Ballaleshwar Pali

Maharashtra, Raigad, Mumbai

Nestled between the majestic fort of Sarasgad and the flowing waters of river Amba, is the small village of Pali, the abode of Ballaleshwar. The only incarnation of the Vinayaka, known by his devotee's name, this is the third temple in the Ashta Vinayaka pilgrimage. The shrine at Ballaleshwar Pali is first believed to have constructed in 1640 by Moreshvar Vitthal Sindkar (Dighe). In 1770, the wooden temple of Ballaleshwar was converted into a stone temple by Mr. Baburao Phadnavis and his son Moroba Dada Phadnavis. The temple bell is said to have belonged to Chimaji Appa which was gifted to the temple by the Peshwas.

Legend

Legend describes that a young boy Ballala, an ardent devotee of Lord Ganesh organized a special puja in his village of Pali. The puja attended by all the children of the village, went on for several days as the young ones remained engrossed in devotion. On hearing complaints from the annoyed parents, Kalyan, father of Ballala, went to the place of the pooja, broke the Ganesh idol and beat him up harshly. The injured youngster continued with his chants of Lord Ganesha. Pleased with Ballala's devotion, Lord Ganesh appeared before him and healed his wounds. The Lord accepted the boy's request to reside in the village and told Ballala that he will be known here by the name of Ballaleshwar.

This Temple is part of famous Ashtavinayak Yatra

Architecture

Shaped like the letter Shree in the Devnagiri script, the Ballaleshwar temple has two sanctums. In the outer sanctum Mooshik(mouse) faces the deity holding a modak in his paws. In the inner sanctum is the idol of Ballaleshwar, dressed up as a Brahmin, along with Riddhi and Siddhi. The murti's eyes and navel contain diamonds. The speciality of the Ballaleshwar Pali temple is that during the months of Dec-Jan, the rays of the Sun falls on the idol of Lord Ballaleshwar. The main hall has eight carved pillars and the temple complex encompasses two lakes. The dome made of bricks and lime is captivating.

Pic courtesy: Pali- Shri Ballaleshwar by Borayin Maitreya Larios - originally posted to Flickr as Pali- Shri Ballaleshwar. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pali-_Shri_Ballaleshwar.jpg#/media/File:Pali-_Shri_Ballaleshwar.jpg

Darsan Info

Ballaleshwar Pali Temple timings : 5.30 AM to 10.00 PM
On Chathurthi days, devotees can perform pooja only from 6.00 AM to 9.00 AM. Paying obeisance here during Bhadrapad Shukla Chathurthi is considered to fulfill wishes.

Darsan Dresscode

Men should wear dhotis to perform pooja in the sanctum of Ballaleshwar Pali Temple.

Famous Festival

January - Magh Utsav (Jan/Feb)
May - Shree Dhundi Vinayak Utsav (May/June)
August - Krishna jayanthi
September - Ganesh Chathurthi
October - Vijayadashami
November - Karthika Poornima