Ganesh Chaturthi - Vinayak Chaturthi

Ganesh Chaturthi - Vinayak Chaturthi

Ganash Chaturthi Saturday 22 August 2020

Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival that celebrates the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the Hindu god of wisdom and success. It is also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi and can last up to 10 days during the Hindu Month of Bhadra, which usually falls between mid-August and mid-September.

History Of Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesh can also be known by the names Heramba, Ekadanta, Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar. Ganesh Chaturthi / Ganesh Puja is one of the widely celebrated Hindu festivals in the country. The blessings of this God are invoked at religious ceremonies since he is the one who can all difficulties to success, especially when people are commencing a new business or an enterprise. Lord Vinayaka is known as the fortune giver and one who can assist to avoid natural calamities. He is also the patron god of traveling. Vinayaka is portrayed with an elephant’s head on a human body. According to Hindu customs, Lord Ganesh is the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.

Ganesh Chaturthi/Vinayaka Chaturthi is an optional holiday. Employment and holiday laws in India allow employees to choose a limited number of holidays from a list of optional holidays. Some employees may choose to take the day off on this day, however, most offices and businesses remain open.

The idol is taken from the place of installation – home or public pandals – to the water body in a huge procession accompanied by devotees singing bhajans or songs. Depending on the size of the idol, it may be carried on the shoulders of either the head of the family or a symbolic head of the area, or taken on a wooden carrier, or in a vehicle.

All these proceedings are accompanied by chants of Ganapati bapa moriya, bhajans, dance, and distribution of prasad and flowers

How Is Ganesh Chaturthi / Ganesh Puja Celebrated?

In a few parts of India such as Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh the festival of Ganesh is celebrated for ten days. It is a public occasion. Sweets are offered. On the day of the festival, clay idols of Vinayaka are installed in homes or outdoor in decorated tents for the public to view and submit their homage. Clay idols of Ganesh are also installed by schools and colleges.

Is Vinayaka Chaturthi a Public Holiday?

Ganesh Chaturthi is not a public holiday across India. It is a regional holiday that is celebrated only in certain states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. Even in these states, it is not mandatory for an employer to declare the Ganesha Festival as a holiday.

Which States Celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi?

Ganesh Chaturthi/Chavithi is celebrated with great pomp and show in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, and Karnataka. Other states that celebrate this festival are: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Delhi, and Punjab.

How to celebrate Ganash Chaturthi at home?

In Goa, Ganesh Chaturthi is known as Chavath in Konkani and Parab or Parva ("auspicious celebration") it begins on the third day of the lunar month of Bhadrapada. On this day Parvati and Shiva are worshiped by women, who fast. Instruments such as ghumots, Crash cymbals (ताळ(taal) in Konkani) and pakhavaj (an Indian barrel-shaped, two-headed drum) are played during the rituals. The harvest festival, Navyachi Pancham, is celebrated the next day; freshly harvested paddy is brought home from the fields (or temples) and a puja is conducted. Communities who ordinarily eat seafood refrain from doing so during the festival.[54]At homes in Maharashtra, families install small clay statues for worship during the festival. The Murti is worshiped in the morning and evening with offerings of flowers, durva(strands of young grass), karanji and modaks (jaggery and coconut flakes wrapped in rice flour dumplings). The worship ends with the singing of an aarti in honour of Ganesha, other Gods and Saints. In Maharashtra the Marathi aarti "Sukhakarta Dukhaharta", composed by the 17th century saint, Samarth Ramdas is sung. Family traditions differ about when to end the celebration. Domestic celebrations end after ​1 1⁄2, 3, 5, 7 or 11 days. At that time the Murti is ceremoniously brought to a body of water (such as a lake, river or the sea) for immersion. In Maharashtra, Ganeshotsav also incorporates other festivals, namely Hartalika and the Gauri festival, the former is observed with a fast by women on the day before Ganesh Chaturthi whilst the latter by the installation of statues of Gauris. In some communities such as the Chitpavan, and the CKP, pebbles collected from river bank are installed as representations of Gauri.

In Karnataka the Gowri festival precedes Ganesha Chaturthi, and people across the state wish each other well. In Andhra Pradesh, Ganesha Murti'so of clay (Matti Vinayakudu) and turmeric (Siddhi Vinayakudu) are usually worshiped at home with plaster of Paris Murti's.[citation needed]

Public celebrations of the festival are popular, and are organised by local youth groups, neighbourhood associations or groups of tradespeople. Funds for the public festival are collected from members of the association arranging the celebration, local residents and businesses. The Ganesha idols and accompanying statues are installed in temporary shelters, known as mandaps or pandals. The festival features cultural activities such as singing, theatre and orchestral performances and community activities such as free medical checkups, blood-donation sites and donations to the poor. Ganesh Chaturthi, in addition to its religious aspects, is an important economic activity in Mumbai, Surat, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Kurnool. Many artists, industries, and businesses earn a significant amount of their living from the festival, which is a stage for budding artists. Members of other religions also participate in the celebration.

In Tamil Nadu, the festival, also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi or Pillayar Chaturthi, falls on the fourth day after the new moon in the month of Avaṇi in the Tamil calendar. The idols are usually made of clay or papier-mache, since Plaster of Paris idols have been banned by the state government, but violations of this rule are often reported. Idols are also made of coconuts and other organic products. They are worshiped for several days in pandals, and immersed in the Bay of Bengal the following Sunday. In Kerala the festival is also known as Lamboodhara Piranalu, which falls in the month of Chingam. In Thiruvananthapuram a procession marches from the Pazhavangadi Ganapathi Temple to Shankumugham Beach, with tall statues of Ganesha made from organic items and milk immersed in the sea.

What Rituals Are Observed for Vinayaka Chaturthi?

Though the festival is the same and has similar connotations across India, each region has slight variations in rituals and traditions. The celebrations last between 7 and 10 days at different places. A few common observances are:

Installation of Ganapati statue: A statue of the Elephant God is installed on a pedestal either at home or in a public place with a pranprathishtha puja.

Not looking at the moon: On the first night of the festival, people avoid looking at the moon because it is considered a bad omen.

Prayers: Washing of the statue; puja with the chanting of shlokas and offerings of flowers and sweets; and aarti, i.e. circumlocution of the idol with a plate filled with a lit earthern/metal lamp, kumkum and flowers, is done. Prayer meetings are also conducted at Ganapati temples and public installations every day in the evenings and in some places, in the mornings as well.

Special performances: Some public installations of Lord Ganesh might also have performances with dance, music, and skits.

Making and eating modak. Modak is believed to be Ganapati’s favourite sweet. So, these dumplings are made and distributed as prasad during the festival. Other food items such as laddoo, barfi, pedha, and sundal are also distributed during this timGanesh

Ganesh Visarjan in Mumbai 

Ganpati idol in Pune

This is the immersion of the idol in a water body and is conducted on the last day – anywhere between the seventh and eleventh days – of the festival. It is accompanied by a procession of people chanting bhajans and shlokas and songs, with the idol. People seek forgiveness for the mistakes they have done so far and request the god to help them stay on the righteous path. Ganesha is thanked for visiting the home/locality, for being removing obstacles from people’s path, and for the auspiciousness he bestows.

Farewell Procession

The farewell procession, or Ganesh Visarjan, is the grand culmination of the festival. This is the celebration in which the installed idols of the god are immersed in a water body. The immersion might be done in the nearest pond, lake, river, or sea. Those who do not have access to a large water body might also do symbolic immersions in by dipping the idol in a small vessel or water barrel at home.