Pune's Kasba Ganpati temple will remain closed for devotees from tomorrow (December 16, Sunday) at 10.30 pm, announced temple trustee Ashapurak Sharadchandra Thakar.
Thakar said this is because the temple trust will begin work on the main idol. Reportedly, the idol has been covered with a thick layer of vermillion paste for centuries. Over time, the paste has begun to damage the protective cover around the idol. Therefore, the trust has decided to remove the vermillion carefully.
Thakar said that this has never been attempted in the 400 years of the temple’s recorded history. Hence, the temple will remain closed until the work is completed, he added.
The temple trustee further said that this process will be carried out scientifically, and the religious sanctity of the procedure will be maintained.
For the unversed, Kasba Ganpati is Pune's gramdaivat (village deity) and holds the distinction of being the first honoured Ganpati, locally known as “Manacha Pahila Ganpati,” among the five most revered Ganpatis in Pune.
It is believed that the idol was discovered near Vinayak Bhatt Thakkar’s residence. After learning this, Mata Jijabai, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s mother, seeing it as an auspicious sign, commissioned the Kasba Ganpati temple.
The temple, built in the traditional Puneri Wada style with stone and later adorned with intricate wooden elements by the Peshwas, became a spiritual cornerstone for the emerging Maratha Empire.
