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Ganesh Chaturthi

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Lord Ganesh

Ganesh Chaturthi (Ganesh Festival) is an occasion or a day on which Lord Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati, makes his presence on earth for all his devotees. It is also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi in Sanskrit, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu. It is the birthday of Lord Ganesha. The festival is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Bhaadrapada, starting on the shukla chaturthi (fourth day of the waxing moon period). This typically comes sometime between 20th of August and 15th of September. The festival lasts for 10 days, ending on Ananta Chaturdashi.

Ganesh, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati, is widely worshipped as the supreme god of wisdom, prosperity and chance.

While held all over India, it is at its most elaborate in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and other areas which were former states of the Maratha Empire.

Rituals

During the Ganesh festival, a household worships a murti of Shri Ganesha. The worship lasts an odd number of days (from 1 to 11 days, sometimes 13).

This festival starting with the installation of beautifully engraved (sculptured) Ganesh idols in colorfully decorated homes and mandapas (pendals). The mandapas has been depicted by religious themes or current events. The idols are worshipped with families and friends. An enthusiastic spiritual atmosphere prevails.


The main sweet-dish during the festival is modak, also known as modagam [kozhakottai] in South India and karanjis. A modak is a dumpling made from rice flour/wheat flour with a stuffing of coconut, jaggery and some other condiments. It can be either steam-cooked or fried and the coconut can be fresh/dry grated. A karanji is similar but has the shape of the 4th day moon.

There are also public celebrations of the festival, with local communities (mandals) vying with each other to put up the biggest murti. The festival is the time for a lot of cultural activities like songs, dramas and orchestra.

Wordly meaning of MODAK — MODA means happiness and K is a suffix. Modak means "That which gives (or brings) happiness".

Today, the Ganesh Festival is not only a popular festival - it has become a very critical and important economic activity for Maharashtra. Many artists, industries, and businesses survive on this mega-event. Ganesh Festival also provides a stage for budding artists to present their art to the public.

For the year 2006 in the Western Calendar, Ganesh Chaturthi has commenced on Sunday, August 27th[1].

Legend

Legends say that Lord Ganapati (meaning "Lord"[pati] of the "semi-divine creatures that serve Lord Shiva"[ganas]) was created by goddess Parvati; wife of Lord Shiva. Parvati created Ganesha out of sandalwood paste that she used for her bath and breathed life into the figure. Letting him stand guard at the door she went to have her bath. However, while Parvati was taking her bath, Lord Shiva returned and as Ganesha didn't know him, he didn't allow him to enter. Lord Shiva became enraged and severed the head of the child and entered his house. After realizing that he had beheaded his own son, Lord Shiva fixed the head of an elephant in place of Ganesha's head. In this way, Lord Ganesha acquired the image of the elephant-headed God.

To know more about this deity, please read "Ganesh Purana".


Ganesh Festival In Pune

There are five "Ganpati of Honour." They are as follows: First Ganpati of Honour - Kasba Ganpati; Second Ganpati of Honour - Tambadi Jogeshwari; Third Ganpati of Honour - Guruji Talim; Fourth Ganpati of Honour - Tulsibaug Ganpati; and Fifth Ganpati of Honour - Kesariwada Ganpati. Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Mandal and Akhil Mandai Mandal are also worshipped by crores of people across globe.

During the festival, people sing prayers called Aartis. They visit the homes of their friends and relatives who have Ganesh idols at their homes.

Idol of Lord Ganesh

History

Rooted in Tradition

[Source: The Times of India]

From then onwards, this festive occasion has grown in acceptance and today, commands the respect of millions of citizens all over Maharashtra. Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak brought Ganesha as a deity out on the streets. It was a unique move by this freedom fighter, which he achieved with the Ganpati visarjana or immersion procession, wherein the mass output of several Ganesh mandals is taken out on a parade on the final day of the Ganesh festival and taken to be immersed. This process was started in 1892 and is now prevalent virtually all over Maharashtra, with special emphasis on Mumbai and Pune. Lokmanya Tilak attached this mass celebration to increase national awareness about the Freedom movement. Herein, neighbourhood Ganeshas are worshipped and brought to immersion sites, where huge crowds gather to bid him an emotional and frenzied farewell.

In Pune, as the sun sets over darkening rivers, the images are taken out in boats and as each one is immersed, a cry is raised asking him to return the next year. It is an emotional and public farewell to their beloved god as parthiva (of the earth), who like the Phoenix, will rise once again the following year.

The first day commemorates certain events connected with Ganesha. It is the day on which he materialised as Mayureshwara, to kill the demon Sindhu, who had acquired extraordinary powers through the worship of Surya. Mayureshwara is also one of the ashtavinayakas (the eight forms of Ganesha). This is also the birth that Shiva has chosen to celebrate in Kailasa.

A special puja is performed for Ganesha. The worship of the deity involves getting a corner ready to receive the god. Ganesha is invited with a special phrase and with material and verbal offerings, the puja begins. It involves the panchamrut (five nectars), which includes milk, curd, ghee, honey and jaggery, with which the god's icon is bathed, cleansing in between with water.

Ganesha is then given a red garment and the sacred thread - saying it is silver. He is then smeared with red sandal paste and offered red or yellow flowers. A lamp is lit, bells chime and food is offered in six symbolic mouthfuls - not to the god's body, but to his five panchapranas or 'vital breaths' and the one beyond - the absolute.

During the festival, puja is performed twice every day - once in the morning and again in the evening. Ganesha is offered special leaves and flowers, 21 of each and white durva grass. The murti is formally installed on the first day and given life in the presence of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, and the Vedas. Touching the murti with blades of durva grass, he is brought to life step by step and made to go through 15 of the 16 rites of passage that each Hindu goes through in his lifetime. (The sixteenth one, which is for death, is omitted.)

The Ganesha mantra is chanted, followed by a Ganesha prayer. Ganesha is called by his 108 good names. The last puja done, the family or congregation gathers around and rice grains are placed on the head of the murti, which is moved, symbolically unseating him.

As a matter of interest there are about 91 different figures of Ganesha according to research done by several scholars. The details of their make up may vary from figure to figure, but with no change in the main set-up. It is the enigma of certain striking variations in details that the sublime in the figures of Ganesha has to be sought for.

Some figures are seen sitting with their trunks turned towards the left side, invariably reaching a bowl of modaks (a sweet edible and festive preparation), while in some figures, the trunks are seen turning towards the right and in yet others, the trunk is straight, hanging down, with or without a pot of nectar in the curve of their trunks.

In some images, Ganesha is seen standing, resting his right foot on a lion and his left foot on a mouse (his chosen mode of transport), while in some other images, his left foot is found resting on a mouse and his right foot lifted in an effort to touch the serpent girdle - his mount carrying a jewel in its mouth.

Problems

Despite the well meaning idea behind this festival, in modern times there have been a few stray incidents of religious tensions between the Hindus and Muslims during the visarjan (immersion) rallies. This happens when the Ganesh procession uses those routes (sometimes as a result of lack of alternative routes due to factors like size of the procession, size of the Ganesh murti and/or the vehicle used to carry it, length of the route, etc. ), that pass through places inhabited by other religious groups. However, there are examples of Muslims (and even Christians) involved in Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, such as the Shri Sarvajanik Ganesh Mitra Mandal at Shri Sunder Kamala Nagar, King's Circle. As of 10th September 2005, a Muslim heads this particular Ganesh mandal (a small group that organises the local celebrations), which was founded by Wilson Brooks (a Christian) some 24 years ago. See news item on the Mid-day website.

Environmentalists too have questioned the submerging of the murtis made increasingly with chemicals (paintings in particular) which pollute the lakes and seas. On September 2004, the Chennai High Court imposed a temporary ban on such immersions. Every year there are at least a couple of casualties associated with accidents (while immersion of the murtis) or clashes associated with this. In some cities (including Bangalore and Mumbai), the immersion takes place in dedicated tanks in the border of the lakes, instead of the lakes themselves as it used to be the case in 2000.

Pictures

Ganesh Festival 2005

  • Dagdusheth Ganpati
    Dagdusheth Ganpati
  • Mandai Ganpati
    Mandai Ganpati
  • Babugenu Ganpati
    Babugenu Ganpati
  • GrahakPeth Ganpati
    GrahakPeth Ganpati
  • JunyaJaicha Ganapati
    JunyaJaicha Ganapati
  • Khajinavihir Ganpati
    Khajinavihir Ganpati
  • Tulshibag Ganpati
    Tulshibag Ganpati

See also

External links


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