Ganesh Chaturthi is 'the 4th lunar Day dedicated to Lord Ganesh or Ganesha,' a highly popular God, and denotes his birthday or the Day of Advent. Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated as a grand festival in India that lasts for several days and in many places worldwide. Ganesh Chaturthi, a joyful occasion of prayers and celebrations, is a public holiday in many Indian states.

Ganesh Chaturthi 2023 falls on September 19, 2023, this Year.

Ganesha, the Elephant-headed God

Ganesha is a unique divinity with the head of an elephant and the bodily frame of a human being. He is the son of the Divine couple Shiva and Parvati and is regarded as the remover of impediments and a success provider. He is also believed to represent all significant aspects essential for leading a good life on this planet, like intellect, wisdom, excellence in arts and sciences, prosperity, good luck, fortune, and well-being. As a harbinger of auspiciousness, he is also revered as a God of New Beginnings, whom people worship when starting any significant event, launching new projects, and performing auspicious activities, for their successful completion and achieving their intended purpose.

So, Ganesha remains a highly loved, respected, and sought-after divinity, a commoners' God enshrined in Temples, found as pictures or images at homes, and placed even in small enclosures on street corners, held as one's own God, across the broad spectrum of the society.

It is no surprise that the birthday of such a well-admired God is celebrated as a grand festival, and the governments have declared it to be a holiday. Ganesh Chaturthi 2023, too, is a holiday to facilitate the celebration of this dear God's birthday.

Ganesha is also called by names such as Ganapati, Vinayaka, Vigneshwara, and Pillaiyar, so the festival is also as much Vinayaka Chaturthi or Pillaiyar Chaturthi.   

The Ganesha Legend

We said that Ganesh Chaturthi is Ganesha's birthday, but there is a correction; the occasion actually marks the revival or re-birth of Ganesha with an elephant face. And here is the mythology concerned in brief.

Goddess Parvati wanted a personal guard for herself, so she created a brilliant young man who swore an unflinching loyalty to her. But in an unfortunate turn of events, the boy had to deny Lord Shiva entry to Parvati's chambers one Day as per her instructions, and the enraged Shiva cut off his head without knowing who he was. The furious Parvati became inconsolable and threatened to annihilate the universe unless the boy was revived.

Realizing his folly and the gravity of its consequences, Shiva immediately arranged for a head for the boy to replace the one already chopped off and brought him back to life. But strangely, that turned out to be an elephant head, so the boy returned to life with a human body and an elephant head. While Parvati was happy to get him back, Shiva anointed the boy as the head of Ganas, his mighty army of attendants, giving the name Ganesha or Ganapati. They both also accepted Ganesha as their dear son.

Legends regard the Day that boy rose from the dead as a powerful young man Ganesha, as his birthday, which happened to be Chaturthi thithi, the 4th lunar Day of Shukla Paksha, the bright fortnight of the Moon during the Bhadrapada month, corresponding to August-September. And in the current Year, 2023, that Day falls on September 19, Tuesday, when people will celebrate Ganesha Chaturthi 2023.    

The History of Ganesh Chaturthi Celebrations

The grandest celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi takes place in the state of Maharashtra, where it is said to have originated and spread subsequently to other parts of the country.

Chhatrapati Shivaji, the celebrated Maratha King, is said to have started its enthusiastic celebrations in the 17 century. After a lull during the British rule when people confined the worship mainly to their residences, the great freedom fighter Bal Ganghadhar Tilak revived the traditional practice of community celebrations during the end of the 19th century as a means of collecting an enormous mass of people together in public places and infusing in them the spirit of freedom and the need to fight the British for attaining independence for the motherland.       

Ever since, Ganesh Chaturthi has remained an occasion of public celebrations, which then spread to other parts of India. 

These celebrations also take place in many countries, including Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius and Canada.     

Auspicious Time for Ganesh Chaturthi 2023 Worship

Ganesh Chaturthi is the observance of the Chaturthi thithi of Ganesha's advent; hence, Chaturthi assumes prime significance in the birthday celebrations. Bhadrapada Shukla Paksha Chaturthi extends between 12.39 pm on September 18 and 01.43 pm on September 19, when Shubha Muhurth, the auspicious time for the principal Pooja of Ganesha Chaturthi 2023, falls between 11.00 am to 01.26 pm on September 19, for people to welcome Ganesh to their homes, offer worship with rituals and seek his blessings.

Ganesh Chaturthi Rituals and Worship

People bring clay or painted images of Ganesha, big and small, and install them during the auspicious time in the appointed spots at home or in the Pandals, the temporary structures at public places, on the Chaturthi Day, with prayers and Mantra chanting. The celebrations usually extend to a maximum of 10 days, during which devotees do daily worship, which may include Abishekam, decorating the idol with colorful clothes, flowers, and jewels, lighting lamps and incense, making oblations, chanting hymns, singing devotional songs, performing Archana and Arti worship, offering prayers seeking his blessings and distributing Prasad.

According to traditional beliefs, Modak, the dumpling, a sweet dish made of rice flour filled with sweetened grated coconut, remains the favorite delicacy of Ganesha. Hence, the birthday offerings to Ganesha positively include many varieties of Modak, along with other sweet and savory items and fruits. Many devotees also fast on Chaturthi or any other Day during the festival and do charity to the needy people.

On the last Day of the festival, they perform the concluding Day Poojas, then carry the idols, often in grand processions to the accompaniment of dance and music, and immerse them respectfully in water bodies, bidding the Lord a fond goodbye for the Year and with the request for him to return the following Year. Thus, Ganesh Chaturthi remains an occasion as much for devotion as for joining with loved ones for a joyous celebration.  

Let us devote the Ganesh Chaturthi 2023 holiday to worship and prayers, seeking Divine grace for peace, prosperity, and happiness for ourselves and the world at large.