Kelzar’s Varad Vinayak Ganesh temple: Where wishes come true
| Date :02-Sep-2022 |
By Narendra Deshmukh
THE ‘Varadavinayak’ Ganesh of Kelzar is known to fulfill all wishes and hence is visited by devotees round the year. However, during the 10-day festival of Ganeshotsav, the buzz of devotional activities reaches a crescendo.
Tucked in a picturesque landscape of hillocks just 52 kms from Nagpur and 26 kms from Wardha, the Kelzar temple is part of country’s very ancient history. The place finds mention in the ‘Vasishtha Puran’ and ‘Mahabharat’ and is known by the name of city of ‘Ekchakranagar’.
As per the Vasishtha Puran, this was the abode of Rishi Vasishtha, the guru of Lord Ram. The great Rishi, as per the Puran, had installed this idol of Lord Ganesh and used to worship it. This was a time before the birth of Lord Ram as after it the great Rishi left this place.
Scriptures also mention that the Wardha river was born around the same period. The Purana mentions Kelzar’s Lord Ganesh as ‘Varad’ Vinayak and consequently the river, ‘Varada’ as per the Purana, got its name from the Lord.
The Mahabharat also mentions that the Pandavas, for a time being, resided in Ekchakranagar where they killed the demon called Bakasur. The place is in North-west direction near the Buddha Vihar, presently known as ‘Tondya Rakshas Maidan’ on Wardha-Nagpur National Highway.
The hillock where the temple of Lord Ganesha stands also has a grand fort of the Vakataka period. The fort has five bastions. It had three grand parkots or rampart. Presently, a well, known as the ‘Ganeshkund’ stands inside the second parkot. After the Vakatakas, Raja Pravarshan made the village his capital. When the Bhosale kings of Kolhapur came to Nagpur, they also stayed at Kelzar for a while.
The idol of Varad Vinayak Shri Ganesh in Kelzar is 4.6 feet high while the bas is 14 feet. In 1993, the temple renovation work began. In 1994, just ahead of Shivratri, a ‘Shivlinga’ was found while digging. The last chapter of Shivlila Amrut, has a mention of ‘Jyotirlinga’ at Ekchakdranagar.
The place also holds high importance for the Jains as an ancient idol of the 8th Tirthankar of the Jains Chandraprabhu Swami was found at the village. Experts believe that the idol must be from the 8th century. Similarly, the Mahalaxmi Jyotirlinga found there could be of over 2,000 years, experts say. All these religious and historical importance of the village makes it a place of huge reverence for people who flock to the Lord Varad Vinayak temple. Particularly during the Ganeshotsav, the place assumes a greater importance. The present 10-day festivities are marked with devotional activities like ‘bhajans’ and ‘kirtans’ amid the sonorous beats of the tal and veena.
At the daybreak, the temple priest Ram Murad Mishra bathes the idol. This year MLA Vishwanath Diagwahane will perform ‘Abhishek’ on September 5.
The president of the temple trust Madhav Irutkar and Secretary Mahadev Kapse have appealed devotees to attend the Anant Chadurashi programme and the ‘Mahaprasad’.