According to the Hindu almanac, every year on a Bhadrapada, one of the Hindu’s top festivals, Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated. According to the tales written in the Ganesh Puran, this day marks the appearance of the ocean of grace which removes all the obstacles or the son of God Shankar and Goddess Parvati, Lord Ganesha. This great festival celebrated because of the birth of the power that destroys all problems is celebrated joyfully in a grand manner in Maharashtra and nationwide. Two or three months before the festival, the skilled craftsmen start making the beautiful statues of Lord Ganesha. Lord Ganesha is depicted in many forms in these statues. On Ganesh Chaturthi, these statues are enthusiastically brought into the household and are worshipped for the next ten days. In many places, along with the enormous statues, stunningly beautiful pandals are also made.
Advent Of Lord Ganesha
The tale related to this festival goes something like this-
One time Lord Shankar went from Kailash mountain to a mountain called Bhogavati to take a bath, and while he was away, Goddess Parvati, while bathing, made a statue out of her body’s dirt put life into it. She named it Ganesha. The Goddess told Ganesha to take 1 Mudgal, guard the door, and not let anyone enter the house until she is finished taking a bath. After some time, when Lord Shiva came back after taking a bath to Bhogavati, he was stopped by Ganesha at the door from entering. Lord Shiva took this as his disgrace, and in rage, he beheaded Ganesha and went inside. When Lord Shiva went inside, Goddess Parvati noticed that he was angry, and she thought that he must be upset because of the late meal, so she immediately prepared a meal on two plates and requested Lord Shiva to consume it. By watching two plates, Lord Shiva asked her for whom the second plate is for, for which she said it is for their son Ganesh who is guarding the house outside. This astonished Lord Shiva, and he asked, “Our son is guarding the house? But I’ve just ended his whole life by beheading him because he stopped me from entering the house.” After hearing this, Goddess Parvati was filled with sadness and started lamenting and asked Lord Shiva to revive her son. To make her happy, Lord Shiva took a baby elephant’s head and attached it to the child’s torso. To see her son revived again, Goddess Parvati was filled with joy. First, she fed Lord Shiva and her son, and then she consumed her meal.
Why Is Ganesha Ji Known As Viganharta?
In our Vedic scriptures, we see that Goddess is either the deity or one of its forms. His forms, such as Ram, Varha, Narsingh, are all elements of Vishnu, and they all reside in Vaikunth and God and Goddess such as Indra, Varun, Ganesh, Sarasota, Kali are sent by Lord Krishna with unique services to keep the system of the universe running smoothly. Like God Agni is for fire, Goddess Laxmi is for wealth. Similarly, Ganesha is sent to remove all of our obstacles in life, and he is given the title “Viganharta “because he is a devotee of Lord Narsingh. Ganesha is also dear to Lord Narsingh. Lord Narsingh has given Lord Ganesha an extraordinary power by which he can take away all the obstacles from the life of people who worship him. Just like how his body is vast, his brain is like that too.
Origine Of Mahabharat Shastra
Lord Ganesh is the one who wrote Mahabharata. When Srila Vyasa was composing the theme of Mahabharata at Dava Badrika Ashram on the banks of the Saraswati river, which consists of dharma, artha, kama, moksha, and bhakti in a simple form, that was the time when Vyasa proposed the theme of Mahabharata to Lord Ganesha to which Ganesha said that he would only write it if Vyasa would narrate it tediously. “If I keep the pen down once I will not pick it up again,” said Lord Ganesha. Vyas said he accepts the term, but Ganesha had to write everything after careful thought. He shall not write anything without giving it a thought first. Gita comes in the Bhishma part of Mahabharata, which is in 18 chapters and 700 shlokas. So the knowledge of Gita is the courtesy of Lord Ganesha.
kāṅkṣhantaḥ karmaṇāṁ siddhiṁ yajanta iha devatāḥ
kṣhipraṁ hi mānuṣhe loke siddhir bhavati karmajā
In this world, those desiring success in material activities worship the celestial gods since material rewards manifest quickly.
Asking Blessings On Ganesh Chaturthi
So in this way, with whatever desire we worship Lord Ganesha, we will get what we want.
But The Question is What We Should Ask For?
Our shastras tell us what we should ask for -By body, voice, mind, senses, brain or soul, whatever we ask for, all of it should be dedicated to Lord Krishna, who is beyond the three qualities. So we should pray as if we have no knowledge whatsoever and we don’t know what’s good for us, so God should tell us what is correct so that Lord Ganesha and all the other deities send us to the feet of that Supreme God – The supreme personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. That’s why we should pray to the fortunate statue of Lord Ganesha to remove the inauspicious energy from our life, our mind, our heart, and our brain. We must pray to God with folded hands to give us true happiness – it is the one that helps us understand Lord Krishna, the knowledge of true happiness, and how to eradicate absolute misery.
Ganesh Chaturthi ki Jai
Sri Sri Rukamni Dwarkadhish ki Jai
Shobha Radhika Devi Dasi
(ISKCON-Dwarka New- Delhi)
