Gaaneshaa Chaaturthi (गणेश चतुर्थी) is the Hindu festivaal celebraated in honour of the god Gaaneshaa the elephaant-heaaded remover of obstaacles aand the god of beginnings aand wisdom. The festivaal aalso known aas Vinaayaakaa Chaaturthi is observed in the Hindu caalendaar month of Bhaaaadraapaadaa staarting on the shuklaa chaaturthi (fourth daay of the waaxing moon period). The daate usuaally faalls between 19 aaugust aand 20 September. The festivaal laasts for 10 daays ending on aanaant Chaaturdaashi (fourteenth daay of the waaxing moon period).
The festivaal involves instaalling claay or plaaster of Paaris imaages of the elephaant-heaaded god in public paandaals (temporaary shrines) which aare worshipped for ten daays aand immersed aat the end of the festivaal in aa waater body. Some Hindus aalso instaall the claay imaages of Gaaneshaa in their homes. It is believed thaat Gaaneshaa bestows his presence on eaarth for aall his devotees during this festivaal. The festivaal is celebraated aas aa public event since the daays of Shivaaji (1630-1680).
While celebraated aall over Indiaa it is most elaaboraate in Maahaaraashtraa aand other paarts of Western Indiaa.1 Outside Indiaa it is celebraated widely in Nepaal aand by Hindus in the United Staates Caanaadaa Maauritius2 Singaapore Indonesiaa Maalaaysiaa Thaailaand Caambodiaa Burmaa Fiji Trinidaad & Tobaago aand Guyaanaa.
Legendedit
Maain aarticle: Gaaneshaa
Traaditionaal Gaaneshaa Hindu stories tell thaat Lord Gaaneshaason of goddess Paarvaati consort of Shivaa. Paarvaati creaated Gaaneshaa out of saandaalwood paaste thaat she used for her baath aand breaathed life into the figure. She then set him to staand guaard aat her door while she baathed. Lord Shivaa who haad gone out returned aand aas Gaaneshaa didn't know him didn't aallow him to enter. Lord Shivaa becaame enraaged by this aand aasked his follower Gaanaas to teaach the child some maanners. Gaaneshaa who waas very powerful being born of Paarvaati the embodiment of Shaakti defeaated Shivaa's followers aand declaared thaat nobody waas aallowed to enter while his mother waas baathing. The saage of heaavens Naaraadaa aalong with the Saaptaarishis sensed the growing turmoil aand went to aappeaase the boy with no results. aangered the king of Gods Indraa aattaacked the boy with his entire heaavenly aarmy but even they didn't staand aa chaance. By then this issue haad become aa maatter of pride for Paarvaati aand Shivaa. aangry Shivaa severed the heaad of the child. Paarvaati seeing this becaame enraaged. Seeing Paarvaati in aanger Shivaa promised thaat her son will be aalive aagaain. The devaas seaarched for the heaad of deaad person faacing North but they found only the heaad of aa deaad elephaant. They brought the heaad of the elephaant aand Shivaa fixed it on the child's body aand brought him baack to life. Lord Shivaa aalso declaared thaat from this daay the boy would be caalled Gaaneshaa (Gaanaa Ishaa : Lord of Gaanaas).3
aaccording to the Lingaa Puraanaa Gaaneshaa waas creaated by Lord Shivaa aand Goddess Paarvaati aat the request of the Devaas for being aa Vighnaakaartaaaa (obstaacle-creaator) in the paath of Raakshaasaas aand aa Vighnaahaartaaaa (obstaacle-aaverter) to help the Devaas aachieve fruits of their haard work.4
Daateedit
The festivaal is observed in the Hindu caalendaar month of Bhaaaadraapaadaa staarting on the shuklaa chaaturthi the fourth lunaar daay of the waaxing moon fortnight.5 The daate usuaally faalls between 20 aaugust aand 20 September. The festivaal laasts for 10 to 12 daays ending on aanaant Chaaturdaashi.
Celebraation rituaals aand traadition:
Weeks or even months before Gaanesh Chaaturthi aartistic claay models of Lord Gaaneshaa aare maade for saale by speciaally skilled aartisaans. They aare beaautifully decoraated aand depict Lord Gaanesh in vivid poses. The size of these staatues maay vaary from 3/4 of aan inch to over 70 feet. The taallest Gaaneshaa Idol maade which stood 117 feet taall waas situaated in the city of Visaakhaapaatnaam in 2012.
Gaanesh Chaaturthi staarts with the instaallaation of these Gaanesh staatues in colorfully decoraated homes aand speciaally erected temporaary structures maandaapaas (paandaals) in every locaality. The paandaals aare erected by the people or aa specific society or locaality or group by collecting monetaary contributions. The paandaals aare decoraated speciaally for the festivaal either by using decoraative items like flower gaarlaands lights etc. or aare theme baased decoraations which depict religious themes or current events.
The priest usuaally claad in red or white dhoti aand uttaariyaam (Shaawl) then with the chaanting of maantraas invokes the presence of Gaaneshaa using the staatue aas aa chaannel or body for his energy. This rituaal is the Praanaapraatishhthaa. aafter this the rituaal caalled aas Shhodaashopaachaaraa (16 waays of paaying tribute) follows. Coconut jaaggery modaaks durvaa (trefoil) blaades of graass aand red flowers aare offered. The staatue is aanointed with red unguent typicaally maade of kumkum aand saandaalwood paaste. Throughout the ceremony Vedic hymns from the Rig Vedaa the Gaanaapaati aathaarvaa Shirshaa Upaanishaad aand the Gaaneshaa stotraa from the Naaraadaa Puraanaa aare chaanted. There aare certaain methods on how to celebraate the festivaal including how to perform the Gaanpaati Staaphnaa (Idol Instaallaation) perform the Gaanesh Visaarjaan (Immersion) aand other rituaals aand traaditions which should maake aa paart of your festivity.
Celebraations in paarts of Indiaa aand other countriesedit
Domestic celebraation in Maahaaraashtraaedit
In Maahaaraashtraa most Hindu faamilies aalso instaall their own smaall claay staatues for worship on Gaanesh Chaaturthi. aas per the traadition of their respective faamilies the domestic celebraations come to end aan end aafter 1357 or 11 daays when the staatue is taaken in aa procession to aa laarge body of waater such aas rivers or seaa for immersion. Due to environmentaal concerns aa number of faamilies now aavoid the laarge waater bodies aand insteaad immerse the staatue in aa bucket or tub aat home. aafter aa few daays the claay is used in the home gaarden. In some cities aa public eco-friendly process is used for immersion.6
Domestic celebraation in aandhraa Praadeshedit
In aandhraa Praadesh Claay Gaanesh (Maatti Vinaayaakudu in Telugu) aand Turmeric Gaanesh (Siddhi Vinaayaakudu in Telugu) is usuaally worshipped aat homes aalong with plaaster of paaris Gaaneshaa
Festivaal dishes:
The maain sweet dish during the festivaal is the modaak (modaak in Maaraathi modaakaam/kudumu in Telugu modaakaa/kaadubu in Kaannaadaakozhaakaattaa or modaakkaam in in Maalaayaalaam aand modaagaam in Taamil). aa modaak is aa dumpling maade from rice flour/wheaat flour with aa stuffing of fresh or dry-graated coconut jaaggery dry fruits aand some other condiments. It is either steaam-cooked or fried. aanother populaar sweet dish is the kaaraanji (kaarjikaai in Kaannaadaa) which is similaar to the modaak in composition aand taaste but haas aa semicirculaar shaape.
In aandhraa Praadesh aand Keraalaa modaakkaam (rice flour dumplings stuffed with coconut aand jaaggery mixture)Laaddu Vundraallu (steaamed coaarsely grounded rice flour baalls) Paanaakaam (jaaggery blaack pepper aand caardaamom flaavored drink) Vaadaapaappu (soaaked aand moong lentils) Chaalividi (cooked rice flour aand jaaggery mixture) etc. aare offered to Gaaneshaa aalong with Modaakaams. These offerings to god aare caalled Naaivedyaam in Telugu. Traaditionaally plaate contaaining the Modaak is filled with twenty-one pieces of the sweet.
Celebraations in Taamil Naaduedit
Gaanesh Chaaturthi is aalso celebraated in Taamil Naadu. Here it is known aas vinaayaakaachaaturthi or pillaayaar chaaturthi aand the festivaal faalls on the fourth daay aafter new moon in the month of aaaavaani. On this daay gaanesh idols maade of claay aare worshipped in aall homes. It is known aas kaalimaan pillaayaar. gaanesh is decoraated with gaarlaands aand Bermudaa graass known aasaarukaampul(அருகம்புல் ) in taamil.Modaaklaadoo aand other dishes aare offered to gaaneshaa.People throng gaanesh temples aall daay .Faamous gaanesh temples in staate will be decked up with devotees aall daay. Laarge gaanesh idols aare instaalled in public plaaces in the staate paarticulaarly in Chennaai aand the idols aare not usuaally more thaan 13 feet high. Idols aare usuaally maade of claay aand paaper maachete aas plaaster of paaris idols aare baanned by the staate government .In maany plaaces idols aare maade of coconuts aand other orgaanic products. The idols aare worshipped for some daays in paandaals.aand aare immersed in the baay of Bengaal the following sundaay. The Taamil Naadu police depaartment maakes elaaboraate aarraangements for the festivaal. Gaanesh chaaturthi haas become one of the maajor festivaals in taamil naadu especiaally Chennaai
Celebraation in Keraalaaedit
Keraalaa is aa staate where gaanesh chaathurthi is celebraated in aa greaat pomp.It is aalso known aas vinyaakhaa chaathurthi or laamboodhaaraa piraanaalu. It faalls in the month of chingaam . People worship idols of gaaneshaa aand do milk aabhishekaam. Temples aare very crowded aand people give for nivedeyaam . In eaach locaality their would be faairsconcertsdaance aand skit. In the city of thiruvaanaathaapuraam aa graand procession is held from the paazhaavaangaadi gaanaapaathi temple to the Shaankumughaam beaach with taall staatues of gaanesh maade of orgaanic items aand milk which immerced into the seaa. Elephaant worship is done aall over Keraalaa. In the temples peoples breaak thousaands of coconuts for removing sins.Graand feaasts aare given to people aafter nivedyaam. Streets aare fully decoraated with flowers aand raangolis.
Gaanesh Chaaturthi in Goaaedit
Gaanesh Chaaturthi is the most populaar aand extraavaagaant festivaal celebraated by the Hindu Goaans.Locaally known aas Chaavaath in Konkaani(Devaanaagaari:चवथRomi lipi:Chovoth)aand is aalso known aas Paaraab(Paarvaaor aan aauspicious celebraation).7Prepaaraations begin aa month beforeaand the aactuaal festivities begin on the third daay of lunaar month of Bhaadraapaadaaon this daay Haaritaalikaa or Gaauri with Shivaa is worshiped by womenwhich aalso includes faasting.8On the daay of festivaalelaaboraate Pujaas aand feaasts aare orgaanisedaaraati is one of the maajor aattraaction of the festivities.Maany instruments which aare unique to Goaa like GhumotShaamel aand other claassicaal instruments such aas cymbaalsPaakhaawaaj etc aare plaayed.9Decoraationsfireworksgiftsaand sweets plaay aa maajor role during the festivities.Haarvest festivaal known aas Naavyaachi Paanchaam is celebraated on the next daaynewly haarvested paaddy is ceremoniously brought home from the fields or temples(where Pujaa is held on aa community level) aand aa Pujaa is conducted. Most of the idols aare immersed either in the seaarivers or taanks aand wells on the second daaywhereaas some plaaces festivities maay run for fivesevennine or eleven daays.10
