Information on Mahotkat Ganesh

1.1 Mahotkat Vinayak

He was born to Sage Kashyap and Aditi in the Krut era (yug). In this incarnation, He reinstated Righteousness (Dharma) by slaying the two demons, Devantak and Narantak and then ended this incarnation.

From:http://www.hindujagruti.org/hinduism/knowledge/article/what-are-the-incarnations-of-lord-ganesh-in-each-yug.html#11

Ranjangaon Ganapati

The Maha Ganapati at Ranjangaon is one of the most visited temples of the elephant God. Ranjangaon is a small village located at a distance of about 50 kms from the city that lies on the Pune-Aurangabad highway.

The deity of Ganapati is called 'Maha Ganapati' because of its massive size and is believed to be one of the Ashtavinayakas shrines in Maharashtra.

The temple was built between the 9th and 10th century. The shrine inside the temple was built by Madhavrao Peshwa, which is a small room built in the basement to keep the idol of Ganesha. The temple was then renovated by Sardar Kibe from Indore who built a hall for the devotees.

The temple bears the patent architectural style of the Peshwa period. To the east of the temple lies the huge entrance gate. The entrance is flanked by the statues of the doorkeepers Jay and Vijay on each side. Enter the temple and you will notice the beautiful statue of the Maha Ganapati seated on a lotus with its trunk on its left. The statues of Riddhi and Siddhi lie on each side of the Ganapati. The temple is constructed in such a way that the sun rays fall directly on the idol of Ganesha. The temple also has an underground basement wherein lies another idol of Ganesha which is much smaller in size. This idol is believed to be the original idol of the temple which has got twenty hands and ten trunks. This Ganesha idol is called the "Mahotkat".

There is a famous legend behind the construction of the temple. It is believed that a demon called Tripurasur was blessed by Lord Shiva as a reward for years of intense meditation that he could not be killed by anyone but by the Lord himself when shot with a single arrow. The demon however took advantage of this power and started attacking and harassing the rishis and the other Gods. The Gods therefore approached Lord Shiva and asked him to protect them from the hands of the cruel demon. Lord Shiva therefore set out to destroy the demon. After an intense battle, Shiva realised he could not defeat the demon alone and hence was asked by Narad to chant a mantra to Ganesha to seek his help. Lord Shiva then appealed to Ganesha and with his support finally defeated the demon by shooting him with a single arrow. Once Tripurasur was defeated, Lord Shiva built the Maha Ganapati temple in favour of Lord Ganesha and named it the 'Tripurarivade Maha Ganapati' temple.

People in Maharashtra celebrate the Ganesh festival in full festivity and splendour and during this time the Ranjangaon Ganpati temple is the epicentre of big celebrations from the first day of the Bhadrapad month to shashthi or to the sixth day.

The temple is open from 5:30 in the morning till 10 at night.

From: http://punekar.in/site/2009/08/11/ranjangaon-ganapati-2/