Ratanada Ganesh Mandir is a very famous temple of Lord Ganesha in Jodhpur and attracts a lot of devotees every year from all over the country. The temple is dedicated to Lord Gajanand also famous as “Siddh Gajanand Ji” and has the idols of his wives namely Riddhi and Siddhi on either side which symbolizes prosperity and accomplishment. Wednesday of the week is considered a very holy day to visit the temple and offer prayers to Lord Ganesh.
This temple is located at a distance of 5 km from the city in Ratanada. The beautiful location of this temple also offers a very scenic view of Jodhpur City.
As per ancient stories, a teacher saw a mighty statue of the god, a human-sized sculpture of Lord Ganesha that had emerged naturally on the hills of Ratanada. The statue is about 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide. After this incident, the temple was constructed here which came to be known as the Ratanada Ganesha mandir of Jodhpur city. As per resources, the Ganesh temple is about 150 years old.
Temple is situated around 108 feet from ground level. There are two ways to reach the main temple – Stairs and road. Many devotees reach the temple by climbing up through 120-150 stairs which are built to reach the temple. This walking to the temple is considered very holy and is believed to pay respect to Lord Ganesh. There is also a parking zone available below the hill.
On every Wednesday, a large number of devotees gathered at the temple along with Ganesha’s favorite Modak “Laddu“, Coconut as prasad and pray Lord Ganesh for the prosperity and happiness.
Many devotees offer first invitation card of the wedding, inauguration and other auspicious events and invite Ganesha with family for a successful event. As Lord Ganesha is Pratham Pujniya Dev, he is the god who is invited first in every melodious maanglik occasion.
Annual Functions
During the month of “Bhadava” (as per hindu Calendar), on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi (Shukla Paksha, Chaturthi) thousands of devotees from city and nearby cities and villages come to this temple and pray to diety of Lord Ganesha. On this special day, 21,000 (21 Thousand) Modaks are offered as Prasad to Lord Ganesh and temple is specially decorated.
Every year in 3 years, Bhogishail parikrama is celebrated in Marwar region in Purshottam month (Adhik Maas) of Hindu Calendar. It starts from Ganesh mandir and ends here only in which devotees do parikarma of Jodhpur city in seven days and visit various spiritual and religious places.
Fair (haat) organized every year at Ganesh temple during Ganesh Chaturthi, Ananth Chaturdashi festivals.
The best time to visit this temple is the evening when the place is lightened up and you get an amazing view of the city, and places like Umaid Bhavan Palace and the Mehrangarh Fort. Jodhpur looks beautiful from the hilltop of Ganesh Mandir, especially in the night time. Lightenings, pond, hill add to the beauty of this place. It is also considered an amazing place to view the setting sun from the hilltop.
Temple Opening/Closing Timings
The Ratanada Ganesh temple of Jodhpur opens from 5:00 am to 12:00 pm and then again from 4:00 pm in the evening till 9:00 pm at night. The pooja timings in the temple vary as per the seasons.
During the summer season, the pooja timings for the morning starts from 5:30 am to 6:00 am and for the evening the timings are 7:30 pm to 8:00 pm.
In the winter season, the Morning Prayer starts at 6:00 am to 6:30 am and evening prayer starts at 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm.
वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ ।
निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा ॥
JAI GANESHA..!!