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Ganesh Chaturthi

From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.

Ganesh Chaturthi (also called Ganeshotsav) is a Hindu festival celebrating the birth anniversary of Lord Ganesha. While held all over India, it is at its most elaborate in Maharashtra, and other areas which were former states of the Maratha Empire. 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 Aug and 15th of September. The festival lasts for 10 days, ending on Ananta Chaturdashi.

Contents

1 Rituals

2 Legend

3 History

4 Rooted in Tradition

5 See Also

6 External Links

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Rituals

During the festivals, a household worships an idol of Shri Ganesha made from clay. The worship happens for 1 day in South India, but in western states of Maharashtra and Goa, the worship may last from 2 to 7 days.

The main sweet-dish during the period is modakas, also known as modagams in South India and karanjis. A modaka is a sort of dumpling made from rice 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-grated or dried-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 idol. The festival is the time for a lot of cultural activities like songs and dramas and orchestra.

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Legend

Legends say that lord Ganapati was created by goddess Parvati, wife of Lord Shiva. Parvati created Ganesha out of the sandalwood dough that she used for her bath and breathed life into him. Letting him stand guard at the door she went to have her bath. However, while Parvati was taking her bath, Lord Shiva happened to come there and as Ganesha didn't know him, he didn't allow him to enter the house. As a result, Lord Shiva got angry and he Shiva severed the head of the child and entered his house. But 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.

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History

According to the historian Shri Rajwade, records reveal that Ganesh Chaturthi was celebrated even during the reigns of Satavahana, Rashtrakuta and Chalukya. There are also references in historical records to similar celebrations during Peshwa times, Lord Ganapati being the family deity of the Peshwas. After the end of Peshwa rule, from 1818 to 1892 Ganesh Festival remained a family affair in Maharashtra.

It was around 1893, during the growth of nascent Indian nationalism, that the radical nationalist Bal Gangadhar Tilak began to organize the Ganesh Utsav as a social and religious function. Since then, Ganesh Chaturthi has been celebrated throughout Maharashtra with great community enthusiasm and participation.

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Rooted in Tradition

[Source: The Times of India]

From then onwards, this festive occasion has grown in acceptance and today, commands the respects 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 Bombay 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.

Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival which commences on the fourth day of the bright half of the month of Bhadrapada, around August or September. It can be celebrated for two, five, seven or 11 days. The 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. This is also the birth that Shiva has chosen to celebrate in Kailasa.

Special puja is performed for Ganesha. The worship of the deity involves getting a corner ready to receive the god. Sixteen orderly steps have been planned out for the puja. Ganesha is invited with a special phrase and with material and verbal offerings, the puja begins. It involves the panchamrut or 'five nectars', which include milk, curd, ghee, honey and jaggery, with which the god's icon is bathed, cleansing in between with water.

Each of the 'nectars' has an origin in tradition. Thus, the milk is that of Kamdhenu (the wish-fulfilling heavenly cow), the curd represents the white, smooth and cool lustre of the moon, the ghee is the food of the gods themselves with a long Vedic past, honey - the extract of all herbs, is the essence of life with herbal healing powers and jaggery -extract of sugarcane, a representation and the epitome of sweetness.

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 idol is formally installed on the first day and given life in the presence of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, and the Vedas. Touching the idol with blades of durva grass, he is brought to life step by step and made to go through the 15 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. The last puja done, the family or congregation gathered around and rice grains are placed on the head of the idol, 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.

In whatever form he comes, Ganesha has always been the first-named by men, the son Shiva and Parvati or the son of the Ganga, (or in one of his many origins of legend). He has become the beloved deity of Pune and should remain so for a long time to come.

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