In India, amongst the Hindus, Lord Ganesha is one of the greatest and most important deities. This is why his birthday which falls in the Hindu month of Bhadrapada is celebrated on a grand scale with great fervour and joy.On the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, people clean their houses and decorate them with rangolis, fresh flowers, earthen lanterns, lights, etc and prepare various types of sweets including modaks and laddus, the favourite sweets of Lord Ganesha.
Undeniably, Ganesh Chaturthi is a very big festival of India
and every person seems to be in love with this appealing and impressive
pot-bellied elephant god. On the day of Lord Ganesha's birthday, people observe
fast, perform rituals of the pooja and recite the vrat katha of Ganesh
Chaturthi.
Ganesha Chaturthi Vrat Katha
According to the legends, Goddess Parvati was taking bath. While bathing, she created an idol made of mud, named it Lord Ganesha and placed it at the entranceway. She breathed in life to the idol and hence, Lord Ganesha was born. She instructed him to act as a guard and not allow anybody inside, unless she has finished bathing. After some time, Lord Shiva, the consort of Goddess Parvati, entered home. He was very thirsty. As he was approaching Goddess Parvati to quench his thirst, he was stopped by Lord Ganesha.
Stubborn Lord Ganesha didn't allow Lord Shiva to enter the premises, where Goddess Parvati was taking bath. This made Lord Shiva very angry and consequently, he beheaded Lord Ganesha. When Goddess Parvati came to know this, she became intensely angry and grew ferocious and strong enough to destruct the world. All the Gods from swarglok and Lord Shiva himself requested the highly aggressive Goddess Parvati to calm down. In order to pacify her, Lord Shiva fixed the head of an elephant onto Lord Ganesha's body. Not satisfied with it, Goddess Parvati asked that Lord Ganesha should be worshipped before all the other gods. Since then, Lord Ganesha is invoked first, before worshipping any other deity. This story makes the foundation for the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi in different parts of India.
Myth About Ganesh Chaturthi
According to the Hindu religion, there is a myth which tells that anyone who sees the moon on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi will be accused of doing something wrong. If by mistake a person sees the moon then there is only one solution to keep the troubles away and that is, by reciting or listening to the story of the syamantaka jewel which is there in the Puranas. In the very famous legend related to Lord Ganesha, the basis of this myth has been mentioned and explained. Lord Ganesha, the God of good fortune, wisdom, intelligence and prosperity, on one of his birthdays, ate large amount of 21 types of sweets including laddus, modaks and sweet porridge made by his mother, Goddess Parvati. He, after eating, went for a nightly round on his vehicle rat but suddenly a snake came in front of the rat and was scared to see it. After this, the rat stumbled and Lord Ganesha fell down and all the sweets came out from his pot-belly as it burst. Then quickly Lord Ganesha put all the sweets inside his belly and tied that snake around his belly as a belt. At that time, he heard the voice of laughing and when he looked up, he saw that the moon was mocking at him. Seeing this, he became very angry and broke off one of his tusks and threw it at the moon. Also, he cursed the moon saying, that whoever will see the moon on the festive occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, will be blamed of a wrong doing. Even today the myth has survived and people avoid looking at the moon on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.
Beliefs
Ganeshji Removes Obstacles And Brings Prosperity
Lord Ganesha is the favorite God of the masses. In India, a new venture is never started without worshipping the Lord. Ganeshji is worshipped first on all auspicious occasions, whether it is a marriage or a religious function. Ganeshji is the foremost god of the Hindu Pantheon. Any new project or venture that a Hindu family undertakes has to start with His name. In fact, most of the housewives utter His name before even starting a small chore, as He is believed to be the remover of all sankat (obstacles).
Lord Ganesha is believed to fulfill the wishes and dreams of all those who pray to him sincerely. He has long been associated with commerce and merchants pay homage to him every day. If an Indian business or bank fails, all the images of Ganeshji in the offices will be turned upside down, signifying bad luck. In households, it's common for small offerings of money, flowers and food to be placed before the image of Ganeshji. These tokens please him and He brings more prosperity, wealth and peace to the family.
Observation Of Fast On Ganesh Chaturthi
Observers of this fast should take bath early in the morning along with completion of their daily chores. Resolution is then taken before observing the fast by taking water and grass in hand and chanting the mantra "Mam Sarvakarmsiddhaye Siddhivinayak Pujanmaham Karishye". Idol of Lord Ganesha made up of gold, copper or mud is worshipped. A pot is taken and is filled with water, and after tying the mouth of the pot with a clean cloth, the idol of Ganapati is placed over it. Then, to worship the idol a 16-fold procedure is followed: Aavaahana, Aasana, Paadya, Arghya, Aachamana, Madhuparka, Snaana, Vastra, Gandha, Pushpa, Dhoopa, Deepa, Naivedya, Taamblooa, Aarati, and Mantrapushpa.
Although Hindu communities are not that enthusiastic about fasting on Ganesh Chaturthi, South Indian communities have a belief that fasting on this day will remove problems from married life, will help in early marriage and obstacles in career are also removed. The fast of Ganesh Chaturthi ends after offering prayers to Lord Ganesh the next morning in a temple or at home.
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