New Delhi: Ganesh Chaturthi marks the birth of the deity Lord Ganesha, the God of wisdom and prosperity. According to the Hindu calendar, it is celebrated on Chaturthi Tithi of Shukla Paksha in the month of Bhadrapada.
According to a popular tale, Lord Ganesha was created by Goddess Parvati by accumulating her body dirt and giving it a human form. She created him to protect her. Lord Shiva was oblivious of Ganesha’s existence until he paid a visit to his wife Parvati only to be stopped by Ganesha who was guarding her. Lord Shiva was so furious about being stopped by someone her didn’t know to meet his wife that he chopped off Ganesha’s head in anger. On seeing her son lying dead on the floor, Parvati also lost her cool and began fuming in anger. All the other gods and goddesses requested lord Shiva to pacify her. It was then that Lord Shiva attached an elephant’s head to the body of Ganesha and revived him. That is why Lord Ganesha is also known as Gajanan.
Another story goes that other deities requested Shiva and Parvati to create a God who could protect them from demons. That is the reason why Ganesha is also called Viganharta.
He is believed to take away all the sorrows of humankind and fulfill their every wish. Ganesha had five wives Tushti, Pushti, Shree, Riddhi and Siddhi. He has two sons Subh and Labh.
The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi assumed a public observance when Maratha ruler Shivaji used it to rouse nationalist sentiments among his subjects who were fighting the Mughals. The festival was revived by Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1893 when the British had banned political assemblies.
Although the festival holds significance pan India, it is extremely prominent in the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.
