Lord Ganesh Chaturthi
Ganesh Chaturti is a festival that is celebrated for Lord Ganesh, who is the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati. Lord Ganesha is the elephant headed deity of Hinduism. Ganesh Chaturti is a very important festival that is celebrated widely in India over a period of ten days. The festival usually falls around the month of August or September. The Hindus believe that praying to Lord Ganesh during the festival will bring good luck and prosperity for the family. In addition to this Lord Ganesh is known to be a deity who protects people from obstacles in their lives.
Legend- How did the festival start about? The legend goes that there was a monster called Gajasura, a powerful monster was also a devotee of Lord Shiva. It seemed that the monster prayed for many years and as a result Lord Shiva, who was touched, granted him a boon. But the cunning monster asked Shiva to reside in his stomach. Since he had no choice, Lord Shiva granted his boon and went inside the belly of the monster.
Parvati, Shiva’s wife, who was searching for her husband, became frantic with worry and went to Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu, who assured Parvati that he would find Shiva, disguised himself as a street player and set out with Nandi, the sacred bull of Shiva, to find Shiva.
When they reached the monster Gajasura’s kingdom, Nandi danced to please the monster. The monster that was pleased to see the bull dancing he decided to reward the bull.
Nandi, the bull, asked for Lord Shiva as a reward and this made Gajasura realize that the street player was Lord Vishnu. He also realized that Lord Shiva couldn’t live in his belly forever and thus freed Lord Shiva. After that, he prayed to Shiva to make him immortal. To grant him the wish, Shiva severed Gajasura’s head and carried the head with him.
Meanwhile, Parvati who heard that Shiva’s out of the monster’s belly was joyful. In order to prepare for her Lord’s return she went to have a bath, but before that she asked someone to stand guard outside. She made a boy out of dough and named him ‘Vinayak’.
But when Lord Shiva returned, the boy refused to let him enter the palace, as he had never seen him before. This made Lord Shiva furious and thus he beheaded the boy and went inside. When he saw Parvati, he told her about his beheading of the boy. This shocked and upset Parvati. She told Shiva that ‘Vinayak’ was like a son to her and that she wanted him back alive. Thus Shiva put the head of Gajasura on the boy’s head and the boy ‘Vinayak’ came to life. Shiva also blessed him and announced that everybody would worship him on that day. And thus the festival ‘Ganesh Chaturti’ marks the day when ‘Vinayak’ came back to life.
Preparation- Before the start of the festival, people start to buy Ganesh idols. Shops sell Ganesh idols in various shapes, even large ones that can reach up to a height of several meters. Upon bringing the idol home, the Hindus start to decorate the idol with flower garlands and lights. The devotees chant prayers and during the prayers, flowers, rice & coins are used. After the ceremony, sweets and fruits are offered to guests.
Celebration - A place where Ganesh Chaturti is celebrated grandly is Mumbai. If you happen to visit Mumbai during this festive period you will marvel at the preparations for the celebration. In Mumbai, the preparations would be made at least one to two months before the start of the festival. No matter where you turn, you can catch a glimpse of Ganesh, as huge images of him are put up almost everywhere.
Lights are also put up to decorate the images. At home, Hindus pray to the God and on Ganesh Chaturti, the last day of the festival, you can expect to see a large crowd of about thousand devotees in a procession for the celebration. The idol of Ganesh is immersed in water and while this is done drums are played and devotional songs are sung.
The immersion of the idol in the water marks the end of the ten-day festival.
