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Swayambhu Ganapati, the famous Ganapati idols in India and Mahaganapati

1. Three and a half seats (piths) of Ganapati in Maharashtra

2. Eight Vinayaks (Ashtavinayaks) in Maharashtra

3. Twenty-one seats of Ganapati according to the Purans

4. Twelve famous Ganapati idols in India

5. Mahaganapati

Swayambhu Ganapati, the famous Ganapati idols in India and Mahaganapati

1. Three and a half seats (piths) of Ganapati in Maharashtra

No	Name	Place	District
1	Moreshvar, Mayureshvar	Morgaon	Pune
2	Mangalmurti	Chinchvad	Pune
3	Mahaganapati	Rajur	Jalana
4	PravaLganesh (half a seat)	Padmalay	Jalgaon

2. Eight Vinayaks (Ashtavinayaks) in Maharashtra

Ashtavinayaks (Eight Vinayaks )

The eight Vinayaks are famous. The eight supernatural powers (ashta-siddhi) are the consorts of Ganapati. Each of the eight Vinayaks have become famous as being representative of one supernatural power. The eight Vinayaks are also associated with the eight directions.

No	Name	Place	District
1	Moreshvar, Mayureshvar	Morgaon	Pune
2	BallaLeshvar	Pali	Raygad
3	Varadvinayak	Mahad	Raygad
4	Chintamani	Theur	Pune
5	Girijatmaj	Lenyadri	Pune
6	Vighneshvar	Ojhar	Pune
7	Ganapati (Mahaganapati)	Ranjangaon	Pune
8	Gajamukh	Siddhatek	Ahmadnagar

3. Twenty-one seats of Ganapati according to the Purans

Name	Place	District/State
1. Moreshvar, Mayureshvar	Morgaon	Pune
2. Chintamani	Theur	Pune
3. Ganapati	Ranjangaon	Pune
4. Girijatmaj	Lenyadri	Pune
5. Ballaleshvar	Pali	Raygad
6. Gajamukh	Siddhatek	Ahmadnagar
7. Chintamani	Kalamb	Yavatmal
8. Sharmavighnesh	Adasa	Nagpur
9. Vidnyanganesh	Rakshasbhuvan	Jalana
10. Mahaganapati	Rajur	Jalana
11. Bhalchandra	Gangamasale	Parbhani
12. Lakshavinayak	Verul (Ellora)	Aurangabad
13. Pravalganesh	Padmalay	Jalgaon
14. Ahundivinayak	Kashi	Banaras
15. Omkar	Prayag	Alahabad
16. Bhrushundiganesh	Namalgaon	Bid
17. Vighnaraj	Vijaypur	Andhra Pradesh
18. Vinayak	Kashyapashram	Near Kashi
19. Mangalmurti	Ganeshpur	Bangal
20. Shvetvighneshvar	Near Kumbhakonam	Tamilnadu
21. Mangalmurti	Pariner	Near Ujjain

4. Twelve famous Ganapati idols in India

Name	Place	Name	Place
Vakratunda	Madras	Vighnarajend	Near Kurukshetra,
Ekadanta	Bangal	Dhumravarna	Keral
Krushnapingaksha	Madras	Bhalachandra	Near Rameshvar
Gajavaktra	Orisa	Vinayak	Kashi, Banaras
Lambodar	Ganapatipule, Maharashtra	Mahaganapati	Mahabaleshvar, Maharashtra, Gokarna
Vikat	Himachal Pradesh	Shrigajanan	Himalaya

5. Mahaganapati

Ganapati along with Ruddhi-Siddhi [Divine Energy (Shakti)]. 'The Ganesh created by deity Parvati is an incarnation of Mahaganapati. She sculpted a form out of mud and invoked Ganapati into it. Before the creation of the universe, since The Supreme God (Mahat) principle existed in an unmanifest and eternal form, it is called Mahaganapati. When Mahaganapati is worshipped for acquisition of a particular supernatural power or purely for attainment of the Final Liberation (Moksha), it is customary to choose a Ganapati idol with the trunk curved towards the right. But in such circumstances, as far as possible the idol is made of earth. Rarely does one comes across gold and silver Ganapati idols with the trunk curved towards the right'.

'It is believed that every male deity has a specific Energy (Shakti), for example Brahma - Bharati, Vishnu - Lakshmi, Shiva - Parvati. Thus it is not surprising that devotees of Ganapati believe in one Energy of Ganapati in the Parabrahman form. There is a sculpture which portrays Ganapati embracing His Energy, seated on His lap. Even today one can see such paintings. So also, sculptures with "Siddhi" and "Buddhi", His two consorts seated on either side of Him are also available. In the science of Tantra, Ganapati along with His Energy is referred to as "Mahaganapati".'

Reference: 'Ganapati', Published by Sanatan Sanstha