Vinayaka Chaturthi, also known as Ganesh Chaturthi, is a vibrant Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Ganesha.
Lord Ganesha is an elephant-headed deity who is considered the remover of obstacles and lord of wisdom, prosperity, and new beginnings. This festival is celebrated over a span of ten days and the fourth day is considered the start of the Hindu lunar month Bhadrapada. This festival, filled with colors and devotion, mostly falls in August or September.
Why we celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi
According to legends, Lord Ganesha was created by Goddess Parvati to guard her while she bathed. While Lord Ganesha was guarding the gate, Lord Shiva returned and was stopped by Lord Ganesha. As Lord Shiva was unaware that Ganesha was actually his son, in his anger, he beheaded him. Further, to rectify what went wrong, Lord Shiva replaced his head with the head of an elephant and brought him back to life. After this, the deity Ganesha came to be worshipped as the remover of obstacles and also the lord of beginnings and good fortune, and this is how the festival came into being.
Celebration in India
One can witness the most breathtaking celebration of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Maharashtra, mainly in Mumbai and Pune. Mumbai’s Lalbaugcha Raja pandal and Pune's Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati temple host mammoth celebrations, drawing millions of devotees. Other notable places for vibrant celebrations include Hyderabad, Bangalore, Goa, and Tamil Nadu. All of these cities come alive with energy, music, and dance. There is an electrifying energy in the air during this festival, giving great joy to everyone around.
The date for the festival is usually decided by the presence of Chaturthi Thithi. The festival is held during "Bhadrapada Madyahanaa Purvabaddha." If the Chaturthi Thithi begins at night on the previous day and gets over by morning on the next day, then the next day is observed as Vinayaka Chaturthi.
Sacred Ceremony
On the day of the festival, a priest performs a Prana Pratishtha to invite Ganesh like a guest, and then a 16-step ritual is done in which coconut, jaggery, modaks, durva grass, and red hibiscus (Jaswand) flowers are offered to the idol. The priest also chants hymns from the Rigveda, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, the Upanishads, and the Ganesh stotra (prayer) from the Narada Purana. The aarti is often done twice a day with friends and family in the morning and the evening.
On the last day of the festival, the tradition of
Ganesh Visarjan takes place. This is the day when the photos and idols of Lord Ganesha are immersed in a river, sea, or water body. All the devotees take their Ganesha idols in processions for immersion with rolling drums, loud chants and music, color in the air, and a spiritual aura creating a beautiful spectacle. It is believed that the god who comes to the earthly realm on Ganesh Chaturthi returns to his celestial abode after immersion.
Families mostly bring home a clay murti for worship and install it in a clean and decorated space of their house on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi.
Significance of the festival
The celebration of this festival also states the significance of the cycle of birth, life, and death. According to legends, when the idol is taken for immersion on the last day, he takes away the obstacles and problems of the house as well. All of these obstacles get destroyed along with the immersion, which is why he is known as the God of New Beginnings, the Remover of Obstacles, and the God of Wisdom and Intelligence.
How it became popular
Ganesh Chaturthi is considered to have been publicly celebrated in Pune in the era of King Shivaji. The Peshwas used to hold grand celebrations in the 18th century for the festival in Pune, but during the British Raj, the festival lost its grandeur.
This festival was revived again by Indian freedom fighter and social reformer Lokmanya Tilak. This step was taken by him to circumvent the rule of the British on the ban of Hindu gatherings. Lokmanya Tilak started the grand celebrations of the festival in Pune and Girgaon, Mumbai.
Here are some greeting cards that one can share with their friends and family:
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