair is also organized. The ''Rama-Madhav Punyostav'' on the eighth day of the Kartik month commemorates the death anniversary of the temple's best known patron, Madhavrao and his wife Ramabai, who performed

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on his funeral pyre and was burnt with him.

Notes

References

* {{Hindu holy cities Ganesha temples Hindu temples in Pune district