Ganpati Festival In India
Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most popular of Hindu festivals. This is the birthday of Lord Ganesh and is known as the day most sacred to Lord Ganesh. It falls on the 4th day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapad (August - September). It is observed throughout India, as well as by devoted Hindus in all parts of the world.
Lord Ganesh is the prime God of all Hindus. He is the eldest son of Lord Shiva. He is considered the most auspicious God to worship at the commencement of any occasion. He is considered to be the remover of all obstacles and hindrances that may arise in any work undertaken. Therefore, it is a well-known custom to pay obeisance to him before one undertakes any task. That is the reason one finds Lord Ganesh’s image adorning most wedding invitations.
Lord Ganesh is considered to be a most benevolent God and one of the most popular. He has the head of an elephant, an animal of great stamina and intelligence. Thus, he is the Lord of great strength and intellect. He is also considered the master of all academic subjects as well as all the arts and crafts. He is usually depicted with four hands: one holds a modak, another a lotus flower, a third an axe and the fourth, a trishul.
Legend :
Once upon a time, the Goddess Parvati (consort of Lord Shiva), while bathing, created Ganesh as a pure white being out of the mud of her Body and placed him at the entrance of the house. She told him not to allow anyone to enter while she went inside for a bath. Lord Shiva himself was returning home quite thirsty and was stopped by Ganesh at the gate. Shiva became angry and cut off Ganesh's head as he thought Ganesh was an outsider.
When Parvati came to know of this she was sorely grieved. To console her grief Shiva ordered his servants to cut off and bring to him the head of any creature that might be sleeping with its head facing north. The servants went on their mission and found only an elephant in that position. The sacrifice was thus made and the elephant's head was brought before Shiva. The Lord then joined the elephant's head onto the body of Ganesh.
Lord Shiva made his son worthy of worship at the beginning of all undertakings, marriages, expeditions, studies, etc. He ordained that the annual worship of Ganesh should take place on the 4th day of the bright half of Bhadrapad.
Without the Grace of Sri Ganesh and his help nothing whatsoever can be achieved. No action can be undertaken without his support, Grace or blessing.
The 'Shlok' or Prayer for Lord Ganesh
Vakratund mahakaay
suryakoti samaprabha |
Nirvighnam kurume deva sarvakaryeshu sarvadaa ||
When translated into
English, it reads as:
“O mighty God with a trunk, your brilliance is like that of a thousand suns;
free my path of all obstacles in all auspicious works that I undertake.”
About the Festival
Ganesh Chaturthi is the most important of all Mumbai and Pune's festivals, and is celebrated with great aplomb amongst Marathi communities worldwide. On the occasion of the Ganapati festival a large number of idols are made of all possible sizes, and people buy them to keep in their houses as a divine guest for one and a half, five, seven, or ten days, or 21 days in exceptional cases; after which the image is taken out ceremoniously and disposed of into the river, sea or well for immersion or "Visarjan".
The Puja can be a simple one performed by the head of the family and witnessed by family members, close friends within the household or an elaborate one, involving a priest who would come home and perform the Puja. The people gather around chanting Sanskrit shlokas when the idol is installed. Aarti (prayers and hymns in worship of Lord Ganesh) is done several times everyday day after that. After the Aarti, flowers, Haldi and Kumkum are offered to the women, and Prasad is distributed to all those present. 'Modak' is the most famous and most typical food preparation of Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations.
The Pioneer of Public Celebrations of Ganpati
Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was the founder of Public celebrations of Ganpati Festival. He began to celebrate it in 1893 at Pune, India. Lokmanya is the name given by public out of respect which means 'accepted by all <as the leader>' During the British rule, people were prohibited of gathering in large numbers. In order to make this possible, one of the Greatest Freedom Fighters of India, Lokmanya Tilak, started to celebrate Ganpati Publicly, and for that religious reason, people could gather Publicly. He revived it in the form of a public festival. This facilitated to restore unity between the public in order to fight against the British rulers.
Celebrations
During the festivals day's beautifully sculpted Ganesh idols are installed in the Mandaps (large Pandals) that are colourfully decorated, depicting religious themes or current events. There are huge public displays of Ganesh idols with Aarti (song of devotion to God) and loud music and dancing by the devotees.
The Ganapati Festival celebrations are most popular in Mumbai and Pune. In Pune, theme based decorations including giant sets and replicas of famous places of historical importance are given more emphasis whereas, idols of different sizes and beautiful features made by renowned artists is the speciality of Mumbai. Many cultural events are organised and people participate in them with keen interest. On the tenth day, huge processions carry images of the God to be disposed of into the water, hoping for them to return early next year. When the idols are immersed in the water, people sing, "GANPATI BAPPA MORYA, PUDHCHYA WARSHI LAVKAR YA," (This means to invite Lord Ganpati to arrive early the next year. As the date of the festival varies according to the Indian calendar.).
This festival is enjoyed by people of all ages. People visit each others' houses to have 'Darshan' of (to worship) Lord Ganpati in their house. Family gatherings, meetings with people make this festival truly a cultural and social affair.
If you want to feel as if you are right in the middle of the procession of Lord Ganpati, click here
Ganpati Photos :
AshtaVinayak : These are famous 8 sacred places of Ganesha.
Ganpati Bappa Morya
