The name Ashtavinayaka means eight Ganeshas. These are eight different incarnations of Lord Ganesha representing the eight core values of human existence: authenticity, truthfulness, joyfulness, curiosity, responsibility, love, fearlessness and loyalty.  These eight incarnations have eight temples in different parts of Maharastra and these places are treated as the pilgrimage place for the Lord Ganesha believers. Each of these Ganeshas has a different build, different body, different design and a different form which indicates different stories for each of them. They are located in a formation of a giant inverted comma rotated at an angle of  120 degrees. These eight Ganeshas are:

1. Mayureshwar: Located at Moragaon, Pune, this temple has Lord Ganesha mounted on a peacock, thereby giving him the name, Mayureshwar (Mayur means peacock in Sanskrit and Eshwar means God). There is a story of how Lord Ganesha incarnated as Mayureshwar, rode a peacock and killed a demon Sindhurasur who was creating difficulties in the lives of the inhabitants. Therefore, Lord Ganesha was responsible for the removal of fear and provoking fearlessness.

2. Siddhivinayaka: Located in Mumbai, this temple is the only one of the eight Ganesha temples where the trunk of God is to the right side. This shows power and authority. Siddhi Vinayaka temple processes all the wishes of its people and it is believed that this was the place where Lord Ganesha gave enlightenment to the saints Shri Morya Gosavi and Shri Narayan Maharaj. A parikrama (1 round of this temple) guarantees happiness and 21 parikramas guarantee lifetime fulfillment of wishes.

3. Ballaleshwar: Located in the Pali district, Ballaleshwar temple was built on the request of the young lad Balla who was a very devoted worshipper of Lord Ganesha and hence was beaten up by his parents for ignoring everything in his vicinity to be connected to Lord Ganesha. When Balla called out to Lord Ganesha after suffering from the pain of being beaten and tied up and not being able to worship him, Ganesha appeared as an Ishwar and rescued Balla from the suffering by hugging him. Balla requested Ganesha to stay with him and considering the devotee he was, Ganesha couldn't deny and stayed as Ballaleshwar. This incarnation of Ganesha was to reinstate loyalty and reward devotion.

4. Shri Dhundhi Vinayak

Dhundhi Vinayaka Ganesha is the idol that was thrown by Balla's father when he was beaten up for constantly being engrossed in worship and was not able to focus on the other chores. This idol was reported to have been lost in the ground after it was thrown away and was disrespected. There is a story about how it was rediscovered and reinstated by the devotees of Lord Ganesha. This temple is visited first before moving into the Ballaleshwar temple. This temple shows the existence of curiosity in human nature.

5. Varadavinayak

This is located in Khopoli, Mumbai-Pune Highway, close to the Mumbai borders. The story behind this temple reads about how lust, greed and want for power blinded two people to an extent that they cursed each other with poor growth and improper visions. The demon Tripurasur was born out as a result of this curse. He was later defeated by Lord Shiva for his actions against the livelihood of the inhabitants of Earth. Grutsumad, who was fed up with this entire episode went to Pushpak forest to worship Lord Ganesha. He founded the idol Vardavinayaka. He worshipped this idol for the rest of his life. This idol was found in a lake near the temple. This temple is supposed to give love to its worshippers.

6. Chintamani

Located at Theur, Chintamani Ganesha is located at a location where Lord Ganesha helped a distressed devotee Kapila to get back her piece of jewelry stolen by a greedy Guna. Kapila was very happy at receiving the jewel and put it around the neck of Lord Ganesha for saving her loss. She was very tense and she gave a jewel to Lord Ganesha. Therefore, Lord Ganesha was named Chintamani (chinta means stress and mani means a piece of jewel in Sanskrit).

7. Girijatmaj

Goddess Parvati committed penance as Girija at the spot of this temple. There is a story behind this situation. She gave birth to her son Lord Ganesha here and the temple of Girijatmaj (Girija's Atmaj, or Girija's son) was found here. This temple frees everyone of their sins and is considered very important for the Ashtavinayaka pilgrimage.

8. Vighneshwar

This temple was made to commemorate the victory of Gods over the evil Vighnasur who was created by Lord Indra to spoil the hawan performed by King Abhinandan. The power Vighnasur achieved by this was multifold and this made it very difficult for the people living on the Earth. 

These are the eight Vinayakas that are engraved on the Yantras. It is believed that one who worshipped these yantras gets the benefits of all these eight temples in total.

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