Information of Siddhivinayak Temple, Mumbai, Maharashtra

The Siddhivinayak Temple is one of the most fascinating religious sites not only of India but of the world. Also named as the Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Mandir it is the home for the great Hindu god Ganesha or the "Elephant god". The temple was placed on the locality of Prabhadevi of Mumbai in Maharashtra. The enormous structure was established around 200 years ago in 1801 AD. The temple depicts the religious significance of worshipping Lord Ganesha from ancient times in India.

Siddhivinayak Temple Religious Significance

The temple of Siddhivinayak can be called as an ocean of devotion. Countless number of devotees and followers visit everyday to worship the Lord. Although, the temple is open for each and everyday of a week but the actual crowd gathers on every Tuesday. It is believed that Tuesday is the special day for the worship of Lord Ganesha. Also, there is a belief that every single devotee from the huge crowd get there prayers and dreams fulfilled after worshipping the Lord with great respect and love. This is the reason why famous politicians, celebrities and superstars visit this temple more frequently in a year. Celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan were among the regular followers of this temple.

The most prominent festival that occurs every year in this temple is the "Ganesh Chaturthi Utsab". On that day the number of devotees reaches to its maximum level. The essential items needed for the worshipping of Lord Ganesh can be brought from Phool Gali. It is a narrow path that has numerous shops and stores selling flowers, garlands made of Tulsi flower, sweets and many other stuffs needed as an offering to the God. Among the sweets, Ladoo and Modak are the prominent ones as these sweets were believed as the favorite ones for the God.

Due to the increasing popularity and the regular visits of celebrities, the government has tightened the security facilities of this temple. Moreover, charities and donations made by them and other charitable trust greatly helped it to become one of the richest temples of India.

Siddhivinayak Temple Mythology & History

The Siddhivinayak Temple itself represents the name of Lord Ganesha. After Lord Shiva separated the head from Ganesh's body due to anger, he realized that he had done an unforgiving mistake. So, he placed a head of an elephant over the headless body of that boy and that's how Lord Ganesha was formed. In a Hindu religion calendar, the first God to worship in a year is Lord Ganesh. Not only have that, before the start of any other God's or goddess's worship the worship of Ganesh is first done. For this reason, Lord Ganesh has been described as the "God of Beginnings".

Siddhivinayak Temple Architectural Significance

The architectural characteristic of this temple represents the traditional style of Indian architecture. The entrance doors along with the other gates inside the shrine were made of wood that represents carved images of Lord Asthvinayak. It also locates several pictures of Ganesha inscribed in it. The roof of the shrine was beautifully plated with gold that represents the crown of Lord Ganesh. Then, come the main hall, which resides the actual sculpture of Ganesh. It is a massive four armed idol containing different materials on each hand. It contains an axe, a plate full of modaks, a japmala (rosary of beads) and a flower of lotus in its four arms. For this reason he is also termed as "Chaturbhuj". A snake hanging from the shoulder to the right side of the belly is also a striking feature of this idol. Other than that, an idol of Lord Hanuman is also placed in the prime entrance of the shrine.