The famous Siddhivinayak temple which is situated at Prabhadevi, Mumbai is a well-known and famous temple in India. this is an ancient temple that is said to fulfill all the devotee’s desires and is a main attraction of pilgrims across the globe. It is believed that this temple is existing in the same condition for the last 200 years.
Well, there is an old identical idol that is made up of the same marble as Siddhivinayak, existing in the Banganga complex situated in south Mumbai. However, the temple or shrine of Banganga is more than 500 years old.
The shrine was constructed around the core temple on 19 th November 1801. The shrine consists of The black stone is 2.5 feet high from its base, and it’s about 2 feet wide. The idol is made like, having a trunk that is a little tilted on the right side, one lotus on the upper right arm, taking parshu- in the small hatchet in the second arm, the lower right arm is having a japmala, the chain of holy beads, while left arms are having Ladoo vati. The idol has three eyes like lord shiva and is carved on the black stone sitting on Mooshak- the mouse carrier of the Lord. The outer structure of the temple consists of a dome that changes its color in every few hours and the pillars are carved out with the images of ashtvinayak.
You know, the original structure of the Siddhivinayak temple was a small 3m brick structure. And the building where the temple was funded by a rich Agri woman name deubai Patil. She was childless due to infertility, Deubai built the temple so that Lord Ganesha grants the children to other infertile women, who can give birth to children. It is said that after 21 years of installing the idols, a mandar tree grew stood in the branches of swayambhu Ganesha.
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Furthermore, this 2550 temple complex had two 3.6m Deepamalas, a rest house, and living quarters for the caretaker of the temple. It also has an adjoining lake on the eastern and southern sides of the temple. The lake was made in the early 19 th century to fix the problem of scarcity of water and was filled up over many years but the land is now not part of the temple shrine. In the year 1952, a small hanuman temple was built in the temple for the Hanuman icon that was found during the road extension project, in the 1950s and 60s, the fame of the temple spread across the country and a large number of devotees start visiting.
How to reach?
By Air- the nearest airport is Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport which is situated about 12 km from this place. Domestic Airport is in Vile Parle East and 11.4 kms from Siddhivinayak Temple. By train- the nearest railway station is Dadar railway station, just 2.5 km from the temple. By Road- anyone can get a taxi or frequent buses from Dadar west to reach the temple.
