Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Mandir, Ganpati Bhavan, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Rd, Mehunpura, Budhwar Peth, Pune, Maharashtra

In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as a subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna). As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (Sanskrit: अष्टविनायक; aṣṭavināyaka; lit. “eight Ganesha (shrines)”) in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of the eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.

There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai, Ganpatipule temple at Ganpatipule, Binkhambi Ganesh mandir in Kolhapur, Jai Vinayak temple in Jaigad, Ratnagiri, Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Andhra Pradesh; the Rockfort Ucchi Pillayar Temple at Tiruchirapalli, Puliakulam Munthi Vinayagar Temple at Coimbatore and Karpaga Vinayagar Temple in Pillaiyarpatti which is a town named after Ganesha in Tamil Nadu; Kottarakkara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala; Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Telangana.

T. A. Gopinatha notes, “Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees … in a niche … in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples … the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen.” Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including Southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu Valley), and in several western countries.