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The fourth day of Bhadrapada that falls between aug-sep witnesses the birthday of the supreme god of wisdom,prosperity and fortune, Lord Ganesha. It is celebrated all over India, majoring in western regions of the country,like Maharastra, Goa and Karnataka. Starting on Shukla Chaturthi, the festival lasts 10 days ending on Anant Chaturdarshi. This festival is observed in the lunar month of bhadrapada shukla paksha chathurthi madhyahana vyapini

purvaviddha.

Ganesh chaturthi, is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha, son of Lord Shiva( the god of all, as worshipped by both good and evil) and goddess Parvati(supreme divine mother, goddess of shakti). Worshipped and prayed in many names, lord Ganesha, holds his position in every one’s heart as the path finder, one who shows the way. He is often referred as Gajanand( gaja meaning elephant), Gananayaka( leader of Lord Shiva’s ganas), vignaraja(removal of

obstacles), dvaimatura(with two mothers), ekadanta(with just one tusk), heramba(boastful), lambodara(with a pot belly) and many more. There is a mantra or sloka enchanted in his prayer, “Ganesha Sahasranama”, god with 100 names. He is the brother of skanda, kartikeya!The most notable feature of Lord Ganesha is the elephant head. As per the mythology, Lord Shiva lost his head in a war with Nandi deva, while obeying and guarding her mother parvati! The decapitated body of her valorous son, made Mata parvati furious, and she asked lord shiva to bring him back into life! After the orders of Lord shiva and a long struggle, the ganas got back with head of an elephant. Lord Shiva blessed ganesha with a new life. But this couldn mollify Mata Parvati. Upon her requisition, Lord Shiva denoted Ganesha as the god of all gods. He is worshipped first before any form of worship is made to any other epiphany of divinity.This boon made Ganesha, the Lord of the gana’s embraced as Ganapati and worshipped as Vighneshwara, the remover of obstacles!
The other notable feature of Lord Ganesha, his pot belly, naming him as Lambodara, makes him more alluring, the cutest among the gods of Hindus! The number of arms varies from two and sixteen. His image is portrayed with a divine serpent, vasuki around his stomach. His ride, a rat personifies evil qualities like anger, pride and

selfishness.

It’s never known when the puja was started but as per the historian, Shri Rajwade, Ganesh puja is done since the times of regime of satavahana, rashtrakuta and chalukya. A bit recent to time, the puja was witnessed during the time of Chatrapati Shivaji to promote culture and nationalism. References also prove, lord ganesha, being regarded as the family deity of the peshwas, the pershawar time. After the peshwas, Ganesh chaturthi remained a family affair

in maharastra till 1892. The year 1857 saw the landmark of Indian revolt and it was in 1893, to unite up the Indians against the British, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak pulled Ganesh chaturthi from family bounds to a grand celebration. This was a step to abridge the split castes of hindus into a single unifies resistance against the British. He went ahead, portraying mammoth idols of lord ganesha in pavilions to unite public celebrate it together. He was also the maiden to festive the 10th day as immersion of idols into water, through a long procession carried out within the city from the mantapas to the water, the nimarjan. Today, India witnesses splendid occasions, elephantine images and idols, millions of people from all over the country celebrate this deity’s birthday very specially!The idols ranging from inches to hundreds of feet are made 2-3 months prior to the puja by skilled artisans. Colored

and decorated with affection and devotion, the final image of lord Ganesha often stalls anyone’s sight for a long time. Praises and standing accolades are often accountable for the arduous labor of these artisans who wait to exhibit their devotion this single time once in a year!The chaturthi starts with the installation of these idols either at home or mantapas (stage prepared by a group or community). These Mantapas are often made with the money collected from the society and other major contributions. There is always a stiff competition among these mantapas, trying to make theirs the best. The priest starts the

puja,embraces the idol with sandalwood paste and kumkum, then invokes life into the idol, through a ritual called pranapratistha followed by a second ritual called Shhodashopachara( 16 ways of paying tribute). Jaggery, Cocunut, 21 modakas, 21 grass blades and red flowers are offered in this occasion! Hymns of rigveda, ganapati atharva siksha Upanishad from Ganesh shrotas are recited, during aarti, normally carried out twice a day during these days of the

festival.The special prasadam that is offered is modak made from rice flour/ wheat slour, stuffing of fresh or dry gated coconut and jaggery. The other alternative be karanji, more famous in south India. During these 10 days of puja, devotees are not supposed to take non-vegetarian food, no onions and garlic.

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