Ashtavinayaka - 02 - Siddhivinayak
Updated: Dec 9, 2022
At the very beginning, when Vishnu was asleep and Brahma was busy creating the universe, two asuras - Madhu and Kaitabha rose from the dirt of Vishnu's nose and started to disrupt Brahma in his work.
Vishnu awoke and fought hard to stop them, but failed. He was confused about his failure, and asked Shiva for help. Shiva informed him that since he had not invoked Ganesha - the god of good beginnings and also the remover of obstacles, he was unable to defeat them.
Vishnu, at once, began to do his penance. Ganesha, pleased with Vishnu's efforts, bestowed his blessings and various siddhis (powers) to him. Vishnu then went back to fight the asuras and could defeat them easily.
The place where Vishnu undertook the penance and was bestowed the siddhis, is today known as Siddhatek and houses the second temple of Ashtavinayak - the Siddhivinayak Temple.