मराठी
English
On the occasion of Sankashti Chaturthi, on Friday, 16th May 2025, thousands of devotees visited the Ashtavinayak pilgrimage site, Shri Kshetra Lenyadri (Taluka: Junnar), to have the divine darshan of Lord Girijatmaj Ganapati. Throughout the day, there was a large crowd of devotees, giving the entire Lenyadri area a festive, pilgrimage-like atmosphere. On this special occasion, the idol of Shri Girijatmaj and the temple were beautifully decorated with flowers.
On behalf of the Shri Lenyadri Ganapati Devasthan, an early morning abhishek (ritual bathing) and grand puja were performed at 6:00 AM by trustee Sadashiv Tamhanhe. Following the rituals, devotees were allowed to have darshan of the deity. The idol and temple were adorned with attractive floral decorations especially for this occasion. For the deity’s naivedya (food offering), Sudhir and Sainath Maruti Doke from Junnar donated 10 dozen mangoes, and Sachin Ramchandra Gadekar contributed 2 cartons of bananas.
Mahaaratis (grand aarti ceremonies) were conducted at 6:30 AM, 12:00 PM, and 6:00 PM. Various religious rituals were performed throughout the day under the auspices of the temple trust. The trust also provided several amenities and facilities to the devotees. Due to the heavy influx of devotees and tourists, proper crowd management was organized by the trust to ensure smooth darshan for all.
Present on this occasion were the Devasthan’s President Adv. Sanjay Dhekne, Vice President Govind Meher, Secretary Shankar Tamhanhe, Treasurer Bhagwan Hande, Trustees Prabhakar Jadhav, Machhindra Shete, Sadashiv Tamhanhe, Kashinath Lokhande, Jayawant Doke, Jitendra Bidwai, Office Secretary Rohidas Bidwai, Manager Nilesh Sarjeene, staff members, residents of Golegaon village, and a large number of devotees.
In the evening, a devotional music session (bhajan) was performed by the Shri Muktai Prasadik Bhajani Mandal from Shivechiwadi. At moonrise, a special mahāarti of Lord Ganapati was conducted. Following this, a grand meal (mahaprasad) was arranged for all devotees by Sakharam Kondibhau Pardhi from Narayangaon.
Throughout the day, many dignitaries from various fields visited the temple to seek the blessings of the deity. Devotees came in large numbers not only from the local Junnar region but also from Pune, Ahmednagar, Mumbai, Thane, and Nashik. This information was shared by the Devasthan President Adv. Sanjay Dhekne and Secretary Shankar Tamhanhe.
