Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated on the birthday of Lord Ganesh (Ganesha), the god of wisdom and prosperity on the fourth day of the moons
bright fortnight, or period from new moon in the lunar month of
Bhadrapada. The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi continue for five,
seven, or ten days. Some even stretch it to twenty one
days, but ten the most popularly celebrated. In the tradition of the
right hand path the first day is the most important. In the left hand
path tradition the final day is most important.
Ganesha
is the god of wisdom and prosperity and is invoked before the
beginning of any auspicious work by the Hindus. It is believed that for
the fulfillment of one's desires, his blessing is absolutely
necessary. According to the mythology, he is the son of Shiva and
Parvati, brother of Kartikeya - the general of the gods, Lakshmi - the
goddess of wealth and Saraswati-the goddess of learning. There are
numerous stories in Hindu mythology, associated with the birth of this
elephant-headed god, whose vehicle is the Mooshak or rat and who loves
Modaks (droplet shaped Indian sweet).
Legend has it that Parvati created Ganesha out of the sandalwood
dough that she used for her bath and breathed life into him. Letting
him stand guard at the door she went to have her bath. When her
husband, Shiva returned, the child who had never seen him stopped him.
Shiva severed the head of the child and entered his house. Parvati,
learning that her son was dead, was distraught and asked Shiva to
revive him. Shiva cut off the head of an elephant and fixed it on the body of Ganesha.
Another
tale tells of how one day the Gods decided to choose their leader and a
race was to be held between the brothers- Kartikeya and Ganesh.
Whoever took three rounds of the earth first would be made the
Ganaadhipati or the leader. Kartikeya seated on a peacock as his
vehicle, started off for the test. Ganesh was given a rat, which moved
swiftly. Ganesh realised that the test was not easy, but he would not
disobey his father. He reverently paid obeisance to his parents and
went around them three times and thus completed the test before
Kartikeya. He said, " my parents pervade the whole universe and going
around them, is more than going round the earth." Everybody was
pleasantly surprised to hear Ganesha's logic and intelligence and hence
he came to be known as the Ganaadhipati or leader, now referred to as
Ganpati.
There
is also a story behind the symbolic snake, rat and the singular tusk.
During one of his birthdays, His mother, Parvati, cooked for him
twenty-one types of delicious food and a lot of sweet porridge. Ganesha
ate so much that even his big belly could not contain it. Mounting his
little mouse, he embarked on his nightly rounds. His mouse suddenly
stumbled upon seeing a huge snake. To adjust His belly, Ganesha put the
snake on as a belt around his stomach. All of a sudden, he heard
laughter emanating form the sky.
He
looked up and saw the moon mocking him. Ganesha infuriated, broke off
one of his tusks and hurled it at the moon. Parvati, seeing this,
immediately cursed the moon that whoever looks at it on Ganesh
Chaturthi will be accused of a wrong doing. The symbology behind the
mouse and snake and Ganesha's big belly and its relationship to the
moon on his birthday is highly philosophic. The whole cosmos is known
to be the belly of Ganesha. Parvati is the primordial energy. The seven
realms above, seven realms below and seven oceans, are inside the
cosmic belly of Ganesha, held together by the cosmic energy (kundalini )
symbolized as a huge snake which Ganesha ties around Him. The mouse is
nothing but our ego. Ganesha, using the mouse as a vehicle,
exemplifies the need to control our ego. One who has controlled the ego
has Ganesha consciousness or God-consciousness.
.::Ganesh Chaturthi Celebrations::.
The
festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated the states of Maharashtra,
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and many other parts of India.
Started by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja, the great Maratha ruler, to
promote culture and nationalism, the festival was revived by Lokmanya
Tilak (a freedom fighter) to spread the message of freedom struggle and
to defy the British who had banned public assemblies. The festival
gave the Indians a feeling of unity and revived their patriotic spirit
and faith. This public festival formed the background for political
leaders who delivered speeches to inspire people against the Western
rule. The festival is so popular that the preparations begin months in
advance.
Ganesha statues installed in street corners and in homes, and elaborate arrangements are made for lighting, decoration, mirrors
and the most common of flowers. Poojas (prayer services) are performed
daily. The artists who make the idols of Ganesh compete with each
other to make bigger and more magnificent and elegant idols. The
relevantly larger ones are anything from 10 meters to 30 meters in
height. These statues are then 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 by drum-
beats, devotional songs and dancing.
It
is still forbidden to look at the moon on that day as the moon had
laughed at Ganesha when he fell from his vehicle, the rat. With the
immersion of the idol amidst the chanting of "Ganesh Maharaj Ki Jai!"
(Hail Lord Ganesh). The festival ends with pleas to Ganesha to return
the next year with chants of "Ganpati bappa morya, pudcha varshi laukar
ya" (Hail Lord Ganesh, return again soon next year..::Bhakti Geethalu Collection::.
Ashta Ganapathi : Click Here
Ganapathi Charitra : Click Here
Ganesh Krithis - Sudha Raghunathan : Click Here
Jai Jai Vinayaka : Click Here
Kanipaaka Vinayka Divya Ganam : Click Here
Kanipaka Vinayaka : Click Here
Kanipaka Vinayaka Suprabatham Bhakthi Ganam : Click Here
Kanipakam Bhakthi Geetalu : Click Here
Moshika Vaahana : Click Here
O Bojja Ganapayya : Click Here
Sidhi Vinayaka : Click Here
Sri Ganapathi Bajanalu : Click HereGanesa Gayathri & Mahaganapathy Sahasranamam : Click Here
Sri Ganesha Pancharatna Malika : Click Here
Sri Ganesha Sahasranama Stotram : Click Here
Sri Kanipaka Vinayaka Amruthavani : Click Here
Sri Vighneswara Ganamrutham : Click HereSri Vinayaka Chavithi Pooja Vidhanam & Katha : Click Here
Vaatapi Ganapathim : Click Here
Vigneswara Bhajans : Click Here
Vinayaka Bhajans : Click Here
Vishwa Vinayaka : Click Here
