Ganesh Chaturthi
Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: Gaṇeśa Caturthī), also known as Vinayak Chaturthi (Vināyaka Caturthī) or Ganeshotsav (Gaṇeśōtsava), is a Hindu festival that tributes Hindu deity Ganesha. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's clay murtis (devotional representations of a deity) privately in homes and publicly on elaborate pandals (temporary stages). 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 modak as it is believed to be a favourite of Lord Ganesha. The festival ends on the tenth day after start, when the Murti 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 visarjana on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi. In Mumbai alone, around 150,000 Murtis are immersed annually. Thereafter the clay Murti dissolves and Ganesha is believed to return to his celestial abode.
| Ganesh Chaturthi | |
|---|---|
Lalbaugcha Raja, Mumbai | |
| Official name | Chatur/Vinayaka Chaturthi/Vinayaka Chavithi |
| Also called | Chavithi, Chouthi, Ganeshotsav |
| Observed by | Hindus |
| Type | Religious |
| Celebrations | Chanting of Vedic hymns and Hindu texts, prayers, processions, idol immersion |
| Ends | 11 days after the start |
| Date | Bhadra Shukla Chaturthi |
| 2023 date | 19 September |
| 2024 date | 7 September |
| Frequency | Annual |
Hindu festival dates The Hindu calendar is lunisolar but most festival dates are specified using the lunar portion of the calendar. A lunar day is uniquely identified by three calendar elements: māsa (lunar month), pakṣa (lunar fortnight) and tithi (lunar day). Furthermore, when specifying the masa, one of two traditions are applicable, viz. amānta / pūrṇimānta. If a festival falls in the waning phase of the moon, these two traditions identify the same lunar day as falling in two different (but successive) masa. A lunar year is shorter than a solar year by about eleven days. As a result, most Hindu festivals occur on different days in successive years on the Gregorian calendar. | |
The festival celebrates Ganesha as the God of New Beginnings and the Remover of Obstacles as well as the god of wisdom and intelligence and is observed throughout the Indian subcontinent by Hindus, especially in the states such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Goa, as well as Nepal. Ganesh Chaturthi is also observed 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, the United States, and Europe. In the Gregorian calendar, Ganesh Chaturthi falls between 22 August and 20 September every year.
Although the origin of Ganesh Chaturthi remains unknown, it became increasingly popular after a public celebration was initiated by the prominent Anti-Colonial Freedom Fighter, Lokamanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, in Maharashtra in the year 1893. It was a means to form a "Hindu nationalist identity" and rebel against British rule. Reading of texts, feasting, athletic and martial arts competitions are held at public venues.