History and Structure
It was built on 19 November 1801. The initial structure of the Siddhivinayak Temple was a small (3.6-meter x 3.6 meters) square brick structure with a dome-shaped brick shikhara. The temple was constructed by a contractor Laxman Vithu Patil and the building was funded by a rich Agri woman named Deubai Patil. Childless due to infertility, Deaubai built the temple so that Ganesha would grant children to other infertile women. Ramakrishna Jambhekar Maharaj, a follower of the Hindu saint Akkalkot Swami Samarth, buried two sacred idols in the front of the presiding deity of the temple on the orders of his guru. It is asserted that after 21 years of the burial of the idols, a mandar tree grew at that spot with a svayambhu Ganesha in its branches – as prophesied by Swami Samartha.
The 2550 temple complex had two 3.6 meter Deepamalas, a rest house, and living quarters for the caretakers. It had a surrounding lake, 30 x 40 square meters in size on the eastern and southern side of the temple. The lake, dug by Nardulla in the early 19th century to acknowledge the scarcity of water, was filled up in the later years and the land is now not a component of the temple complex. Somewhere around 1952, a small Hanuman shrine was erected in the temple complex for the Hanuman idol that was found during the road extension project of Sayani Road near Elphinstone Road. In the 1950s and 60s, the fame of the temple spread, and a notable number of devotees began visiting. However, in the same period, the owner of the plot sold some of the temple lands, reducing the complex area. After 1975, the number of worshippers increased drastically. In the latter half of the twentieth century, the Siddhivinayak Mandir evolved from just a small shrine to the holy grand temple that exists today.
Siddhivinayak is also known as "Navsacha Ganapati" or "Navasala Pavanara Ganapati" ('Ganapati bestows whenever heartily and genuinely prayed a wish) among devotees. Facilities for performing different kinds of pujas are made available by the temple authorities.
