Ballaleshwar Ganapati temple at Pali is one among the
Ashtavinayak temples in Maharashtra. The unwavering devotion of the young Ballaleshwar
resulted in Ganesha appearing in the village. The story of Ballaleshwar is a classic
example of bhakti or devotion performing miracles.
Ballaleshwar Ganapati Story
Ballaleshwar Ganapati is known after the name of his ardent
devotee.
Ballala, son of merchant Kalyani Seth and his wife Indumati,
regularly performed puja to Ganesha in his village. He had made a murti of
Ganesha. He invited all the children of the village to participate in the daily
evening puja.
The children were so much immersed in the puja that they
waited till the puja to get over and this meant they reached home very late in the
night. Parents were annoyed by the late arrival of their children. They complained
to Kalyani Seth about the puja of his son Ballala.
In anger, Kalyani Seth went to the puja place and threw the
Ganesha murti into the forest. He then mercilessly beat Ballala and tied him
up.
In spite of all the injury and trauma, young Ballala
continued with his prayers. The unwavering devotion of Ballala made Ganesha
appear before him. Ganesha healed the wounds of Ballala. As boon, Ballala asked
Ganesha to stay in the village.
Ganesha then proclaimed that he will stay in the village in the
name of his ardent devotee.
Thus Ganesha appeared in his Swayambhu form in the village
and people called it Ballaleshwar.
The Ganesha murti throw by Ballala’s father is still seen in
the temple and it is known as Dhundi Vinayak.
Some facts about Ballaleshwar Temple
Vitthal Sindkar (Dighe) constructed the first temple in
1640.
The bell in the temple was brought by Chimaji Appa after he
defeated g the Portuguese in Vasai.
The original wooden temple was renovated in 1760 and built
in the shape of the letter "Shri".
The temple is constructed in such a way that the sun rays
fall on the murti of Ganapati in the temple during prayers.
The main murti faces east and Riddhi and Siddhi can be seen
waving chamras (fans) to the murti in the sanctum sanctorum.