On Wednesday, December 18, 2024, on the occasion of Sankashti Chaturthi, thousands of devotees visited the Shri Girijatmaj Ganapati temple at the Ashtavinayak pilgrimage site, Shri Kshetra Lenyadri (Tal. Junnar). The temple witnessed a huge crowd of devotees throughout the day, and the Lenyadri area took on the atmosphere of a pilgrimage. For the occasion, the idol of Shri Girijatmaj Ganapati and the temple were decorated with beautiful flowers.
At 5:30 AM, the temple’s president Sanjay Dhekane, trustees Sadashiv Tamhane, and Jaywant Doke performed the abhishek and Mahapuja of the idol. After that, devotees were able to take darshan. As part of the Sankashti Chaturthi celebrations, the idol and temple premises were adorned with stunning flower decorations. For the Naivedya (offerings), the Saraswati Ashtavinayak group from Daund donated 51 kilograms of oranges. The temple conducted Mahaarati at 6 AM, 12 PM, and 6 PM. Various religious rituals were performed throughout the day by the temple authorities. The temple trust provided various facilities for the devotees, and the crowd of devotees and tourists was large throughout the day.
To manage the crowd and make the darshan easier for devotees, the temple administration organized crowd control. During this event, the temple’s president Sanjay Dhekane, vice president Govind Meher, secretary Shankar Tamhane, treasurer Bhagwan Hande, trustees Prabhakar Jadhav, Machhindra Shete, Sadashiv Tamhane, Kashinath Lokhande, Jaywant Doke, Jitendra Bidwai, office secretary Rohidas Bidwai, manager Nilesh Sarjine, staff, villagers from Golegaon, and many devotees were present. In the evening, there was a musical bhajan by the Shri Muktai Prasadik Bhajani Mandal from Shivechiwadi. At night, during the Chandrodaya, a Mahaarati was held. Afterward, a Mahaprasad was organized for the devotees by Savita Jalinder Shete and Jalinder Baburao Shete from Golegaon.
Throughout the day, many dignitaries from various fields took darshan of the deity. Devotees from Junnar as well as cities like Pune, Ahmednagar, Mumbai, Thane, and Nashik visited in large numbers for the darshan. This information was provided by the temple president Sanjay Dhekane and secretary Shankar Tamhane.