Sri Siddhi Vinayak Temple At Mumbai

Invocative Sloka

“Jaya Deva Jaya Deva jai mangala murthy;

Darshana mhatre mama kamana poorthi"

Sri Ganesha aarthi song in Marathi

Victory to you the auspicious Murthy [of Sri Siddhi vinayaka];

Just a darshan of you is enough to fulfill all the desires of my heart

This is one of the most popular aarti songs [a hymn sung

during the camphor light and deepa aarti puja] in the Ganesha temples in the Maratta belt.

Amongst the innumerable temples dedicated to Lord Ganesha in India Sri Siddhi Vinayaka temple at Mumbai ranks as not only the richest but also as one hich magnetizes the rich & the famous & the poor & the downtrodden alike for regular visits and during tours to Mumbai. The darshan of this magnificent morthi at Mumbai , that mind boggling business capital of India is said to fulfil every wish of the true bhatha.

Yes !This Siddhi Vinayak Maharaj[Siddi in Sanskrit means fulfill], is said to be fulfilling the desires of al clases of devotees from the auto rickshaw man to Amitabh Bachanns!! I In fact the number of VIP visitors & Bollywood stars is so much that this temple becomes one with very high security in our country.

Now for the facts about the temple at a glance…

Name of the temple..Sri Siddhi Vinayak temple

Location

It is situated in one of Mumbai’s central localities by name Prabhadevi,about a few kms from Dadar ,reachable in about 20 minutes by road..One can see long winding lines on the street beside the temple complex ,in the busy buzzing part of the city.

The History

It was the period when the British were ruling India & the Mughals were invading North India.Maharashtra strongly shaped into a Hindu state under the Maratha kings especially Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Ji [later half of the 17th century]

guided by his Guru Akkalkot Samarth Ramdas JI& the saints of Maharashtra namely Gnaneshwar ,Namdev ,Thukaram & the rest ,the worship of Lord Ganesha became a defence mechanism to get united to fight the allies . So much so Vinayaga became one of the most popular deities worshipped by the people.

This temple at Prabhadevi was built by Sri Laxman Vithu Patil [a contractor] funded by smt Deubai Patil in a small 3.6 meter square area in 1801. The temple complex of about 2250 was later developed slowly .A Hanuman Sannidhi was developed in 1952 on the outer prakaram . The sanctum Sanctorum has a dome shaped brick structure on top.

Though it is very different from the traditional temples in India, the keerthi[fame] of the Murthy[ Deity] installed brings in not only about 5000 devotees on ordinary days but also 100 to 150 millions as donations from all over the world thus making it one of the richest in the country

The Deities

The main sanctum sanctorum is that of Ganesh Ji .The not too bigidol s made out of a single black stone. The Lord has his trunk turned to the right instead of the usual left [Called Valampuri Vinayaga] & is flanked by His wives Riddhi & Siddhi [though in the South He is depicted as a Brahmachari ie not married ]Mostly shimmering in the orange red unique to moorthy's in northern India ,He is decorated with expertise by the priests in glittering gold colour . The ornaments & the flower alankarams mesmerize the devotee. The glittering Ganesha sits on a beautifully decorated ,artistic silver mandap [stand].The roof of the sanctum sanctorum is highlighted with gold lining & one can imagine the the effulgence of the entire scenario in this small yet powerful kshethra of Ganesha. Added to these is the background score of the loud drum beats,the divine sound of the high pitched conch synchronized with the chant of the aarti song by the priest followed by the bhaktas ..Believe me the atmosphere is soaked with indescribable trance & bhakti for the Adimoola moorthi,Siddhivinayak in Mumbai the capital of Maharashtra.

The idol of Sri HanumanJi in the outer circumambulatory pathis said to have been found when the road outside was being dug for repair works.

The Festivals

It is surprising to note that al festivals related to Hinduism are celebrated with pomp & splendour here -be it related to Vishnu and Shiva.

But the most breathtaking celebrations are the Sri Ganesh Chaturthi rituals which comes under the category,”Never before & never after “As all of us know Mumbai & Maharashtra are famou for the innumerable ,innovative , humongous idols of Lord Vinayaka taken out in procession on Sri Ganesh Chaturthi day .The entire city of the otherwise busy Mumbai comes to a stand still & people throng standing for hours together in the neverending snakey long lines. Loudly singing with love the lines in Marathi “Ganapati Bappa Moriya ..”they are happy to have a fleeting glance of this amazing Siddhi Vinayak Ji & participate in the poojas & the aarti songs in Marathi which goes thus ..

“Jai Ganesh, Jai Ganesh, Jai Ganesh Deva Mata Jaki Parvati Pita Mahadeva .

Jai Ganesh, Jai Ganesh, Jai Ganesh Deva Mata Jaki Parvati Pita Mahadeva

Ek Dant Dayavant, Chaar Bhuja Dhaari Maathe Pe Andhan Ko Aankh Det, Kodhin Ko Kaaya Baanjhan Ko Putra Det, Nirdhan Ko Maaya, Jai Ganesh, Jai Ganesh Deva “

“Glory to Thee Oh Ganesha Deva , Thou art the son of Mata Parvati & Lord Shiva.”

As one fulfills all the righteous wishes of the true devotee, you make the blind see ,make the dea hear ,bestow a baby to the childless & enlightenment to the ignorant!

Jai ho to Thee Sri Siddhivinayak