Anantha Vinayagar
Ganesha the elephant faced God is usually worshipped first before any other worship service is carried out to any other deity.
Pillayaarpatti near Karaikkudi in Tamilnadu houses an ancient temple with a rock cut shrine to Ganesha, Karpaka Vinayakar . It is rich in festivals and traditions.
Echanari Vinayagar
The State of Maharashtra holds Ganapati in great reverence. 8 of these shrines around Pune are collectively referred to as the Ashta Vinayak temples. The Siddhi Vinayak temple in Bombay is a modern shrine visited by thousands throughout the year. Vatapi Ganapati is an image of Ganapati said to have been brought back by the Pallava King during his conquest of Badami, formerly known as Vatapi.
Karpaga Vinayagar
The hill temple dedicated to Taayumanavar – Shiva of the 1st millennium CE, is popularly reffered to as the Ucchi Pillayar temple (Rock Fort – Malaikkottai temple complex) and is associated with legends from the Ramayana.
The Tiruvalanchuzhii Shiva temple near Kumbhakonam in Tamilnadu is known more popularly for its shrine to Sweta Vinayakar, said to be made of the foam of the milky ocean (Ksheera Sagaram).
Manakula Vinayagar
Moreshwar in Moregaon, is one of the most popular of the Ashta Vinayaka shrines in Maharashtra depicting Ganapati on a peacock mount. Ranjangaon in Maharashtra enshrines Mahaganapati depicting the legend of Shiva invoking Ganesha during his battle with the demons. Mahad in Maharashtra enshrines Varadvinayak associated with the legend of Rukmangada, Indra and the Bhadravana forest.
Pasikula Vinayagar
Ozar in Maharashtra depicts Ganapati as Vigneshwar who quelled the arrogance of the demon Vignaasuran.
Ballal Vinayak at Pali in Maharashtra is associated with the legend of a young lad Ballal’s devotion to Ganapati. Chintamani Vinayak in Maharashtra is associated with the legend of the Chintamani gem and Kapila Muni. Siddhi Vinayak in Siddhatek in Maharashtra commemorates the legend of Vishnu invoking Ganesha, during his battle with the demons.
Uchi Pillayar
Ganesh Chaturti: Here is a special Templenet feature brought out for Ganesh Chaturti 1999, with links to related websites. The Gokarana Shivastalam in Karnataka and the Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga Temple at Deogarh in Bihar are prominent centers of Shiva worship. Ganesha is said to have been the cause of the origin of these worship centers.
