Theur

Sri Chintamani-Ganesha,Theur

Chintamani-Ganesha-(file picture)

The Theur temple is another one of the Ashtavinayaka, the eight revered shrines of Ganesha in Maharashtra.   

Like other Ashtavinyaka idols, the Ganesha is considered swayambu (self-manifested) and hardly any features are visible except the elephantine head,studded with jewel eyes and trunkturned to his left. The idolis smeared with sindur.

According to Mudgala Purana Ganasura was the son of king Abhijit and his wife Gunavati. A strong, but greedy warrior king, Gana pleases Lord Shiva and Shiva grants Gana the boon that Gana could not be killed by anything that possessed any of the three gunas,heaven,eart and underworld. Ganasura and his troop 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, and he forcefully 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 and one of Ganesha's soldiers cuts Ganasura's head. Ganasura wakes up and marches towards Kapila's hermitage with his army, intending to kill the sage. Ganasura's father Abhijit tries to dissuade his son and advises him to return Chintamani to the sage, but he woold not listen. Ganasura starts to destroy the hermitage. Ganesha's shakti, the goddess Siddhi appears and creates a thousand armed warrior Laksha, who destroys Ganasura's army while Ganesha himself beheads the arrogant prince. Ganesha returns the jewel to Kapila but the sage chooses to have his Lord instead of the jewel itself. It is said that Ganesha stays in Theur with Kapila, taking the name of the jewel Chintamani.

According to another legend, Brahma meditated here and his restless mind became stable (sthavar in Sanskrit) due to Ganesha's blessings. Since Ganesha got rid of Brahma's Chintas ("worries"), he came to be known as Chintamani.

Inside the Temple

Theur is believed to be a Ganapatya ( Ganesha as the Supreme Being) pilgrimage centre since ancient times. The current temple was built by the Ganapatya saint Morya Gosavi or his descendant Dharmadhar (Dharanidhar).The exact date of the temple is not known.

The Theur temple along with other Ganapatya centres near Pune, was patronised by the Brahmin Peshwa rulers of the Maratha Empire during the 18th century. The Peshwas, who worshipped Ganesha as their family deity, donated in land , cash and made additions to these Ganesha temples, especially Theur and Morgaon.

Other gate of the temple

There are many shops in front of the temple where you can buy souvenirs of the Ashtavinayaka idols, pictures, pooja items, sindoor etc. Some of the tea shops make tea using lemon grass which tastes heavenly and you will be tempted to ask for another cup

Temple location It is situated at around 50 kms from Pune.

Temple Timings The temple is open from 5:00 AM till 8:00 pm

Temple's daily Pooja and Festivals

The Ganesh Chaturthi festival is celebrated from the first to the fifth day of the Hindu month of Bhadrapada (Puratassi in Tamil), where Ganesh Chaturthi falls on the fourth day. A festival is on the fourth day of the Hindu month of Magha. This festival is celebrated from the first to the fifth day of Magha. The palkhi or the palenquin of Ganesha is taken for three consecutive days in these festivals.

A festival and a fair is also held on Vijayadashami and Somavati Amavasya, a new moon day that falls on a Monday.

How to reach?
Theur is in Haveli district of Pune and is about 25 km from Pune. Theur is situated on the confluence of Mula, Mutha & Bhima rivers. One can reach Theur by,
1. Regular buses are available from Poolgate bus stand of Pune.
2. If you are driving by your car ,it is on Pune-Sholapur Highway

As per my experience, the best alternative is to take a group travel to Ashta Vinayaka yatra from reputed travels in Pune or Mumbai.

Where to Stay? Pune is the nearest place for stay Contact
Useful data
State: Maharashtra
District: Pune
Famous for: Pilgrimage
Languages: Marathi,Hindi
Best Season: Throughout the year. Summer( from May to July) could be very hot when the mercury shoots to 40 degree celsius. Monsoon during the month of June brings plenty of rain
Weather: Summer 33-42°C, Winter 16-28°C