Worshipping Lord Ganesh brings happiness, peace and prosperity in life. In ‘Sanaatan Dharm’ lord Ganesh is worshipped before the start of any good work. People celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi with a lot of enthusiasm , hence Ganesh Chaturthi too has a special significance.
I have always wondered why and how Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated and there are lot many questions in my mind related to that. So we decided to answer few of the questions related to Ganesh Chaturthi.
Q.1 What is Ganesh Chaturthi?
Ganesh Chaturthi, also known as Vinayaka Chaturti, is a Hindu festival celebrating the arrival of Ganesh to earth from Kailash Parvat with his mother Goddess Parvati/Gauri.
Q.2 Why is it celebrated?
Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated annually to mark the birth of Lord Ganesha, the God of new beginnings and a fresh start. Lord Ganesha symbolises wisdom, good luck and fortune. Lord Ganesha is considered to be a symbol of writing, travel and commerce.
Q.3 When is it celebrated?
The festival falls in the month of Bhadra, according to the Hindu calendar and as per the Gregorian calendar, it falls in August- September. This year ‘Chaturthi Tithi’ will begin at 12:17am on September 10 and will continue till 10pm.
Q.4 For how many days is it celebrated?
It is celebrated for 11 days which means this year , it will end on 21st Septmenber. Some people celebrate this festival only for two days, some celebrate it for the entire ten days. It is also called Ganesh Mahotsav. He is worshipped with elaborate rituals for 10 days, so as to invoke his blessings and when his stay is over, the statue is ceremoniously immersed in a water body.
Q.5 Is Ganesh Chaturthi Lord Ganesha’s birthday?
As Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated to mark the birth of Lord Ganesha, this occasion celebrates the birth day of Ganesha, the lord of wisdom.
Q.6 What are the other names of Ganesh Chaturthi?
Ganesh Jayanti is referred by many different names known as Chavathi, Chouthi, Ganeshotsav, Magha shukla chaturthi, Tilkund chaturthi, and Varad chaturthi , Bhadrapada Chaturthi and Vinayaka Chavithi .
Q.7 What happens if we see moon on Ganesh Chaturthi?
If anybody sees Moon on that day, they may face false allegations and suffer a bad name. Even Lord Krishna had fallen prey to the Mithya Dosha. As he accidentally looked at the moon on Ganesh Chaturthi day. Lord Krishna was falsely accused of stealing a precious gem Syamantaka.
Q.8 What to do if we see moon on Ganesh Chaturthi
It is generally said that human beings can look at the moon on any day except that day of ‘Bhadrapada Chaturthi’. Anyone who looks at the moon on Bhadrapada Chaturthi by mistake can worship Lord Ganesha and follow the holy rituals and listen/ recite the story of Ganesh Chaturthi will be relieved from the curse.
Q.9 How is Ganesh Chaturthi celebrated?
The rituals are begun by getting a clay idol of Ganesh ji, to worship in the morning and the evening. The entire house is usually cleaned before getting the idol home and entire family is gathered to welcome the Lord. The idol is worshiped by offerings of durva, flowers, modaks and karanji.
Q. 10 In which states is Ganesh Chaturthi mostly celebrated?
Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated throughout the country though it is more prevalent in the central and western states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Goa and the southern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and eastern states of West Bengal and Odisha.
Q. 11 Is Ganesh Chaturthi a fasting day?
Ganesha is the god of gods, but there’s no evidence to suggest that fasting was mandated by Ganesha. On this day, people observe fasts and seek blessings from Lord Ganesha for wisdom and prosperity. The devotees, who intend to fast on ganesh chaturthi get up early morning and take bathe.
Q.12 Can we eat meat during Ganesh Chaturthi?
While it is a tradition to offer modaks and kosambris to Ganesha on Chaturthi, a small community of Kshatriyas in the Koppal district has this unique way of showing devotion on Chaturthi- by offerig liquor and non-vegetarian food as “naivedya” to the deity. This custom is not followed in the entire village but only by the community.
Q. 13 What is Anant Chaturdashi?
Lord Ganesh is given farewell on ‘Anant Chaturdashi’. On the farewell day people also pray before him to return next year. ‘Ananta’ in Sanskrit means endless/eternal, and therefore, it is believed to be an auspicious day for worshipping Lord Vishnu. This is the day when Lord Vasupujya, 12th Tirthankara of the present cosmic cycle, attained nirvana.
Q. 14 When is Anant Chaturdashi celebrated?
Anant Chaturdashi is a festival observed and celebrated by Jains and Hindus. Chaturdashi is the 14th day of the lunar fortnight. In the normal course, Anant Chaturdashi falls 10 days after Ganesh Chaturthi. Digambara Jains observe Parv Paryushana in the last 10 days of the bhado month, Anant Chaturdashi is the last day of Paryushana.
Q.15 Why do we do Ganesh Visarjan?
The ritual is done to signify the birth cycle of Lord Ganesha; just as he was created from clay/Earth, his symbolic statue is as well. As the word ‘visarjan’ implies, on this day immersion of Lord Ganapati’s idol takes place in a river, sea or water body. Symbolically, Lord Ganesha visits the home on Ganesh Chaturthi day and it is for the family to decide when they want to give him the farewell.
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