Ganesh Chaturthi - an Indian Festival

Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated to mark the occasion of the birthday of Lord Ganesh. It is celebrated all over India and especially in Maharashtra. It is one of the most popular Hindu festivals. The festival occurs in the month of Badhrapada (August –September) on the 4th day of the first or the bright fortnight of the month.

Ganesha

Ganesha is the foremost of all Indian gods and goddesses. He is the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and he is the elder brother of Karthikeya. All activities start with a prayer to Ganesha. He is an elephant headed God and is the Lord of wisdom, power and energy. By praying to him you can cross hurdles on the way and reach your goal. Legend has it that he is the energy of his father Lord Shiva.

The Celebration

Here is the story behind the celebration. On one of his birthdays Ganesh was going around eating ladoos and balls of sweet rice. After that he started back home in his mouse. On his way back the mouse seeing a snake stumbled and Ganesh fell down. Due to the force of his fall his stomach burst open and the ladoos and puddings fell out. Seeing this Ganesh stuffed back the sweets in his stomach, caught the snake and tied it around his belly. The moon shining in the dark sky had a good laugh over this scene. This annoyed Lord Ganesha and he cursed the moon and said the moon will wane for fifteen days and wax for fifteen days. He also cursed that anyone looking at the moon on his birthday will have a bad reputation or ill name or get blamed for someone else’s mistake. The only way out is to read or listen to the Syamanka jewel story of the Mahabharata where Lord Krishna gets back the Syamanka jewel after a long fight and dispute.

The Festival

On the day of the celebration people read stories of Lord Ganesh, go to the temple and offer prayers and offer him coconuts and ladoos and sweet puddings. They keep a clay statue of Lord Ganesh on raw rice spread in a plantain leaf and pray at home and at the end of the 10 day celebrations immerse the idol in the ocean or river. It is believed that Lord Ganesh removes the obstacles and hurdles one faces in life if prayers are done with devotion and faith. The houses are decorated with kolams (rangolis) in rice flour and flowers. 108 different flowers are offered to Lord Ganesh. Offerings of sweet puddings, puffed rice balls and ladoos are made and are eaten during the festival. Fruits are also offered to the lord.

At the end of the puja everyone bows at the feet of the Lord and seeks his blessings and asks him to fulfill their wishes. Yudistira, Dhamayanti, Indra and Krishna are all said to have worshipped Lord Ganesh to seek his blessings to fulfill their wishes.

Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival where apart from all the pujas, the food plays a big role. People love to eat all sorts of things which are liked By Ganesh Bhagwan or elephants. Sugarcane, groundnuts, jackfruit etc are eaten by one and all. People make Modaks and other dishes and distribute it to their friends and neighbors.