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Ancient · Hindu · India
Girijatmaj Temple, Lenyadri
गिरिजात्मज (लेण्याद्री)
Lenyadri, Pune, Maharashtra · 19.2428°, 73.8856°
Ganesha as GirijatmajSatavahana (cave excavation)rock-cut Buddhist vihara adapted as a Hindu shrineAshtavinayak
Sacred since
1 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
1st–3rd c. Buddhist cave, later given to Ganesha worship
Satavahana (cave excavation)
History & significance
The only Ashtavinayaka shrine set on a mountain and inside a Buddhist cave group, occupying cells of Cave 7 of the Lenyadri excavations.
Sthala katha — the traditional account
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
Parvati is said to have meditated here for twelve years, after which Ganesha granted that he would be born as her son.