Ganesh chaturthi , also known as Vinayak Chaturthi is one of the most important festival , especially in northern parts of India. It is a 10 days long festival . It is celebrated with great joy and arrangement especially in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Odisha, Goa, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh.
Ganesh Chaturthi
This festival marks the birth of Lord Ganesha, who is the Lord of wisdom ,intelligence and prosperity . Legends link it to the story that Mata Parvati created baby ganesha using sandalwood paste and asked him to guard the gate till she takes the bath inside . When Lord Shiva arrives at the entrance and asks Ganesha to let him meet Parvati , Ganesha refuses to let him in . Shiva was angered at this and he cut Ganesh’s head with his trident (trishul). When Parvati came to know this she was heartbroken . Seeing Goddess Parvati overwhelmed with grief, Lord Shiva promised to bring baby Ganesh back to life. He instructed his followers to search for the head of the first living creature they could find. However, they could only find a baby elephant’s head. That is how Lord Ganesha came back to life with the head of an elephant.
Ganesh Chaturthi falls in the Bhadrapada month of the Hindu calendar, which falls in August-September.To celebrate it , devotees bring home the idol of Lord Ganesha , make sweets , enjoy with friends and family and on the last day immerse the idol in water ,and pray to Lord to return back soon in the next year. The last day on which devotees bid farewell to Lord is called Anant Chaturdashi .
When the idol is immersed and it dissolved in water , Lord is believed to have returned to Mount Kailash back to his family .
Lord Ganesh is the remover of obstacles , so he is also called Vighna harta . It is suggested to worship him during this festival if someone is facing problems in his life related to finance , personal life , family problems or whatever . Ganesha bestows knowledge , wisdom and intelligence upon his devotees and protect them from taking wrong decisions in life .