125 devotees embark on annual pilgrimage of Ranthambore Ganesh

Mumbai, Sep 16: A group of over 125 Ganesh devotees from the metropolis have embarked on a four-day pilgrimage of Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan where they would offer prayers to the elephant-headed deity at the Ranthambore Fort temple on September 17, when the ten-day festival begins.

The devotees, who are members of Jai Ganesh Mitra Mandal in Mumbai, left last night for Ranthambhore, which they have been visiting for the past 20 years as part their annual pilgrimage.

Built in 1299 AD and located in Ranthambore fort of Rajasthan, the Ganesh temple is about 12 kms from Sawai Madhopur and gets thousands of visitors during the festive from across India and abroad.

Pramod Harlalka, the propounder and guide of this pilgrimage said, "Ganeshji's idol at Ranthambhore Fort is the only one in the world where the Lord has three eyes earning it the name of Trinetra Ganesha Temple. It is the most famous and oldest temple of Lord Ganesha in Rajasthan."

Harlalka said he started these visits way back in 1995 with five of his friends, but the glory of the temple impressed a lot of devotees from Mumbai and over the years, this number has swelled upto 150. He claimed that Lord Ganesh of Ranthambhore has a lore that if a homeless devotee visits the place, his wish to own a house is surely fulfilled there.

PTI