Ganesh Chaturthi in India: Why is the Festival Celebrated?

Ganesh Chaturthi is a 10 days long festival of India! Only a few of us know that why the day is celebrated. It is one of those festivals of India which is celebrated with great fervour and enthusiasm by the people of India. The spectacular view of the zeal of celebration of this is worth noticing. The festival is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Lord Ganesha, the elephant headed deity of the Hindus. In the scriptures he has been identified as the younger son of Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva.

Ganesha Chaturthi in India and abroad is celebrated with great enthusiasm and sumptuousness. As per the Hindu calendar the festival is observed on the 4th day of month of Bhadrapada which is believed to fall in late August and beginning of September. This year Ganesh Chaturthi in India will be celebrated in the time span of 10 days from 25th of August to 5th of September.

Lord Ganesha is considered to have 108 distinct names. He is also believed to be the Lord of science and arts and an ocean of wisdom. People worship Lord Ganesha before starting any auspicious occasion as he is considered as the Lord of beginning. Ganesha is also worshipped as Vinayaka or Ganapati.

Birth of Lord Ganesha has ben explained on different occasions!

According to the first story, Goddess Parvati created Ganesha from dirt of her body while she was taking bath. She created him to act like a guard as long as she was taking bath. At that time, Shiva had gone out and when he returned, Lord Ganesha did not allow him to enter because, he did not know him. This made, Lord Shiva angry and he, severed Lord Ganesha's head after a short battle between the two of them. As a result, Partvati got furious and at the end Shiva promised to Parvati that Ganesha will live all over again. Devas went in search of a head of a dead person but they could only find the head of an elephant with which they returned. Lord Shiva then fixed the elephant's head on the body of Ganesha and then he was brought back to life.

According to other story, Lord Ganesha was created by Parvati and Shiva after the request of Devas. They wanted Ganesha to be created as a Vighnakartaa or the obstacle in the path of the Rakshaas. As per this story he came into existence as a help to Devas in destruction of Rakshaas.

• The festival starts on fourth day of the waxing moon called as Shukla Chaturthi and ends on Anant Chaturdashi which is the fourteenth day of the waxing moon.
• The festival is observed on a gigantic scale in the state of Maharashtra in Mumbai.
• Lord Ganesha is worshipped for as long as long it last that is 10 days with Ganesha's statue put into beautiful Pandalas.
• The festival is celebrated by observing four key rituals which includes –

"Pranapratishhtha"- It is the process of establishing the idol of Lord Ganesha.
"Shhodashopachara" – It is the process of worshipping Ganesha in 16 forms.
"Uttarpuja" – It is the puja offered before infusing the idol.
"Ganpati Visarjan" – This is the process by which the idol of Lord Ganesha is immerged into river.

So, this is all about the celebration of this festival of Ganesha Chaturthi. During this festival almost every part of the country gets embellished with the idols of Lord Ganesha. People in India have great faith that any day of importance to them should start by worshipping Lord Ganesha as he brings peace and prosperity to home. Other than, in India, Lord Ganesha is also celebrated in Indonesia, China, Nepal, Thailand and Cambodia.