Moreshwar, Mayureshwar Morgaon Temple

There is a legend associated with the temple. It says that Bhagwan Ganesha was born to Parvati in the Treta Yuga in the caves of a place called Lenyadri. Bhagwan took the form of a fair Mayureshwar, who had six arms and was riding a peacock.

The young Ganesha was fond of climbing trees. One day, he accidentally knocked off an egg, from which a peacock emerged. Therefore, this Ganesha idol is seen riding a peacock. Therefore, he is called ‘Mayureshwar.’ After finishing the task of slaying the demon, Bhagwan Ganesh offered his Vahan peacock to his brother Bhagwan Kartikeya.

According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha incarnated as Mayuresvara(Mayūreśvara), who has six arms and a white complexion. His mount is a peacock. He was born to Shiva and Paravati in the Treta Yuga, for the purpose of killing the demon Sindhu.

Sindhu was the son of Cakrapani – the king of Mithila and his wife Ugrā. Ugrā conceived due to the power of a solar mantra, but was unable to bear the extreme heat radiating from the foetus, so she abandoned it in the ocean. Soon, a son was born from this abandoned foetus and the ocean returned him to his grieving father, who named him Sindhu – the ocean.

The caves of Lenyadri, where the Mayuresvara form of Ganesha is believed to have been born

Parvati underwent austerities meditating on Ganesha – "the supporter of the entire universe" – for twelve years at Lenyadri (another Ashtavinayak site, where Ganesha is worshiped as the son of Parvati). Pleased by her penance, Ganesha blessed her by the boon that he would be born as her son. In due course, Ganesha was born to Parvati at Lenyadri and named as Gunesha by Shiva. Little Gunesha once knocked an egg from a mango tree, from which emerged a peacock. Gunesha mounted the peacock and assumed the name Mayuresvara.

Sindhu was given the ever-full bowl of amrita (elixir of life) as a boon from the Sun-god. The demon was warned that he could drink from the bowl as long as it was intact. So to protect the bowl, he swallowed it. Sindhu terrorized the three worlds, so the gods asked Gunesha for help. Gunesha defeated Sindhu's army, cut his general Kamalasura into three pieces and then cut open Sindhu's body, emptying the amrita bowl and thus killing the demon. The creator-god Brahma is described as having built the Morgaon shrine, and marrying Siddhi and Buddhi to Ganesha. At the end of this incarnation, Gunesha returned to his celestial abode, giving his peacock mount to his elder brother Skanda, with whom the peacock mount is generally associated.

Because Ganesha rode a peacock (in Sanskrit, a mayura, in Marathi – mora), he is known as Mayureshwar or Moreshwar ("Lord of the peacock").Another legend says that this place was populated by peacocks giving the village its Marathi name, Morgaon ("Village of peacocks"), and its presiding deity the name Moreshwar.

A Ganapatya legend recalls how the creator-god Brahma, the preserver-god Vishnu and the dissolver-god Shiva, the Divine Mother Devi and the Sun-god Surya mediated at Morgaon to learn about their creator and their purpose of existence. Ganesha emerged before them in form of an Omkara flame and blessed them.Another legend records that when Brahma created his son Kama (desire), he became a victim of desire and lusted for his own daughter Sarasvati (Goddess of learning). Upon invocation by all of the deities, the sacred Turiya Tirtha river appeared and Brahma bathed in her waters to cleanse his sin of incest. Brahma then came to Morgaon to worship Ganesha, carrying water from the river in his water pot. Entering the Ganesha shrine, Brahma stumbled and water fell from the pot. When Brahma tried to pick it up, it was turned into the sacred Karha river, that still flows at Morgaon.

• Darshan Time
• Aarti Time
• Links