Morgaon is the place where first Gaṇeśa idol in universe was installed. Morgaon is a tiny yet beautiful village situated on the banks of river Karha. The presence of Śrī Mayureśvara makes this place significant.
A majestic temple of Śrī Mayureśvara can be seen on an elevated spot in front of the marketplace. The temple is fortified for safety, and the structure is approximately 50 feet tall. At each of the four corners, four pillars resembling minarets are built. A distant viewer would have mistaken it for a mosque if there was no prominent temple dome structure visible in the center.
Outside the temple grounds, before the stairs, there is a Naragkhana (a drum storage area). Under the Nagarkhana, there is a stone structure of Mushak (Mouse) holding a Ladoo (a ball shaped sweet) into his feets. In front of him is a raised stone square fifteen feet high, on which stands a massive Nandi (Bull) facing Lord Gaṇeśa. There is a legend of Nandi (Bull) appearing in front of the idol. The main shrine of Śrī Mayureśvara and its enclosure can be seen from a distance of ten-twenty feet in front of the Nandi’s raised square. This one is slightly taller than the previous one. The assembly hall is above it and next to it to the east is Śejaghar (Bedchamber) of Lord. In front of the assembly hall, there is another pavilion. The shrine of Sri Nagnabhairava is located to the east of it. Porches run along the sides of the main temple.
There is a Tarti tree (Name of a thorny plant) to the west of the temple. It is very old and here it is called Kalpavriksha. In Krita Yuga, there was a demon named Dharmari. Even Shri Viṣṇu and Śāṃkara could not defeat him. Under his influence all the deities became forest dwellers. Lord Śāṃkara and Goddess Pārvatī came to Śrī Kṣetra Morgaon and started performing penance. In Śrī Kṣetra Morgaon at a place called Madhyameśvara and Kalika Mata temple Śāṃkara and Pārvatī respectively worshiped Gaṇeśa for the destruction of Dharmari. One morning Lord Gaṇeśa appeared in the form of a child in Śrī Mayureśvara temple. This incarnation of Lord Gaṇeśa is called Kalpavinayak. Thus the tree at this place is called Kalpavriksha. Dharmari means the Ari of Dharma meaning the enemy of Dharma. By this incarnation Bhagwan Gaṇeśa supported the Dharma by fighting the war, mounting on Nandi(Bull), who is the form of Dharma. In this incarnation Gaṇeśa was riding a Taurus/Bull vehicle. After completion of his incarnation, the Lord entered under this Kalpavruksha tree. Śrī Moraya Gosavi Maharaj had performed severe penance at this place and had attained the desired result. Even today some seekers come here to perform austerities under this Kalpavruksha tree and get their desires fulfilled.
The eight forms of Gaṇeśa described in the Mudgala Purana are installed here that are as follows: (1) Ekadaṁta (2) Mahodar (3) Gajanan (4) Laṁbodara (5) Vikaṭa (6) Vighnaraj (7) Dhumravarṇa (8) Vakratuṁḍa. These forms are mentioned in the eight volumes of Sri Mudgala Purana. The virtue of seeing the Aṣṭavināyakas is obtained by having Sight (Darśana) of these eight forms of Gaṇeśa.
Also there are twenty three idols of other deities in the temple as follows :
1. Śrī Shami Devi, 2. Śrī Mandar Gaṇeśa, 3. Śrī Durva Devi, 4. Śrī Śukla Chaturthi Devi,
5. Śrī Bhr̥śuṁḍī, 6. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Chaturthi Devi, 7. Śrīman Mahasadhu Śrī Moraya Gosavi Maharaj, 8. Śrī Pūrvadvāra Gaṇeśa, 9. Śrī Viṣṇu, 10.Śrīdevi Lakṣmī, 11. Śrī Dakṣiṇadvāra Gaṇeśa, 12. Śrī Śāṃkara, 13. Śrīdēvī Pārvatī. 14. Śrī Paścimadvāra Gaṇeśa, 15. Śrī Ādiśakti Jagadamba, 16. Śrī Madan 17. Śrī Ratidevi, 18. Śrī Uttaradvāra Gaṇeśa, 19. Śrī Surya, 20. Śrī Varah, 21. Śrī Mahidevi, 22. Śrī Mod Gaṇeśa, 23. Śrī Pramod Gaṇeśa.
On February 14, 1967 (Māgha Shuddha Panchami), the then Chief Trustee of Chinchwad Deosthan Trust, Śrī Dharaṇīdhar, alias Bhau Maharaj Deo, restored the new idols by removing the old ones.
Besides, Śrī Mayureśvara Temple has Sri Rukmini Pandurang idol installed by Jagadguru Śrī Tukārāma Mahārāj behind the Shami tree and idol of Śrī Hanuman installed by Śrī Rāṣṭraguru Samartha Rāmadāsa Swāmī in the rear area of Śrī Mayureśvara Temple.
Śrī Samartha Ramdas Swāmī visited Śrī Kṣetra Morgaon while on his journey. He cheered “Jai Jai Raghuveer Samarth” in front of Śrī Mayureśvara. The Chiṁtāmaṇī Maharaj, a son of Mahasadhu Moraya Gosavi Maharaj requested Śrī Samartha to invoke Śrī Mayureśvara with Moraya’s name and not with another deity’s name. But Śrī Samarth refused it and kept saying the same cheer of Lord Rama. As a result a miraculous event took place. There was a sudden darkness in front of Śrī Samarth. Seeing this strange crisis, Śrī Samarth surrendered to Śrī Gaṇeśa. He begged the mercy of Śrī Mayureśvara to save him from the crisis. The composition through which he invoked the Gaṇeśa is the famous Aarti “Sukhakarta Dukhaharta.” Śrī Samartha composed it at Morgaon.
Śrī Mayureśvara is to be regarded as a Nirguṇa Brahman-Formless Supreme being devoid of all the characteristics, besides son of Śāṃkara and Pārvatī. The same view has been expressed by all the great Vaiṣṇava saints from Śrī Jñāneśvara Mahārāj to Jagadguru Śrī Tukārāma Mahārāj.
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