What Ganesh Chaturthi is
Every month's Shukla Chaturthi is Vinayaka Chaturthi, but Bhadrapada's is the greatest: Ganesh Chaturthi, which Dharmasindhu calls the ‘Siddhivinayaka vrata’. A clay image of Ganesha is brought home, installed and worshipped, and immersed after one and a half, three, five, seven or ten days (up to Anant Chaturdashi).
It is the year's biggest festival in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Andhra and Telangana; from the late 19th century it also spread as the neighbourhood public Ganeshotsav.
How the date is decided
Shastra (Dharmasindhu): for the Siddhivinayaka vrat the Chaturthi is taken as madhyahna-vyapini, present at midday (the middle part of the day).
- At midday on the first day only → the first day.
- On the second day only → the second day.
- Covering the whole midday on both days, or on neither → the first day, as the text favours a Chaturthi joined to Tritiya for this vrat.
- Part of the first day's midday and all of the second's → the second day.
Dharmasindhu adds that it is held even finer with a Sunday or Tuesday, and the same rule applies to every month's Vinayaka Chaturthi.
The story: tradition / Purana story
Tradition tells that Parvati, before her bath, shaped a boy from turmeric paste, gave him life and set him to guard the door. When Shiva returned the boy would not let him in; in the clash the boy lost his head. Seeing Parvati's grief, Shiva gave the boy an elephant's head and life again, made him lord of the ganas, Ganapati, and granted that he would be worshipped first at the start of every undertaking.
The moon: tradition does not look at the moon on this Chaturthi night; the story is that the moon mocked Ganesha's form. If you see it by chance, there is nothing to worry about; tradition suggests listening to the Syamantaka story.
How families celebrate
Mumbai and Pune have huge pandals, dhol-tasha drums and millions of visitors. At home the one-and-a-half-day Ganapati is most common: installation, aarti, modak, and immersion the next day. Goa has ‘Chavath’; Karnataka keeps Gowri–Ganesha (Gowri puja the day before); Andhra and Telangana keep ‘Vinayaka Chavithi’ with worship using 21 kinds of leaves; Tamil Nadu makes kozhukattai for ‘Vinayagar Chaturthi’.
A simple puja
Dharmasindhu says: install a clay (or similar) image, worship Vinayaka with the sixteen offerings, and offer modak. A simple home form:
- A clean low stool at the shrine with a small clay image.
- Sprinkle water, light a lamp, invite him with ‘Om Gam Ganapataye Namah’.
- Offer roli, rice, red flowers and 21 blades of durva.
- Modak or laddu, then aarti.
- Aarti morning and evening for as many days as you keep him; then immerse at home.
Safety and environment
The image: choose unpainted clay (shadu); plaster of Paris and oil paints don't dissolve and harm rivers and lakes.
Immersion: at home in a bucket or tub, or in the municipal artificial tank. If you go to a river, lake or the sea, don't wade into deep water, keep children back, and follow the authorities. Pour the dissolved clay into plants.
Crowds and sound: watch elders and children in pandals; protect children's and animals' ears from loud speakers.
In ePandit
In ePandit: our calendar shows the festival day with your city's sunrise and sunset. The day is decided once, for Ujjain; your city's times are shown separately. We don't compute muhurta yet, and we never call a festival good or bad for anyone.