𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗚𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗶 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗲𝗹

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗚𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗶 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮? Though the festival is the same and has similar connotations across India, each region has slight variations in rituals and traditions. The celebrations last between 7 and 10 days at different places. A few common observances are: 1. 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗲: A statue of the Elephant God is installed on a pedestal either at home or in a public place with a pranprathishtha puja. 𝟮. 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗻: On the first night of the festival, people avoid looking at the moon because it is considered a bad omen. 𝟯.𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀: Washing of the statue; puja with the chanting of shlokas and offerings of flowers and sweets; and aarti, i.e. circumlocution of the idol with a plate filled with a lit earthern/metal lamp, kumkum and flowers, is done. Prayer meetings are also conducted at Ganapati temples and public installations every day in the evenings and in some places, in the mornings as well. 𝟰.𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀: Some public installations of Lord Ganesh might also have performances with dance, music, and skits. 𝟱. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗮𝗸: Modak is believed to be Ganapati’s favourite sweet. So, these dumplings are made and distributed as prasad during the festival. Other food items such as laddoo, barfi, pedha, and sundal are also distributed during this time. 𝟲. 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗿𝗷𝗮𝗻: This is the immersion of the idol in a water body and is conducted on the last day – anywhere between the seventh and eleventh days – of the festival. It is accompanied by a procession of people chanting bhajans and shlokas and songs, with the idol. People seek forgiveness for the mistakes they have done so far and request the god to help them stay on the righteous path. Ganesha is thanked for visiting the home/locality, for being removing obstacles from people’s path, and for the auspiciousness he bestows.

Pujaabhishekam