The Sreemant Dagadusheth Ganapati temple is one of the holiest shrines located in the city of Pune. Devotees and followers from all over the world visit here for the worship of Lord Ganapati. A traditional 120 years old festival named as the Sreemant Dagadusheth Ganapati Utsab is a benchmark for all the inhabitants of Maharashtra. It occurs for a period of 10 days during the Ganesh Utsab in Maharashtra. Uncountable number of people visits the temple on those days for a glimpse of Lord Ganesha and his blessings. Moreover several other deities of gods can also be witnessed inside the temple. A true and generous follower can also make his/her wishes come true. It is a belief by the local inhabitants around the temple.
Legendary sources have an interesting story behind the establishment of this enormous monument. The story was about a sweet maker named Sreemant Dagadusheth Gadve. He came all the way from his hometown Karnataka to Pune in search for a better business place. Most of the sweet makers in India are named as 'Halwai', so according to his profession he was famously named as Dagadusheth Halwai.
At that time the harmful disease of plague was prevailing in India. Due to its effect Dagadusheth's son died. This made the family Sreemant greatly depressed. Sreemant could do nothing but to get some suggestion to get out of this sadness from his Guruji Shri Madhavnath Maharaj. Guruji advised him to create two idols each of Shri Datta Maharaj and Lord Ganesha and worship and love them daily like his son. Guruji assured him that one day just as a father's name is brought into radiance by his progeny, just like that the idols will also bring happiness for Dagadusheth.
Dagadusheth hence constructed those two idols according to the instructions of Guruji and worshipped them regularly. Just in a span of few years, his life became happier and he became one of the wealthier persons of Maharashtra. Later, on 1893 he constructed the Ganapati temple on that place and that is how the Dagadusheth Ganapati Temple was formed.
The temple of Dagadusheth is not far behind in the field of art and crafts. The temple was crafted very attractively by implementing costly materials and stones by Dagadusheth. The temple is very rich as well. Due to some of its precious works and gems the temple is guarded with high security. The deity of Lord Ganesha itself is insured at a whooping sum of 10 million rupees. The temple has also a charitable trust known as the Halwai Ganapati Trust. It carries a bighearted work for oldage peoples by opening a new oldage home for them named as the Pitashree situated in Kondhwa in Pune. They also created a building for the education of disabled children, quality food for the poor and free hospitality services for them and the local tribes. Hence, all these striking significances made the temple of Dagadusheth Halwai a must watch for the national as well as the international citizens.