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The third temple is the Ballaleshwar temple in Pali. The story behind this temple lies with the devotee of Lord Ganesha, Ballala, who was saved by Lord Ganesha, while being punished by the villagers who were against him for being a follower of Lord Ganesha.
It is believed that Ballala used to worship Lord Ganesha and this was not liked at all by his father, who in an immense fit of anger, even broke the idol Ballala would worship. Lord Ganesha saved his devotee Ballala and that idol was restored as Dhundi Vinayak. This legend ensures that devotees first go to Dhundi Vinayak before going to the main temple of Ballaleshwar.
This temple has two lakes on either side. It has the murti of Lord Ganesha with a “mushika” or mouse, his mythical mount, with a “modak”, his favourite sweet. The garba griha is supported by eight pillars, which have been beautifully hand-crafted.
The temple is made of stone. In winter, the sun’s rays fall directly on the idol at sunrise, making the idol look very beautiful. The idol has diamonds embedded in the facial area for eyes.Also, in this temple the “prasad”, or sweet given to devotees post prayer, offered here is besan laddu. This makes this temple distinct from other Lord Ganesh temples in the sense that they usually offer modak, the Lord’s favourite. Pali is located on the Mumbai-Pune highway, 30 km south west from Karjat railway station.
