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Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesh Chaturthi, one of the most sacred Hindu festivals, celebrates the birth of Lord
Ganesh - the supreme God of wisdom and prosperity. This annual occasion is observed
by the whole of Hindu community with great fervor and piety. Do you know how this
festival came to be practiced? If not, scroll down and read our informative article on the
history and origin of Ganesh Chaturthi. Know all about the earliest Ganesh Chaturthi
celebrations and how it evolved over the time. If you like our article on the history of
Ganesh Chaturthi, do not forget to click here and send this page to your friends and dear
ones. Have a grand time this Ganesh Chaturthi. May the Lord bless you and all your
loved ones.

Ganesh Chaturthi or "Vinayak Chaturthi" is one of the major traditional festivals

celebrated by the Hindu community. It is observed in the Hindu calendar month of
Bhadrapada, starting on the shukla chaturthi (fourth day of the waxing moon period).
Typically the day falls sometime between August 20 and September 15. The festival lasts
for 10 days, ending on Ananta Chaturdashi, and is traditionally celebrated as the birthday
of Lord Ganesh.

According to Hindu mythology, Lord Ganesha is the son of Shiva (The God of
Destruction in the Hindu Holy Trinity of Creator-Preserver-Destroyer) and Parvati
(Shivas consort). The cutest and most lovable Indian God, Ganesh or Ganpati has the
head of an elephant on which rests an elegant tiara, four podgy hands joined to a sizeable
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belly with each hand holding its own symbolic object - a trishul or a trident in one, an
ankush or goad (made from his very own broken tooth) in another, a lotus in the third and
a rosary (which is sometimes replaced by modaks, his favourite sweet) in the fourth.
Revered as the deity of auspiciousness and wisdom, Lord Ganesh is also famous for
being a trickster and for his profound sense of humour.

It is believed that Lord Ganesh was born on a fourth day (chaturthi) of the bright
fortnight of the Hindu lunar month of Magh. Since then, an association between Ganesh
and chaturthi has been established. Thus the festival dedicated to the worship of Lord
Ganesh on this chaturthi day is named as Ganesh Chaturthi.

There is a curiously interesting tale about the birth of Ganesh. It is believed that
once while Parvati was bathing, she created a human figure from some unguent and balm,
gave him life and asked him to guard the door while she bathed. After a long period of
meditation on Mountain Kailash (Lord Shivas abode), Shiva chose that very moment to
drop by to see his better half, but was abruptly stopped by the man-god Parvati had
posted at the door. Outraged by the cheek of this stranger, Shiva cut off his head only to
discover moments later that he had killed Parvatis son! For fear of enraging his wife,
Shiva immediately dispatched his ganas (attendants) to get him the head of the first living
creature they could find. Well, the first living creature happened to be an elephant. As
instructed, the head was chopped off and brought back to Shiva, who placed it on
Parvatis sons body, bringing him back to life. This elephant-headed god was welcomed
into the first family of the Hindu heavens and named Ganesh or Ganpati, which literally
means the chief of the ganas, or the attendants of Shiva. Ganesh is the foremost god of
the Hindu pantheon. This brave guardian of the door to Parvatis bath is beheld today as
the most auspicious God of new beginnings. He is worshipped during every festival and
before people undertake a journey or embark upon a new venture. You will also see him
carefully guarding entrances to temples and homes, peeping out of calendars and happily
gracing marriages and other such occasions.

It is not known when and how Ganesh Chaturthi was first celebrated. But
according to the historian Shri Rajwade, the earliest Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations can be
traced back to the times of the reigns of dynasties as Satavahana, Rashtrakuta and
Chalukya. Historical records reveal that Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations were initiated in
Maharashtra by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja, the great Maratha ruler, to promote culture
and nationalism. And it had continued ever since. There are also references in history to
similar celebrations during Peshwa times. It is believed that Lord Ganapati was the
family deity of the Peshwas. After the end of Peshwa rule, Ganesh Chaturthi remained a
family affair in Maharashtra from the period of 1818 to 1892.

1857 was a landmark year for India and more so in the context of Indian freedom. It
was the year of Sepoy Mutiny, an armed rebellion against the ruling British Empire by
the Indian soldiers. This was the first war that India waged to gain back her independence
from her white rulers. Though unsuccessful, this battle marked the beginning of the
Indian struggle for independence. Many orators, leaders and freedom fighters all over
India teamed to put up a united resistance to the British domination. One of these eminent
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leaders was Bal Gangadhar Tilak, an Indian nationalist, social reformer and freedom
fighter. Greatly esteemed by the Indian people, especially of Maharashtra, Tilak was
commonly referred to as "Lokmanya" or "he who is regarded by the people". It was
Tilak, who brought back the tradition of Ganesh Chaturthi and reshaped the annual
Ganesh festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event.

Lokmanya saw how Lord Ganesh was worshipped by the upper stratum as well as
the rank and file of India. The visionary that he was, Tilak realized the cultural
importance of this deity and popularized Ganesh Chaturthi as a National Festival "to
bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate
context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic
strivings against the British in Maharashtra. He knew that India couldn't fight her rulers
until she solved the differences within her own. Hence, to unite all social classes Tilak
chose Ganesh as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule because of his
wide appeal as "the god for Everyman".

It was around 1893, during the nascent stages of Indian nationalism, that Tilak
began to organize the Ganesh Utsav as a social and religious function. He was the first to
put in large public images of Ganesh in pavilions and establish the tradition of their
immersion on the tenth day. The festival facilitated community participation and
involvement in the form of learned discourses, dance dramas, poetry recital, musical
concerts, debates, etc. It served as a meeting place for common people of all castes and
communities, at a time when all social and political gatherings were forbidden by the
British Empire for fear of conspiracies to be hatched against them. An important festival
during the Peshwa era, Ganesh Chaturthi acquired at this time a more organized form all
over India largely due to Lokmanyas efforts.

Since then, Ganesh Chaturthi has been celebrated throughout Maharashtra as also in
other states with great community enthusiasm and participation. With the independence
of India in 1947, it was proclaimed to be a national festival.

Today, Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated in the states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu,

Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and many other parts of India. The festival is so popular
that the preparations begin months in advance. Days before the actual worship, homes are
cleaned and marquees erected at street corners to house the idols of the Lord. Elaborate
arrangements are made for lighting, decoration, mirrors and flowers. The artisans who
make the idols of Ganesh vie with each other to make bigger and better sculptures. The
sizes of the relatively larger ones range anywhere from 10 meters to 30 meters in height.
These are installed in marquees and in homes prior to the Puja (worship). During the
festival days, the Lord is worshipped with great devotion and prayer services are
performed daily. The duration of the Lord's stay varies from place to place; once the
worship is complete, the statues are carried on decorated floats to be immersed in the sea
after one, three, five, seven and ten days. Thousands of processions converge on the
beaches to immerse the holy idols in the sea. This procession and immersion is
accompanied with dancing and the sound of exciting drum-beats, devotional songs and
exploding firecrackers.
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As the idol is immersed amidst loud chants of "Ganesh Maharaj Ki Jai!" (Hail Lord
Ganesh), the festival comes to an end with pleas to the Lord to return the next year with
chants of "Ganpati bappa morya, pudcha varshi laukar ya" (Hail Lord Ganesh, return
again soon next year). Tourists from all over the world come to witness this wonderful
event in the sun kissed beaches of Goa and Mumbai.

While celebrated all over India, Ganesh Chaturthi festivities are most elaborate in
states like Maharashtra, Goa (It is the biggest festival for Konkani people all over the
world), Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and other areas which were former
states of the Maratha Empire. Outside India, it is celebrated in Nepal by the Newars.
In the 21st century, with the world turning fast into a global village, Ganesh Chaturthi
is now celebrated all over the world, wherever there is a presence of a Hindu
community.