Moregaon is a village located at a distance of about 50 km from Pune, enroute to Aurangabad in Maharashtra, and it houses a shrine to Mayureshwar Vinayak.
The temple is the starting and ending point of a pilgrimage of eight revered Ganesha temples called Ashtavinayaka. The Hindu tradition holds that at the time of “pralaya” (final destruction of the world), Lord Ganesh will enter “yoganidra” (eternal meditative sleep) at this temple.
Moregaon is the foremost centre of worship of the Ganapatya sect, which considers Ganesha as the Supreme Being. A Hindu legend relates the temple to killing of the demon Sindhu by Ganesha. The exact date of building of the temple is unknown, though the Ganapatya saint Moraya Gosavi is known to be associated with it. The temple flourished due to the patronage of the Peshwa rulers and descendants of Moraya Gosavi.
Moregaon is the adhya pitha – foremost centre of worship of the Ganapatya sect, which considers Ganesha as the Supreme Being. It attracts the greatest number of pilgrims in the Ashtavinayak circuit. Both the primary scriptures of the Ganapatya sect praise Morgaon. While Mudgala Purana dedicates 22 chapters to Morgaon’s greatness, Ganesha Purana states that Morgaon (Mayurapuri) is among the three most important places for Ganesha and the only one on earth (Bhuloka).
The other locations are Kailash in heaven (actually Kailash is a mountain on earth in the Himalayas, believed to have the abode of Ganesha’s parents Shiva and Parvati) and Adi-Shesha’s palace in Patala (underworld). According to a tradition, the temple is without beginning and without an end. Another tradition maintains that at the time of pralaya (the dissolution of the world), Ganesha will enter yoganidra here. Its holiness is compared with Kashi, the sacred Hindu city.
Legend
Legend has it that a demon by name Sindhu caused untold hardship to the inhabitants of the Universe, and that responding to the pleas of the Gods, Ganapati came down to the earth on a peacock mount, waged a battle against Sindhu and vanquished him. The peacock rider Ganapati assumed the name Mayureshwar or Moresh.
The north facing temple stands in the center of Moregaon village & looks like a small fortress. The temple was constructed during Bahamani regime and it is built in Mogul style. The temple complex consists of a dome, surrounded by a 50 ft tall enclosure and four Pillars in each corner. A huge ‘Nandi’ idol made up of black stone, is sitting in front of the main gate, facing towards Moreshwar. The temple has four gates. Each gate depicts an image of Ganesha in the form that he appeared in the four ages. The quadrangular courtyard has two Lamp towers. A sculpted 6 ft mouse – the mount of Ganesha is seen in front of the temple.
The orange colored idol of Lord Ganesha is seen in sitting posture. The east facing idol has three eyes with the trunk folded towards left. Eyes and naval are adorned with diamonds. Nagaraj, the Snake king is seen on the crown of the idol. Idol of Lord Ganesha is flanked by brass idols of Siddhi and Buddhi. A Rat and a peacock are seen in front of the idol. It is said that originally, a small idol of sand, iron, and diamonds was enshrined by Lord Brahma. Pandavas enclosed this idol in a copper sheet and placed behind the idol which is now worshiped. The idol of ‘Nagnabhairava’ seen on the left side of the main deity is worshipped first.
There are certain sacred trees in the temple premises, like Shami, Mandar and Tarati trees. Out of these the Shami tree is significant as it is referred to in the legend of Moraya Gosavi, a sage who did penance under his tree and Lord Ganesha gave him a glimpse. Thus it is believed that the wishes of a person can be fulfilled if he performs penance under this tree.
On Ganesh Jayanti (Magha Shukla Chaturthi) and Ganesh Chaturthi (Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi) festivals on the 4th lunar day in the bright fortnight of the Hindu months Magha and Bhadrapada respectively, devotees flock to the Mayureshwar temple in large numbers.
On both occasion, a procession of pilgrims arrives from Mangalmurti temple, Chinchwad (established by Morya Gosavi) with the palkhi (palanquin) of Ganesha. The Ganesha chaturthi celebrations last for more than a month, until Ashvin Shukla (10th lunar day in the bright fortnight of the Hindu month Ashvin).
Fairs and celebrations also occur on Vijayadashami, Shukla Chaturthi (the 4th lunar day in the bright fortnight of a Hindu month), Krishna Chaturthi (the 4th lunar day in the dark fortnight of a Hindu month) and Somavati Amavasya (a new moon night coinciding with a Monday)
Source:
https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/moregaon-mayureshwar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganesha_Temple,_Morgaon
http://ashtavinayaktemples.com/article/id/342/temple/34/temple-and-deity/moreshwar-temple
https://www.apnisanskriti.com/moreshwar-temple-morgaon-pune-maharashtra-4217