Moreshwar of Morgaon

In the village of Morgaon, in the Pune district of Maharashtra, stands the temple of Moreshwar — the first and foremost of the Ashtavinayak. Every Ashtavinayak pilgrimage begins and ends here, at the abode where Lord Shree Ganesh first took form to free the three worlds from a demon who could not be killed.

The Tyranny of Sindhurasura

The demon Sindhu had received a boon from Surya, the Sun-god: an ever-full vessel of amrita, the nectar of immortality, which would keep him safe from death for as long as the vessel remained whole. Fearing that any enemy might one day shatter it, Sindhu swallowed the vessel entirely, carrying his own protection within his body. Certain now that nothing could end him, he unleashed terror across the three worlds.

Shree Ganesh Rides to Battle

The gods, unable to withstand Sindhu's cruelty, turned to Lord Shree Ganesh for deliverance. He rode into battle upon a peacock, first meeting and defeating Sindhu's general, Kamalasura, whom he cut into three. Then he turned to Sindhu himself. Knowing that the demon's invulnerability lay in the vessel he had swallowed, Shree Ganesh cut open Sindhu's body, releasing and emptying the amrita within — and with it, Sindhu's power over death came to an end.

Why He Is Called Moreshwar

Because he rode a peacock — mayura in Sanskrit, mor in Marathi — into this battle, Lord Shree Ganesh became known here as Mayureshwar, or Moreshwar: the Lord of the Peacock. When this form of his work was complete, he returned the peacock to his elder brother, Kartikeya, with whom the peacock is more commonly associated to this day.

The Heart of the Pilgrimage

To this day, devotees undertaking the Ashtavinayak yatra begin their journey at Morgaon and return here to complete it, honoring Moreshwar as the source from which the sacred circuit unfolds. It is here, more than anywhere else among the eight, that the pilgrim first meets the presence of Lord Shree Ganesh as protector of the three worlds.