The Chintamani Vinayak temple at Thevoor is located in the vicinity of Pune. It is one of the temples of the Ashtavinayak Temples which is dedicated to Lord Ganesha. The temple is located 22 km from Pune, off the Pune-Solapur highway, and is hence the nearest from Pune. The village of Theur sits at the confluence of three major regional rivers-Mula, Mutha & Bhima.
Legend of Chintamani Temple
The legend of the Chintamani temple centers around the Chintaamani gem. Sage Kapila possessed a gem Chintaamani which was capable of granting one`s desires. Once a young prince, Guna (son of Gunavati and Abhijita) visited him. The sage invoked the powers of the gem and created a sumptuous meal for the prince. The prince charmed by the power of the gem stole it from the sage. Kapila Muni hurt and dejected prayed to Vinayaka for help. Pleased with his prayers Vinayaka restored the gem from the prince. The sage however refused to accept it and began to revere and worship Vinayaka as Chintaamani Vinayaka. This happened under the Kadamb tree, therefore Theur is known as Kadambanagar in old times.
Architecture of Chintamani Temple
The main Chintamani temple was built by Dharanidhar Maharaj Dev from the family-lineage of Shri Moraya Gosavi. The entrance of the temple is north facing. The idol of Lord Ganesha in the temple faces the East side. This idol has a left trunk and its eyes are studded with precious stones. In the recent past the shikhar- the crest, of the temple was anointed in gold. The Sabhamandap of the temple is made of wood and in its centre is a fountain made of Stone. One of the interesting things about the temple is the separate segment for meditation. It is called an Overry. There is also a small Shiva temple in the premises of this temple.
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