கிரிஜாத்மஜர் கோயில், லேண்யாத்ரிGirijatmaj Temple, Lenyadri

Sthala Mahātmyam

The Girijatmaj Temple at Lenyadri, about five kilometres north of Junnar, is the only Ashtavinayaka set within a hill of rock-cut caves and the only one where Ganesha is worshipped as a child (bala). The shrine occupies Cave 7, the largest of some thirty originally Buddhist excavations (1st to 3rd century CE), a pillarless vihara hall reached by climbing over three hundred steps and standing about thirty metres above the plain. Sthala mahatmya: the goddess Parvati (Girija) performed severe penance in these caves desiring Ganesha as her son; pleased, he was born to her here as Girijatmaj, meaning the son (atmaja) of Girija, also read as mountain-born. The stone murti faces north with its trunk to the left and is worshipped from the rear of the cave; local tradition holds that the true face lies on the far side of the mountain, which even the Peshwas sought in vain. The great hall is carved from a single rock without supporting pillars. Festivals: Ganesh Chaturthi and Maghi Ganesh Jayanti draw large gatherings.