Vinayak Chaturthi – UdaipurBlog

“Vakratunda Mahaakaaya Suryakotee Sama Prabha,
Nirvighnam kuru mey Deva, Sarva kaaryeshu Sarvadaa”

Lord Ganesh, the elephant headed God, the son of Shiva and Parvati, invoked at every beginning and every start.

He is the god of Prosperity, Fortune and Wisdom and today is his day. He rides on his vehicle, a mouse, and is well known for fulfilling the wishes and desires of his devotees. Ganesh Chaturthi or Ganeshotsava aka ‘Vinayak Chaturthi’, is a great Ganesha festival. It is the spiritual and joyful journey of 10 days, which is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha in the Bhaadrapada month of Hindu Calendar.

Photo Courtesy : 500px.com (Rohan Pavgi)

This festival of Ganpati Bappa got major exposure by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja, the great Maratha ruler, who promoted this festival in order to promote culture and nationalism. Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, played a major role in its revival too; he promoted and encouraged Ganesh Chaturthi in order to spread the message of freedom struggle and to defy the Britishers who had banned public assemblies. In addition to celebration across the whole country, it is marked as a full day celebration in the calendars of houses even outside India. The grandest festivity can be witnessed in the western state of Maharashtra where this ‘utsav’ lasts for 10 days, ending on the day of ‘Ananta Chaturdashi’.

This huge festival starts with the Pranpratishtha (installation) of beautifully designed and decorated idols of Ganesha, made of Plaster of Paris or clay, with chanting of mantras. The idols may vary in size, suitable for both, houses and community Pandals. The pandals are specially decorated for this festival. And for the next 10 days, there is a joyful sequence of Ganesh Vandana, Aarti and Puja, done both in morning and evening. The most popular sweet dish during this festival includes the modak (A dumpling prepared from rice or wheat flour stuffed with fresh or dry-grated coconut, jaggery, dry fruits and other condiments).These Modaks or Modakam are either steam-cooked or fried. Another popular sweet dish includes Karanji which is quite similar to the modak in taste but it has a semicircular shape.

Photo Courtesy : Chakali.blogspot.in

On the 11^th day, the Ganesh Murti is taken to a river, lake, sea or pond for submersion, amongst a huge crowd of merry people, singing, dancing and chanting all together; “Ganpati Bappa Morya, Agle Baras Tu Jaldi Aaa”. This event of utmost enthusiasm, merry making and bidding farewell to the Lord is called Visarjan, which is a symbol of Ganesh Ji taking all the sins,pain and mistakes of his devotees with him.

Stay connected for regular updates of Ganesh Chaturthi in udaipur.

Pre-Festive Preparations:

The preparations for this festivity are observed Two to three months prior to Ganesh Chaturthi, apart from moulding and creating artistic clay models of Lord Ganesha in various poses preparations include decoration of homes, creating huge ‘Mandapas‘, preparing sweet dishes etc. The size of these statues may vary from 3/4 of an inch to over 25 feet.

Celebration:

Ganesh idols are installed in colorfully decorated homes and the temporary specially designed structures “Mandapas” (Pandals) in various localities. These Pandals are beautifully decorated either by flower garlands, lights, etc. or are theme based decorations. The most popular sweet dish during this festival includes the modak (A dumpling prepared from rice or wheat flour stuffed with fresh or dry-grated coconut, jaggery, dry fruits and other condiments).These Modaks or Modakam are either steam-cooked or fried. Another popular sweet dish includes Karanji which is quite similar to the modak in taste but it has a semicircular shape.

Ganesh Chaturthi is widely celebrated in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, A.P, Tamil Nadu and many other parts of India. Vinayak Chaturthi got major exposure by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja, the great Maratha ruler, who promoted this festival in order to promote culture and nationalism. Apart for Shivaji Maharaj this festival became an epicenter of attraction of various well renowned personalities. Lokmanya Tilak (a freedom fighter) played a major role in its revival; he promoted and encouraged Ganesh Chaturthi in order to spread the message of freedom struggle and to defy the Britishers who had banned public assemblies. This festival developed a feeling of unity and revived the patriotic spirit and faith among the Indians. This public festival created the background for various leaders who delivered speeches in order to inspire people against the Western rule. The festival is so popular that the preparations begin months in advance.

Poojas (prayer services) are performed daily. The artists who make the idols of Lord Ganesh compete with each other to make bigger and more magnificent and elegant idols. The gigantic idols may even reach 10 to 30 meters in height. After the rituals, these statues are carried to be immersed in the sea, generally after one, three, five, seven or ten days. Thousands of processions converge on the beaches to immerse the holy idols in the sea. This procession of immersion is accompanied by drum- beats, devotional songs and dancing.

Mythologically, it is still forbidden to look at the moon during these days as according to an old Story, The Moon God once mocked Ganesha when he fell from his “Mushak” or his vehicle and thus Moon God was cursed by Lord Ganesha.

There are many devotees of Lord Ganesha in Udaipur, few of the prime locations for the celebration and the worship being Bohra Ganesh ji, Maharashtra Bhawan, etc. Team UdaipurBlog wishes everyone a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi. Enjoy with the spirit of devotion and the joy of the season. Ganpati Bappa Moriya