गणेश चतुर्थी

The tradition & historical record

Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: Gaṇeśa Caturthī) (transl.  Festival of Ganesha on the Fourth Day), also known as Vinayaka Chavithi (Vināyaka Cavithī), or Vinayagar Chaturthi (Vināyagar Caturthī), is a Hindu festival celebrating the arrival of the Hindu deity Ganesha to the south of India to meet his brother Karthikeya. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's murtis (devotional representations of a deity), privately in homes and publicly on elaborate pandals (temporary stages). Observances include chanting of Vedic hymns and Hindu texts, such as prayers and vrata (fasting). Offerings and prasada from the daily prayers, which are distributed from the pandal to the community, include sweets such as modak, as it is believed to be a favourite of Ganesha. The festival ends on the tenth day after its start, when the murti is carried in a public procession with music and group chanting, and then immersed in a nearby body of water such as a river or sea, called visarjana on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi. In Mumbai alone, around 150,000 murtis are immersed annually. It is a state festival of Indian state Maharashtra. The festival celebrates Ganesha as the god of new beginnings, the remover of obstacles, and the god of wisdom, fortune, prosperity and intelligence. ¹

Although it is unknown when (or how) Ganesh Chaturthi was first observed, the festival has been publicly celebrated in Pune since the era of King Shivaji (1630–1680, founder of the Maratha Empire). The Peshwa in the 18th century were devotees of Ganesha and started as a public Ganesh festival in their capital city of Pune during the month of Bhadrapad. After the start of the British Raj, the Ganesh festival lost state patronage and became a private family celebration in Maharashtra until its revival by Indian freedom fighter and social reformer Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, popularly known as Lokmanya Tilak, championed it as a means to circumvent the colonial British government ban on Hindu gatherings through its anti-public assembly legislation in 1892. Lokmanya Tilak started the festival in Pune and Girgaon, Mumbai. ¹

I followed with the greatest curiosity crowds who carried in procession an infinite number of idols of the God Ganesh. Each little quarter of the town, each family with its adherents, each little street corner I may almost say, organises a procession of its own, and the poorest may be seen carrying on a simple plank their little idol or of paper mâché... A crowd, more or less numerous, accompanies the idol, clapping hands and raises cries of joy, while a little orchestra generally precedes the idol.– Angelo de Gubernatis, Bombay Gazette (1886) ¹

According to others such as Kaur, the festival became a public event later, in 1892 when Krishnajipant Khasgiwale (also known as Nanasaheb Khasgiwale), a Pune resident, visited Gwalior then under Scindia rule where he witnessed a public Ganesh Chaturthi celebration (Sarvajanik Ganesh Mahotsav) for the first time. This inspired him to conceptualize a similar public festival back home in Pune. ¹

In India, Ganesh Chaturthi is primarily celebrated at home and in public by local community groups in the central and western states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Goa and the southern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala and eastern states of West Bengal and Odisha and in North eastern state of Assam. On the same day, Chaurchan festival is celebrated in Mithila region of Bihar which is related to Ganesha and Chandra, the Hindu moon god. The date for the festival is usually decided by the presence of Chaturthi Thithi. The festival is held during "Bhadrapada Madyahanaa Purvabaddha". If the Chaturthi Thiti begins at night on the previous day and gets over by morning on next day, then the next day is observed as Vinayaka Chaturthi. In the consecration ceremony, a priest performs a Prana Pratishtha to invite Ganesh like a guest. This is followed by the 16-step Shodashopachara ritual, (Sanskrit: Shodash, 16; Upachara, process) during which coconut, jaggery, modaks, durva grass and red hibiscus (Jaswand) flowers are offered to the idol. Depending on the region and time zone, the ceremony commences with hymns from the Rigveda, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, the Upanishads and the Ganesh stotra (prayer) from the Narada Purana are chanted. In Maharashtra as well as Goa, aarti is performed with friends and family, typically in the morning and evening. In preparation for the festival, artisans create clay models of Ganesha for sale. The images (Murtis) range in size from 20 mm (3⁄4 in) for homes to over 20 m (70 ft) for large community celebrations. On the last day of the festival, the tradition of Ganesh visarjan or nimajjanam (lit. ¹

In Maharashtra, Ganesh Chaturthi is known as Ganeshotsav. Families install small clay Murtis for worship during the festival. At home, the festival preparation includes purchases such as puja items or accessories a few days in advance and booking the Ganesh murti as early as a month beforehand (from local artisans). The murti is brought home either a day before or on the day of the Ganesh Chaturthi itself. Families decorate a small, clean portion of the house with flowers and other colourful items before installing the idol. When the Murti is installed, it and its shrine are decorated with flowers and other materials. On the day of the festival, The ceremonial installation of the clay murti (idol) is done along with chants of holy Ganesh mantras, and puja including bhajans during a certain auspicious period of the day. The Murti is worshipped 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 Ganesh, 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 Murtis of Gauris. ¹

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 Ganesh idols and accompanying Murti are installed in temporary shelters, known as mandaps or pandals. Public preparations begin months in advance. ¹

Hyderabad is known for its large public Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, partic… ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Ganesh Chaturthi”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Ganesh Chaturthi is multi-day Hindu festival revering god Ganesha (August–September), according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 6 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²