My second post under the label "Festivals" - Ganesh Chathurthi.
Lord ganesha is one of my favorite. Obviously, as a universal rule, be it anything and everything, we start the task by invoking the blessings of him. That's why the first label in my blog is "Mudhakaram", symbolizing lord ganesha.
This festival is close to my heart and ironically, the first festival that we celebrated last year (infact the very next day) after moving to our new house. I thought that as a very good sign , as Lord Ganesha is the god of new beginnings, we welcomed him to our newly built home, back in 2019. So, this is my second chathurthi in my new home.!
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| Baby ganesha and mouse (his vehicle) |
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?
Ganesh Chaturthi or "Vinayak Chaturthi" is one of the major traditional festivals celebrated by the Hindu community. It is believed that Lord Ganesh was born on a fourth day (chaturthi) of the bright fortnight of the Hindu lunar month of Magh. So, 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. Since then, an association between Ganesha and chaturthi has been established. Thus the festival dedicated to the worship of Lord Ganesha on this chaturthi day is named as Ganesha Chaturthi.
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 Ganapati 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 favorite 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 humor.
There is a curiously interesting story about the birth of Lord Ganesha.
It is believed that once while Parvati was bathing, she created a human from turmeric powder (some books mention clay), gave him life, accepted the boy as her own son and asked him to guard the door while she bathed. She mentioned not to let anyone enter till she comes out from bath. Incidentally, after a long period of meditation on Mountain Kailash (Lord Shiva’s abode), Shiva chose that very moment to drop by to see Parvati, but was abruptly stopped by the boy from entering the house. When asked, he told him that his mother was bathing and had asked him to not let anyone pass through the doors. Little did the boy know that Shiva was his own father. Lord Shiva too, was not aware of the true identity of the boy guarding the gates. He turned furious on being stopped from entering his own house. In a fit of rage, Shiva lifted his trident, severed the little boy's head and entered the house.
Goddess Parvati came out and was shocked to see her son lying dead before her eyes. She revealed the true identity of him and implored Lord Shiva to bring him back to life. Shiva, filled with remorse and guilt, agreed to bring the boy's life back. But it was not possible for him to join the severed head to the body as the impact of his trident was irreversible. But, he knew that the boy lost his life while keeping his word to his mother, proving his unconditional love. So, he called his Nandhi (Bull), ordered nandhi to bring back the head of the first creature that he sees (away from its mother). Nandhi saw an elephant calf first which was away from its mother. So he brought the head of an elephant calf. Shiva placed the head of the elephant calf on the boy and brought him back to life. Though Parvati was happy to see her son alive, she feared that the boy will be mocked for his unusual presence. So, shiva invoked all gods, and asked them to bless their son. He then named him "Ganesha" and introduced him as his own son.
Shiva blessed Ganesha with a boon stating that he would be the first recipient of people's prayers and offerings. No puja can begin without paying an ode to Lord Ganesha. 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 worshiped 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.
Coming back to "Ganesh Chathurthi" festival, people buy lord ganesha made out of clay (some make home made pillayar out of turmeric powder), since goddess parvati made out of clay/ turmeric powder and gave life to it. They decorate him with umbrellas, flowers, poonal, and so on.. Pillayar loves flowers especially Arka/ Giant Milkweed (எருக்கம்பூ), Arugampul / Bermuda Grass / Durva (அருகம்புல்).
Arka means "Ray of hope" in Sanskrit.
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| Erukkam Poo / Arka |
I was so curious to find the reason behind the liking towards Bermuda grass/ அருகம்புல். I read a couple of stories from an online blog.
Once there was an Asura (demon) named Anal Asura. He was terribly dangerous and enormous. He used to emit fire from his eyes and had a raucous voice. Whenever he used to speak, people used to tremble just because of his voice. All the Gods were petrified of him. Everybody went to Lord Ganesha and requested him to slay the demon. Ganesha disguised himself as a child and went to deal with the demon. Ganesha confronted the demon, and a Sarvaksha (a form of war where the opponents fight by using their eyes as weapons) started between them. The demon burnt everything around Lord Ganesha. Anal Asura’s eyes were oozing fireballs, and after many efforts he tried to gulp Lord Ganesha.
In the meantime, Ganesha took his ‘Virat Roopam’ (disguised himself as a giant). Instead of Anal Asura trying to gulp Lord Ganesha, Ganesha gulped Anal Asura. Due to the increased heat in his body he laid on the ground. He tried hard to control and beat the heat, but each passing minute was making him uncomfortable and the heat was becoming unbearable for him. He applied a massive amount of Chandan (sandal paste) on his body, but even that did not help. All Gods put their heads together to find a solution that would make Ganesha better. They finally decided to make a foundation of the Moon, and apply it on Ganesha’s head. Hence, Ganesha is often known as ‘Balachandra’ (the one who has a crescent moon on his head). Lord Vishnu gave him his Lotus, thus lending the name ‘Padmapani’(the one who holds the Lotus flower). Lord Varuna (Rain God) showered plenty of water on him; but all in vain. Everybody tried to calm Ganesha, but everything was proving fruitless. Sages who came there with a bunch of 21 Durvas, tried to put on his head and immediately, a miracle happened. Ganesha became normal. Ganesha uttered only ‘Durva’ a simple grass made my agony into normal. So it is believed that offering Durva to lord ganesha brings positivity and peace.
There is one more tale attached to the same story. Once there was a Yakshini (semi-goddess) who loved Lord Ganesha and wanted to marry him. Ganesha too was interested in getting married to her. However, Parvati (Ganesha’s mother) did not want the alliance to grow, so she cursed Yakshini to take the form of Durva Grass. As it is a grass and no one will ever pay attention towards her, Durva asked for apologies and pardon. She asked Goddess Parvati to reverse the curse. Parvati told her even though she acquired the form of grass she will always remain an object of Ganesha’s affection.
Another tale which tells us the significance of Durva grass, which is as follows. Sage Kaundinya was telling the importance of Durva to his wife Ashraya. But Ashraya had a doubt about it. So sage Kaundinya gave a bunch of 21 Durva and told Ashraya to get the gold equivalent to Durva from Lord Indra who is God of all other Gods. She went to Lord Indra and asked about gold. Indra sent her to “Kubera” who is the treasurer of Gods. When Durva and the gold was measured simultaneously, the entire gold was kept and still, it did not match durva. All the other Gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva arrived and sat along with Gold but the weight of Durva was more. Everybody was perplexed. When all Gods went to see sage Kaundinya at his ashrama and confessed the importance of Durva. Kaudinya said that Ganesha is king of everyone and there is no one superior to him.
The minimum number of Durva to be offered to Lord Ganesha should be 21. Tie the Durva together and offer them to Lord Ganesha after dipping into water. The entire idol of Ganesha excluding the face should be covered with Durva. Thus the fragrance of Durva spreads around the idol.
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| Bermuda grass/ Arugampul |
Usual Offerings on the day :
Flowers (includes Arka and bermuda grass)
Betel leaf and nut, Coconut, Fruits
Cooked Rice and Toor dal with a tsp of ghee
Appam
Sundal
Ulundhu Vadai
Payasam (Moong dal Channa dal payasam is preferred)
Modaks / Kozhukattai (Coconut Poornam, Urad dal, Sesame seeds)
So, make a pillayar and a cute mouse (his vehicle) out of clay/turmeric, decorate him according to your wish (you can keep idols along with the hand made ones), chant few shlokas of Lord Ganesha, sing few songs on him , offer food especially modak, invoke his blessings!!
He is definitely the remover of obstacles! Let everyone's house be filled with positive energy..!
My Ganesh / Pillayar Chathurthi 2020 (Aug 22, Saturday) :
A simple pooja with the usual offerings!
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| Vinayagar Chathurthi 2020! |
How to send off Lord Ganesha ?
The next day, immerse him in water. He gets dissolved. The water can be used for the plants in your garden.
Happy Ganesh Chathurthi everyone !! Stay blessed !!
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