#BharatDarshan- Temples, Deities and History

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Siddhivinayak Temple

The Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Mandir is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Ganesh. It is located in Prabhadevi, Mumbai, Maharashtra. The temple has a small mandap with the shrine for Siddhi Vinayak (“Ganesha who grants your wish”). The wooden doors to the sanctum are carved with images of the Ashtavinayak (the eight manifestations of Ganesha in Maharashtra). The inner roof of the sanctum is plated with gold, and the central statue is of Ganesha. In the periphery, there is a Hanuman temple as well.

Siddhivinayak is well known as “Navasacha Ganapati” (‘Ganapati bestows whenever humbly genuinely prayed a wish’ in Marathi) among devotees. Ramakrishna Jambhekar Maharaj, a disciple of the Hindu saint Akkalkot Swami Samarth, buried two divine idols in the front of the presiding deity of the temple on the orders on his guru. As prophesied by Swami Samarth, 21 years after the burial of the icons, a mandar tree grew at that spot with a svayambhu Ganesha in its branches.

It was Constructed on 19 November 1801, the original structure of the Siddhivinayak Temple was a small square brick structure with a dome-shaped brick shikhara. The temple was built by the contractor Laxman Patil.  The temple complex had two Deepamalas, a rest house and living quarters for the caretaker. It had an adjoining lake on the eastern and southern side of the temple. The lake, dug by Nardulla in the early 19th century to counter the scarcity of water, was filled up in the later years and the land is now not part of the temple complex. Around 1952, a small Hanuman shrine was built in the temple complex for the Hanuman idol that was found during the road extension project of Sayani Road near Elphinstone Road. The temple is 2.5 km from Dadar railway station Mumbai. You can also get Taxi or BEST buses from DADAR West.