Ganesh Chaturthi also known as Vinayak Chaturthi (Vināyaka Caturthī) or Ganeshotsav, is a Hindu festival that tributes Hindu deity Ganesha. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's clay murtis (devotional representations of a deity) privately in homes and publicly on elaborate pandals (temporary stages). Observances include chanting of Vedic hymns and Hindu texts, such as prayers and vrata (fasting). Offerings and prasada from the daily prayers, that are distributed from the pandal to the community, include sweets such as modak as it is believed to be a favourite of Lord Ganesha. The festival ends on the tenth day after start, when the Murti is carried in a public procession with music and group chanting, then immersed in a nearby body of water such as a river or sea, called visarjana on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi. In Mumbai alone, around 150,000 Murtis are immersed annually. Thereafter the clay Murti dissolves and Ganesha is believed to return to his celestial abode.
The festival celebrates Ganesha as the God of New Beginnings and the Remover of Obstacles as well as the god of wisdom and intelligence and is observed throughout the Indian subcontinent by Hindus, especially in the states such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Goa, as well as Nepal. Ganesh Chaturthi is also observed by the Hindu diaspora elsewhere such as in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, other parts of the Caribbean, Fiji, Mauritius, South Africa, the United States, and Europe. In the Gregorian calendar, Ganesh Chaturthi falls between 22 August and 20 September every year.
Although the origin of Ganesh Chaturthi remains unknown, it became increasingly popular after a public celebration was initiated by the prominent Anti-Colonial Freedom Fighter, Lokamanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, in Maharashtra in the year 1893. It was a means to form a "Hindu nationalist identity" and rebel against British rule. Reading of texts, feasting, athletic and martial arts competitions are held at public venues.
Though not alluding to the classical form of Ganapati, the earliest mention of Ganapati is found in the Rigveda. It appears twice in the Rigveda, once in shloka 2.23.1, as well as in shloka 10.112.9. Both of these shlokas imply a role of Ganapati as "the seer among the seers, abounding beyond measure in food presiding among the elders and being the lord of an invocation", while the shloka in mandala 10 states that without Ganapati "nothing nearby or afar is performed without you", according to Michael. However, it is uncertain that the Vedic term Ganapati which literally means "guardian of the multitudes", referred specifically to later era Ganesh, nor do the Vedic texts mention Ganesh Chaturthi.[20] It appears in post-Vedic texts such as the Grhya Sutras and thereafter ancient Sanskrit texts such as the Vajasaneyi Samhita, the Yajnavalkya Smriti and the Mahabharata mention Ganapati as Ganesvaras and Vinayak. Ganesh appears in the medieval Puranas in the form of "god of success, obstacle remover". The Skanda Purana, Narada Purana and the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, in particular, profusely praise him. [21] Beyond textual interpretations, archaeological and epigraphical evidence suggest Ganesha had become popular, was revered before the 8th century CE and numeous images of him are traceable to the 7th century or earlier.
For example, carvings at Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain temples such as at the Ellora Caves, dated between the 5th and 8th-century show Ganesha reverentially seated with major Hindu goddess (Shakti).
On the same day, Chaurchan festival is celebrated in Mithila region of Bihar which is related to Ganesha and the moon-god Chandra. 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 Thiti begins at night on the previous day and gets over by morning on next day, then the next day is observed as Vinayaka Chaturthi. In the consecration ceremony, a priest performs a Prana Pratishtha to invite Ganesh like a guest. This is followed by the 16-step Shodashopachara ritual, (Sanskrit: Shodash, 16; Upachara, process) during which coconut, jaggery, modaks, durva grass and red hibiscus (Jaswand) flowers are offered to the idol. Depending on the region and time zone, the ceremony commences with hymns from the Rigveda, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, the Upanishads and the Ganesh stotra (prayer) from the Narada Purana are chanted. In Maharashtra as well as Goa, aarti is performed with friends and family, typically in the morning and evening.
In preparation for the festival, artisans create clay models of Ganesha for sale. The images (Murtis) range in size from 20 mm (3⁄4 in) for homes to over 20 m (70 ft) for large community celebrations. On the last day of the festival, the tradition of Ganesh visarjan or nimajjanam (lit. "immersion") takes places, when the Ganesha images are immersed in a river, sea or water body. On the last day, the devotees come out in processions carrying the idols of Ganesha, culminating in immersion. It is believed that the god who comes to the earthly realm on Ganesh Chaturthi, returns to his celestial abode after immersion. The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi also denotes the significance of the cycle of birth, life and death. It is believed that when the idol of the Ganesha is taken out for immersion, it also takes away with it the various obstacles of the house and these obstacles are destroyed along with the immersion. Every year, people wait with great anticipation to celebrate the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi.
Tap to return