Importance of Ganesh Chaturthi / Vinayaka chaturthi

The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated with great charm, happiness, devotion, fervour and zeal in throughout all the parts of the country. It is celebrated in order to enjoy and celebrate the birth anniversary of Hindu lord, lord Ganesh.

According to Hindu mythological beliefs and traditions, Lord Ganesh is symbolic of representing wisdom, intellect, happiness, prosperity and great fortune. The elephant headed lord Ganesh is believed to be the son of Goddess Parvati and God Shiva.

Every year, this festival is celebrated on the Shukla paksha of the Bhadrapada month as per the dates of Hindu calendar (which generally falls between the month of August and September). This festival has a great charm especially in Hindus and people celebrate it with utmost devotion and happiness.

The festival begins when people brings idols of lord Ganesh in their homes and worship it as prescribed in our Hindu rituals in the most celebrated manner. Ganesh Chaturthi usually is celebrated as a 10 day long festival, which is known as “Ganeshoutsav”.

The last day of the festival is marked by a grand celebration where in people take out the Ganesh idols from home in order to immerse them in a river or some holy water body, which is done by colourful and musical dancing procession and ceremonies on streets and roads making everyone present to participate in the celebration.

According to the beliefs of Hindu Mythology, Lord Ganesh is said to be the “Vighnaharta”, the one who is capable of removing and negating all the obstacles and hindrances in a person’s life. Therefore, the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is very significant and important if one wishes to remove the obstacles and problems of life.

It is believed that when people immerse the idols of lord Ganesh in river or a water body, he takes away all the problems and hindrances with him in the water, therefore aiding the people to attain success and progress in life.

It is said that students must understand the importance and relevance of this festival and if they celebrate it with the required and desired devotion, it will help them to illuminate their mind, by making their memory sharp and having great intellect and wisdom.

There is a great significance and relevance of each body part of Ganesh and it is as followed:

Head: The head of Ganesh denotes atmaan and is symbolic to the soul and subconsious power in humans.

Body: The whole body of lord Ganesh signifies Maya that is wealth.

Elephant Head: The big head of elephant on the body of Ganesh is symbolic of great wisdom and intellect.

Trunk: The elephant trunk is a symbol of his father name that is “Om”, which is a universal sound.

Upper right hand: This is symbolic that lord Ganesh is a remover of all obstacles and problems in one’s life and leads you to the path of eternal peace and success in life.

Left hand & nose: This body part denotes that lord Ganesh has the capability to capture all the difficulties and problems in life and also has the power to remove them.

The broken tusk and trunk: It is said and believed that it gt broken while writing the epic Mahabharta and is symbolic of devotion and sacrifice that one has to made in life in order to be successful.

Rosary: It depicts the ongoing chakra of knowledge and wit and that the chakra of knowledge should be continuous and flowing.

Laddoo: It symbolises that every prayer and wish reaches his ears and he fills his devotees life with the sweetness.

Mouse: It depicts that lord Ganesh has the power and ability to control anything with his sharp mind, rational and trick.

Such is the greatness of lord Ganesh and even each of his body part is symbolic of some greatness or the other. It is because of this, the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated with great charm and enthusiasm all over the country. It is said and believed that during this time of each year, lord Ganesh comes to carry all the misfortunes, hindrances, problems and obstacles in an individual’s life and removes them as he is known to be the “Vighnaharta” of all the adversities and problems in life.