Ganesh Chaturthi, one of the most sacred Hindu
festivals, celebrates the birth of Lord Ganesha - the supreme God of wisdom and
prosperity. This annual occassion is observed by the whole of Hindu community
with great fervor and piety. Do you know how this festival came to be
practiced? If not, scroll down and read our informative article on the history
and origin of Ganesh Chaturthi. Know all about the earliest Ganesh Chaturthi
celebrations and how it evolved over the time. If you like our article on the history
of Ganesh Chaturthi, do not forget to click here and send this page to your
friends and dear ones. Have a grand time this Ganesh Chaturthi. May the Lord bless you and all your loved ones.
Ganesh Chaturthi or "Vinayak
Chaturthi" is one of the major traditional festivals celebrated by the
Hindu community. It is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Bhadrapada,
starting on the shukla chaturthi (fourth day of the waxing moon period).
Typically the day falls sometime between August 20 and September 15. The
festival lasts for 10 days, ending on Ananta Chaturdashi, and is traditionally
celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha.
According to Hindu mythology, Lord Ganesha
is the son of Shiva (The God of Destruction in the Hindu Holy Trinity of
Creator-Preserver-Destroyer) and Parvati (Shiva’s consort). The cutest and most
lovable Indian God, Ganesha or Ganpati has the head of an elephant on which
rests an elegant tiara, four podgy hands joined to a sizeable belly with each
hand holding its own symbolic object - a trishul or a trident in one, an ankush
or goad (made from his very own broken tooth) in another, a lotus in the third
and a rosary (which is sometimes replaced by modaks, his favourite sweet) in
the fourth. Revered as the deity of auspiciousness and wisdom, Lord Ganesha is
also famous for being a trickster and for his profound sense of humour.
It is believed that Lord
Ganesh was born on a fourth day (chaturthi) of the bright fortnight of the
Hindu lunar month of Magh. Since then, an association between Ganesh
and chaturthi has been established. Thus the festival dedicated to the worship
of Lord Ganesha on this chaturthi day is named as Ganesh Chaturthi.
There is a curiously interesting tale
about the birth of Ganesha. It is believed that once while Parvati
was bathing, she created a human figure from some unguent and balm, gave him
life and asked him to guard the door while she bathed. After a long period of
meditation on Mountain Kailash (Lord Shiva’s abode), Shiva chose that very
moment to drop by to see his better half, but was abruptly stopped by the
man-god Parvati had posted at the door. Outraged by the cheek of this stranger,
Shiva cut off his head only to discover moments later that he had killed
Parvati’s son! For fear of enraging his wife, Shiva immediately dispatched his
ganas (attendants) to get him the head of the first living creature they could
find. Well, the first living creature happened to be an elephant. As
instructed, the head was chopped off and brought back to Shiva, who placed it
on Parvati’s son’s body, bringing him back to life. This elephant-headed god
was welcomed into the first family of the Hindu heavens and named Ganesha or
Ganapati, which literally means the chief of the ganas, or the attendants of
Shiva. Ganesha is the foremost god of the Hindu pantheon. This brave guardian
of the door to Parvati’s bath is beheld today as the most auspicious God of new
beginnings. He is worshipped during every festival and before people undertake
a journey or embark upon a new venture. You will also see him carefully
guarding entrances to temples and homes, peeping out of calendars and happily
gracing marriages and other such occasions.
It is not known when and how Ganesh
Chaturthi was first celebrated. But according to the historian Shri Rajwade,
the earliest Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations can be traced back to the times of
the reigns of dynasties as Satavahana, Rashtrakuta and Chalukya. Historical records
reveal that Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations were initiated in Maharashtra by
Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja, the great Maratha ruler, to promote culture and
nationalism. And it had continued ever since. There are also references in
history to similar celebrations during Peshwa times. It is believed that
Lord Ganapati was the family deity of the Peshwas. After the end of Peshwa
rule, Ganesh Chaturthi remained a family affair in Maharashtra from the period
of 1818 to 1892.
1857 was a landmark year for India and
moreso in the context of Indian freedom. It was the year of Sepoy Mutiny, an armed rebellion
against the ruling British Empire by the Indian soldiers. This was the first
war that India waged to gain back her independence from her white rulers.
Though unsuccesful, this battle marked the beginning of the Indian struggle for
independence. Many orators, leaders and freedom fighters all over India teamed
to put up a united resistance to the British domination. One of these eminent
leaders was Bal Gangadhar Tilak, an Indian nationalist, social reformer and
freedom fighter. Greatly esteemed by the Indian people, especially of
Maharashtra, Tilak was commonly referred to as "Lokmanya" or "he
who is regarded by the people". It was Tilak, who brought back the tradition
of Ganesh Chaturthi and reshaped the annual Ganesh festival from private family
celebrations into a grand public event.
Lokamanya saw how Lord Ganesha was
worshipped by the upper stratum as well as the rank and file of India. The
visionary that he was, Tilak realized the cultural importance of this deity and
popularised Ganesha Chaturthi as a National Festival "to bridge the gap
between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in
which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic
strivings against the British in Maharashtra. He knew that India couldn't fight
her rulers until she solved the differences within her own. Hence, to unite all
social classes Tilak chose Ganesha as a rallying point for Indian protest
against British rule because of his wide appeal as "the god for
Everyman".
It was around 1893, during the nascent
stages of Indian nationalism, that Tilak began to organize the Ganesh
Utsav as a social and religious function. He was the first to put in large
public images of Ganesha in pavilions and establish the tradition of their
immersion on the tenth day. The festival facilitated community participation
and involvement in the form of learned discourses, dance dramas, poetry
recital, musical concerts, debates, etc. It served as a meeting place for
common people of all castes and communities, at a time when all social and
political gatherings were forbidden by the British Empire for fear of
conspiracies to be hatched against them. An important festival during the
Peshwa era, Ganesha Chaturthi acquired at this time a more organized
form all over India largely due to Lokmanya's efforts.
Since then, Ganesh Chaturthi has been
celebrated throughout Maharashtra as also in other states with great community
enthusiasm and participation. With the independence of India in 1947, it was
proclaimed to be a national festival.
Today, Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated
in the states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and many
other parts of India. The festival is so popular that the preparations begin
months in advance. Days before the actual worship, homes are cleaned and
marquees erected at street corners to house the idols of the Lord.
Elaborate arrangements are made for
lighting, decoration, mirrors and flowers. The artisans who make the idols of
Ganesh vie with each other to make bigger and better sculptures. The sizes of
the relatively larger ones range anywhere from 10 meters to 30 meters in
height. These are installed in marquees and in homes prior to the Puja
(worship). During the festival days, the Lord is worshipped with great devotion
and prayer services are performed daily.
The duration of the Lord's stay varies from
place to place; once the worship is complete, the statues are 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 with dancing and the sound of exciting drum-beats, devotional songs
and exploding firecrackers. As the idol is immersed amidst loud chants of
"Ganesh Maharaj Ki Jai!" (Hail Lord Ganesh), the festival comes to an
end with pleas to the Lord to return the next year with chants of "Ganpati
bappa morya, pudcha varshi laukar ya" (Hail Lord Ganesh, return again soon
next year). Tourists from all over the world come to witness this wonderful
event in the sun kissed beaches of Goa and Mumbai.
While celebrated all over India, Ganesh
Chaturthi festivities are most elaborate in states like Maharashtra, Goa (It is
the biggest festival for Konkani people all over the world), Gujarat, Karnataka
and Andhra Pradesh, and other areas which were former states of the Maratha
Empire. Outside India, it is celebrated in Nepal by the Newars.
In the 21st century, with the world
turning fast into a global village, Ganesh Chaturthi is now celebrated all over
the world, wherever there is a presence of a Hindu community.