Chintamani Temple
Theur, Pune district, Maharashtra, India
- Deities
- Chintamani (Ganesha)
- Traditions
- shaiva
- Worship status
- active
- Address
- NH548DD, Theur, Haveli taluka, Pune district, Maharashtra 412201, India
- Coordinates
- 18.5238, 74.0464
- Darshan hours
- Varies by temple and season; consult the temple's own trust/management for the current daily schedule before visiting.
- Best time to visit
- October to March for cooler weather; Ganesh Chaturthi (Aug/Sep) is the most significant but most crowded time across the whole Ashtavinayak circuit.
- How to reach
- Part of the Ashtavinayak pilgrimage circuit centered on Pune; Theur sits about 22 km from Pune, just off the Pune-Solapur highway, at the confluence of the Mula, Mutha, and Bhima rivers.
- Festivals
- Ganesh Chaturthi (August/September)
Location
Open in Google MapsAssociated in tradition with the sage Kapila and a wish-fulfilling jewel (the Chintamani) that Ganesha is said to have recovered and returned, giving the site its name. Theur holds particular significance in Maratha history as the place where the Peshwa ruler Madhavrao I, a devout patron of the Ashtavinayak temples, spent his final days and died in 1772; the temple complex retains strong associations with Peshwa-era patronage as a result.
The main shrine is traditionally attributed to Dharanidhar Maharaj Dev, with the outer wooden hall added roughly a century later under Peshwa patronage. The temple faces east, with a north-facing entrance; the idol’s trunk curves to the left, its eyes set with carbuncle and diamonds. Behind the temple lies a lake known as Kadambteertha, recalling the site’s older name, Kadambanagar, after the Kadamb tree beneath which Ganesha is said to have recovered the Chintamani jewel for the sage Kapila.
Sources
- oral tradition: The Kapila/Chintamani-jewel legend is Puranic/pilgrimage tradition rather than independently documented history.
- historical record: Theur's Chintamani was the family deity of Peshwa Madhavrao I, who died at the temple around age 27; the outer wooden hall was added by the Peshwas roughly a century after the main shrine was built by Dharanidhar Maharaj Dev. — Wikipedia: AshtavinayakVerified via WebFetch, September 2026; corroborates the previously-uncertain Madhavrao I death association.