Ganesh Chaturthi celebrates Ganesha as the god of new beginnings, remover of obstacles as well as the god of wisdom and intelligence
Ganesh Chaturthi also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi is a Hindu festival celebrating the annual arrival of the Hindu god Ganesha (Ganesh) to earth from his celestial abode. The festival is marked with the building of Ganesha’s clay murtis privately in homes and publicly on elaborate pandals (temporary stages).
There is an intriguing story behind the festival of Ganesh visarjan/Vinayaka Nimajjanam. It is believed that Lord Ganesha returns to Mount Kailash to join his parents Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati on the last day of the festival. The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi also denotes the value of the cycle of birth, life and death. Ganesha, who is also known as the Lord of New Beginnings, is also worshipped as the Remover of Obstacles. It is believed that when the idol of the Ganesha is taken out for immersion, it also removes with it the various obstacles and difficulties of a home which are destroyed along with the visarjan/nimajjanam (immersion in the rivers and seas). Every year, people wait with great excitement to celebrate the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi.
Observances include chanting of Vedic hymns and Hindu texts, such as prayers and vrata (fasting). Offerings and prasada from the daily prayers, that are distributed from the pandal to the community, include sweets such as modaka as it is believed to be a favourite of Ganesha.
The festival ends on the tenth day after the start, when the idol is carried in a public procession with music and group chanting, then immersed in a nearby body of water such as a river or sea, called visarjan. In Mumbai alone, around 150,000 statues are immersed annually. Thereafter the clay idol dissolves and Ganesha is believed to return to his celestial abode.
The festival celebrates Ganesha as the God of New Beginnings and the Remover of Obstacles, as well as the god of wisdom and intelligence, observed throughout India, especially in the states such as Maharashtra , Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Goa. Ganesh Chaturthi is also observed in Nepal and by the Hindu diaspora elsewhere such as in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, other parts of the Caribbean, Fiji, Mauritius, South Africa, United States, and Europe. In the Gregorian calendar, Ganesh Chaturthi falls between 22 August and 20 September every year.
On the last day of the festival, the tradition of Ganesh Visarjan/Nimajjanam takes place. The concluding day of the 10-day festival is also popularly known as Anant Chaturdashi. As the word ‘visarjan’ or ‘nimajjanam’ implies, on this day immersion (‘visarjan’ or ‘nimajjanam’ means immersion) of Lord Ganapati’s idol takes place in a river, sea, or water body. On the last day, the devotees come out in processions carrying the idols of their beloved God and perform immersion.