Ganapati Bappa Morya

Morya Gosavi or Moraya Gosavi (Morayā Gosāvi) alias Moroba Gosavi was a prominent saint of the Hindu Ganapatya sect, which considers the elephant-faced god Ganesha as the Supreme Being. Morya Gosavi is considered the chief spiritual progenitor of the Ganapatyas and has been described as the "most famous devotee" of Ganesha.

The lifetime of Morya Gosavi is speculated between the 13th to 17th century. Numerous legends recall his life. Morya became devoted to Ganesha when he started visiting the Morgaon temple of Ganesha. It is believed that due to the hindrance in Morya's services to the god in the popular Ganesha shrine, Ganesha told Morya that he would appear in Chinchwad for Morya to worship, so Morya moved from Morgaon to Chinchwad, where Morya built a Ganesha temple. Consequently, Morya took sanjeevan samadhi by burying himself alive in his tomb.

Morya had a son called Chintamani, venerated as a living incarnation of Ganesha and addressed as Dev (god). Chintamani was succeeded by six more Devs. The tomb of Morya Gosavi and the Ganesha temple at Chinchwad still attract many Ganesha devotees.

According to one version of the story, Morya was born in Bidar, Karnataka. He was thrown out of the house by his father as he was thought to be of no use to the family. Morya travelled to the Ganesha shrine at Morgaon - in neighbouring Maharashtra - where he found a liking to Ganesha. He settled at Chinchwad, 50 miles (80 km) away from Morgaon.[7] Another story declares him to be a son of a poor but pious couple from Pune, Maharashtra. Morya is believed to have been born due to the grace of Ganesha, whom the childless couple propitiated. After the birth of Morya, the family moved to Pimple, 40 miles (64 km) away from Chinchwad. After the death of his parents, Morya moved to Tathavade, 2 miles (3.2 km) away from Chichwad.[7] Both legends declare he visited the Morgaon temple regularly, daily or monthly to worship Ganesha.[7]

Another tale tells that Morya's parents, Bhat Shaligram and his wife moved to Morgaon from Bidar. His parents prayed to Ganesha at Morgaon. Soon, Morya was born to them. Later, Morya became seriously ill and was not recovering so they prayed to Ganesha again. Soon, a Gosavi (priest) named Nayan Bharati came and gave medicine to Morya, curing him. Nayan Bharati also preached to Morya. Henceforth, the Bhat family took the family name Gosavi and Morya was known as Morya Gosavi.

Morya Gosavi is considered the chief spiritual progenitor and the most important saint of the Ganapatya - the Hindu sect centred on Ganesha worship - tradition and has been described as the "most famous devotee" of Ganesha.

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Morya Gosavi
Chitrashala Press, Poona