Ballaleshwar Ganpati Temple in Pali
Ballaleshwar Temple in Pali, Raigad district is the 3rd of Ashtavinayak Temples near Pune, Maharashtra.
According to Historians and Hindu religious scholars, Lord Ganesha is largely believed to have immediately saved a boy-devotee named Ballala who was badly beaten by his father named Kalyani-seth and local villagers. The only reason was his single-minded devotion towards Ganesha.
In 1760, Shri Ballaleshwar temple Pali was built by Nana Phadanavis. He reconstructed the original wooden temple into a stone temple. On the two sides of the temple, there are two small lakes constructed. One lake is totally reserved for the puja (worship) of the Deity.
It is to be noted that this particular temple has two sanctums and faces towards the east. The murthi is housed in the inner Temple. It has a Mushika which means Ganesha’s mouse vahana. There is also a modaka in his forepaws in front of it. There are eight exquisitely carved pillars which supports the hall.
It is to be noted that the eight directions are depicted by these eight pillars. The outer sanctum is 12 feet tall and the inner one is 15 feet tall. It is to be remembered that the sun rays fall on the Ganesha murti at sunrise during the winter solstice. The melted lead was used to stuck stones together very tight for building this Temple.
The Murthi has diamonds embedded in the navel and the eyes. The murthi’s trunk is pointed towards the left. The Besan Laadu is offered as Prasad in this Temple. It is to be noted that Modak is actually offered to the Ganapatis and its devotees.
The shape of the murthi is same as the mountain which is in the backdrop of this temple. On the Mumbai-Goa highway about 11 km before Nagothane, off the Mumbai-Pune highway the temple is situated in the town named as Pali. Moreover Pali is located just 30km to the South-West of Karjat Railway Station. The direction from Pune is Lonavla-Khopoli-Pali is 111 km and Mumbai is Panvel-Khopoli-Pali is 124 km.