Ganesha chaturthi, legends, and prayers

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Ganesha chaturthi, legends, and prayers

Table of Contents

Ganesha in the Vedas Philosophical significance of Ganesha's form Ganesha

legends The syamantaka jewel A Ganesha stotra from the Narada Purana 108 names

of Ganesha - Ganesha-ashhTottara naamaavalii Appendix

Ganesha in the Vedas

vakratuNDa mahAkAya sUryakoTisamaprabhanirvighnaM kuru me deva sarvakAryeshhu

sarvadA ||O Ganapati, One with a curved trunk, a large body, and a brilliance

equal to a crore (10 million) suns! O God, please make all my undertakings free

from obstacles always.Ganesha chaturthi occurs on September 16th, this

year.Ganesha or Ganapati is an extremely popular God in India. He is called

Vighneshvara or Vighnahartaa, the Lord of and destroyer of obstacles. People

mostly worship Him asking for siddhi, success in undertakings, and buddhi,

intelligence. He is worshipped before any venture is started. He is also the

God of education, knowledge and wisdom, literature, and the fine arts.Ganesha

is also one of the five Gods the worship of whom was popularized by Adi

Shankaraacharya; the other four are Vishnu, Shiva, Devi and Surya. The worship

of these five deities is called the panchAyatana pUjA. In some cases, a sixth

God, Skanda is also worshipped.The rule for determining the Ganesha chaturthi

is as follows:On any day, if bhAdrapada Shukla chaturthi prevails during the

madhyAnha kAla, then Ganesha chaturthi is to be observed on that day. If

bhAdrapada Shukla chaturthi prevails during two successive madhyAnha KAlas or

if it does not extend over the MadhyAnha KAla of any day, then Ganesha

chaturthi is to be observed on the day on which Tritiya ends.The puja of

Ganesha on the Ganesha chaturthi day, extolled in various religious works, is

to be performed at noon. A clay image of the God, painted beautifully, is

installed on a raised platform. After the usual preliminary rituals, the

prANapratishhThA must be done with the appropriate mantras. This

prANapratishhThA is done for the purpose of invoking the presence of Ganesha

into the image. This is followed by the worship with sixteen modes of showing

honor, known as shhoDashopachAra. Offering of dUrvA (grass) blades and modaka,

a delicacy prepared from rice flour, jaggery, and coconut, is an important part

of the pUjA. Usually, 21 dUrvA blades and 21 modakas are offered to the deity,

where the number 21 carries a symbolic meaning. The five jnAnendriyas or organs

of perception , the five karmendriyas or organs of action, the five prANas or

vital airs, the five bhUtas or elements, and the mind, together comprise 21

parts. The offering of dUrvA blades and the modakas teaches us that we should

offer with humility, represented by the dUrvA blades, all the good things in

life, represented by the modakas, to God. Ganesha is also offered red flowers,

and anointed with a red unguent (rakta chandana). The immersion of the image in

a body of water is ceremonially performed at the end of the chaturthi vrata,

which could be anywhere from a day upto 10 days (Anantachaturdashi) after the

Bhaadrapada Shukla chaturthi, depending on the customs of the particular

family.

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