🙏 श्रीं गणेशाय नमः 🙏

*GANESH CHATURTHI* :-

👉🏻 Introduction:-

• वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ ।

निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा ॥

- Who has a Curved Trunk, Who has a Large Body and Whose Splendour is similar to Million Suns;O Deva, Please Make my Undertakings Free of Obstacles, By extending Your Blessings in All my Works, Always.

- Who has broken tusk,  rounded body carrying the wisdom of the univers, tray of sweets by his side, tiny mouse on the other, lotus in one hand, crown on his head, second arm raised with an axe, third lifting in benediction and blessing. This is the mighty Ganesha. 

- The god who is remover of obstacle, patron of art and science,God of wisdom. The son of Shiva and Parvati. 

- On his birthday every year ; Hindu’s celebrate with great fervour and devotion every year named as ' Ganesh Chaturthi'.

👉🏻The birth of Lord Ganesha:-

- Each story of his birth touches upon a different aspect of his godly personality. 

- In popular mythology, Ganesha is considered to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, and brother of Skanda(Kartikeya).

- However, the Puranic myths tell a different tale. Some say he was created by Shiva, others by Parvati.

- One of the most popular iterations of his birth is from Parvati.

- The goddess wanted to bathe and did not want to be disturbed. 

- Since, Nandi was not there to stand guard, Parvati took the turmeric paste she used for bathing and fashioned a young boy from it. She breathed life into it, and thus Ganesha was born.

- However, when Shiva wanted to see his wife, Ganesha would not let him pass until Parvati was done.

- Sensing that this was no ordinary guard, Shiva decapitated the boy’s head. 

- When Parvati heard of this, she was enraged. She would only be pacified if the boy was brought back to life and if he was worshipped as a God.

- Shiva agreed to her conditions and sent his Shiva-dutas out to bring the head of the closest deceased creature, with its head pointing north.

- They returned with the head of the powerful elephant Gajasura, which was placed on the boy’s body.

- Brahma breathed new life into him and declared him a God before all others.

👉🏻 Devotion, celebration and immersion:-

√ Ganesh Chaturthi includes 4 distinct rituals:-

1. Pranapratishtha

2. Shodashopachara

3. Uttarpuja

4. Ganpati Visarjan.

1. Paranapratishtha:-

- In Pranapratishtha the idol of Ganesha is created. 

- The devotees then place the idol on a pandal or in their home.

- Devotees pray, perform musical concerts and sing devotional songs to the idol.

2. Shodashopachara:-

- During Shhodashopachara, 16 types of prayers are performed, including decorating the idol with flowers and offering sweets.

3. Uttarpuja:-

- It takes place right before the immersion.

- The deity is taken from the home or pandal and is prepared for the water.

4. Visarjan:-

- where the idol is immersed in the sea. It is said that Ganesha wrote the Mahabharat as Sage Vyasa narrated it to him.

- When he ran out of writing materials, he broke his tusk and continued to write with it. The writing process went on for 10 days (the length of the festival).

- Once that was done, clay was applied all over Ganesha’s body, and he was taken for a bath in the river. 

- On the 11th day, Ganesha is thus immersed in water. 

- This ritual is a reminder of Ganesha’s incredible intelligence – one that is boundless and formless just like the water. It also signifies that nothing is permanent.

👉🏻 Celebrations in different States:-

- Maharashtra goes into a state of extreme devotion and celebration during this 10-day festival. 

- Idols of Ganesha can be found in every home, in every corner, on the street as neighbourhoods come together to celebrate.

- Similar to Maharashtra, Gujarat celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi will equal splendour. 

- Over a span of 7-10 days, temples, pandals, houses and streets fill with celebrations and performances.

- In September, the markets of Madhya Pradesh overflow with idols of Ganesha – from the small and delicate, the eco-friendly and simple and the grand and gorgeous idols of lord Ganesha.

- Ganesh Chaturthi is known as Chovoth in Goa. For Goan Hindus, this is the time for celebrating with the family.

- In Karnataka, celebrations are a little different. The festival begins by celebrating Lord Ganesha’s mother, Gauri (Parvati).

- In Tamil Nadu, a special sweet known as Kozhukattai is made for Lord Ganesha.