HAPPY GANESH CHATURTHI
Ganesh Chaturthi:
Ganesh Chaturthi, in Hinduism, is a 10-day festival of the birth of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god, the god of prosperity and wisdom. It begins on the fourth day (Chaturthi) of the month of Bhadrapada (August-September), the sixth month of the Hindu calendar.
Ganesh Chaturthi:
At the beginning of the festival, Ganesh idols are placed on raised platforms in the houses or in elaborately decorated outer tents. The worship begins with pranapratishtha, the ritual of invoking prana in idols, followed by shodashopachara or tribute in 16 ways.
During the chanting of Vedic hymns from religious texts such as the Ganesha Upanishad, the idols are anointed with red sandalwood paste and yellow and red flowers. Ganesh is also offered coconut, jaggery and 21 modak (sweet dumpling), which is considered to be Ganesha's favorite food.
Ganesh Chaturthi:
At the conclusion of the festival, the idols are taken to local rivers in huge processions with drums, devotional singing, and dancing. There they are immersed, symbolizing Ganesha's homeward journey to Mount Kailas, which is the residence of her parents, Shiva and Parvati.Ganesh Chaturthi:
When the Ganesha ruler Shivaji (c. 1830–0) used it to encourage nationalist sentiment among his subjects, who were fighting the Mughals, Ganesh Chaturthi assumed the nature of a public celebration. In 1893, when the British banned political gatherings, the festival was revived by Indian nationalist leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
Today this Ganesh Chaturthi festival is celebrated in Hindu communities around the world and is particularly popular in Maharashtra and parts of western India.
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