Cintāmaṇi Kshetra is the sacred place where the planet Maṅgala (Aṅgāraka) set up the Cintāmaṇi image of Gaṇeśa. The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa calls it Pārinena-nagara. Maṅgala did this after he had received his divine name and his place among the planets from Gaṇeśa, on a Māgha kṛshṇa caturthī (the fourth day of the dark half of Māgha) that fell on a Tuesday. The kshetra is identified with the present-day village of Theur, near the meeting of the Muṭhā and Bhīmā rivers close to Pune in Maharashtra. It is one of the famous Ashṭavināyaka pilgrimage places of the Deccan. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 60)

How the kshetra began

Maṅgala was born of the retas (seed) of the ṛshi Bhāradvāja and of the earth, and he glowed with a deep red colour. On the banks of the Narmadā he did tapas (austerity) with the Gaṇeśa mantra for a thousand years. When the tapas was complete, on the Māgha kṛshṇa caturthī that was also a Tuesday, Gaṇeśa appeared. He gave Maṅgala his names and his place as the navagraha (one of the nine planets) Mars.

In gratitude Maṅgala set up a beautiful image of Gaṇeśa at the place of his tapas. He named it Cintāmaṇi, the wish-fulfilling gem. The place came to be called Pārinena-nagara. It became a place of special grace, where Gaṇeśa fulfils the deepest wishes of those who come and pray with a true heart. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 60)

The Cintāmaṇi image

The name Cintāmaṇi is made of cintā (thought, wish) and maṇi (gem). It names Gaṇeśa as the jewel that fulfils every wish of the mind. The name fits the grace Gaṇeśa showed Maṅgala, for he fulfilled every wish of Maṅgala’s heart: his identity, his place among the planets and his honour. By giving this name to the image at the kshetra, Maṅgala made the place one where this wish-fulfilling grace flows to every sincere visitor.

The Cintāmaṇi in the Tripurāsura narrative

The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa also joins the name Cintāmaṇi to an event in the narrative of Tripurāsura. Gaṇeśa took the form of a brāhmaṇa named Kalādhara and entered Tripura. He asked for the Cintāmaṇi, his own sacred image, which the asuras had taken as a prize. The Cintāmaṇi vanished again and again from the hands of the asuras. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 43)

Present-day Theur

The kshetra is the village of Theur (also spelled Thevur) near Pune, Maharashtra. The shrine of Cintāmaṇi Gaṇeśa stands on the bank of the Muṭhā river, near where it joins the Bhīmā. It is one of the eight Ashṭavināyaka shrines. These are eight svayambhū (self-manifested) images of Gaṇeśa in Maharashtra, and together they make the sacred pilgrimage circuit of the Deccan.

Aṅgāraka Caturthī at Cintāmaṇi Kshetra

Maṅgala set up the Cintāmaṇi image on the occasion of Aṅgāraka Caturthī, the Māgha kṛshṇa caturthī that falls on a Tuesday. That day is therefore especially auspicious at this kshetra. Devotees who keep Aṅgāraka Caturthī and do pūjā here receive the grace of Gaṇeśa and Maṅgala together in full measure. This is the first place of the event that gave Aṅgāraka Caturthī its power. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 60)

Sources

Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 60
Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 43