Today is Ganesha Chaturthi or Ganesha Festival, a day on which Lord Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati, is believed to bestow his presence on earth for all his devotees. It is also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chavithi in Sanskrit, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu, Chavath in Konkani and as Chathaa in Nepal Bhasa. It is celebrated as it is the birthday of Lord Ganesha.
The festival lasts for 10 days, ending on Ananta Chaturdashi.
Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati, is widely worshipped as the supreme god of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune.
While celebrated all over India, it is most elaborate in Maharashtra,Goa ( Biggest festival for Konkani people all over the world ) Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and other areas which were former states of the Maratha Empire. Outside India, it is celebrated by Newars in [Nepal]. The origin of the festival lies in the Holy Hindu scriptures which tell the story of Lord Ganesha.
According to the legend, Lord Shiva, the Hindu God of resolution, was away at a war. His wife Pavarti, wanted to bathe and having no one to guard the door to her house, conceived of the idea of creating a son who could guard her. Parvati created Ganesha out of the sandalwood paste that she used for her bath and breathed life into the figure. She then set him to stand guard at her door and instructed him not to let anyone enter.
In the meantime, Lord Shiva returned from the battle but as Ganesha did not know him, stopped Shiva from entering Parvati's chamber. Shiva, enraged by Ganesh’s impudence, drew his sword and cut off Ganesha's head. Pavarti emerged to find Ganesha decapitated and flew into a rage. She took on the form of the Goddess Kali and threatened destruction to the three worlds of Heaven, Earth and the subterranean earth.
Seeing her in this mood, the other Gods were afraid and Shiva, in an attempt to pacify Parvati, sent out his ganas, or hordes, to bring the head of the first living being with his head towards the north (the auspicious direction associated with wisdom). The first living thing they came across was an elephant. So they brought the head of this elephant and Shiva placed it on the trunk of Parvati's son and breathed life into him. Parvati was overjoyed and embraced her son, the elephant-headed boy whom Shiva named Ganesha, the lord of his ganas.
Text sourced from Wikipedia.
For more interesting 'G' pictures around the world click here
I have heared about Ganesha Festival from my naboer. They are from India. I must remember to wish them a happy day.Happy day to you too:))))
ReplyDeleteIt`s so interesting to hear all those things and see those colourful happenings in your country, so different .
ReplyDeleteHappy day to you !
and thank you for your greetings, also Kiki thanks and send new greetings to Bozo! Kiki is very pleased, when our temperature has been about 5-10 Celsius ( 35 - 50 F,
she has been running all over like a puppy, Kiki is 7 years :)
Great posting, and very educational. I enjoyed reading and learning about the story of Lord Ganesha. Thank you for the posting and have a great ABC Wednesday.
ReplyDeletegreat little educational entry today!
ReplyDeleteJ'aime cette statue, elle est très belle et merci pour l'explication, je ne savais pas tout cela
ReplyDeleteI love this statue, it is very beautiful and thank you for an explanation, I did not know all this
One of the lovely cultural tales out there in the great wide world we get a taste of each Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much.
Dxx
Great story. I’m not a person of any religious faith (although I do have some faith in ‘progress’), so I’m always interested in all sorts of beliefs. I’m wondering how ‘literally’ people have faith in such Gods? Or is it more a faith in the tenants of the faith itself, rather than specific stories?
ReplyDeleteThis was an amazing story with lots of details. I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog and for your comments after seeing my alien pictured there.
Great choice for Ganesha! Beautiful :) and great information.
ReplyDeleteA very interesting and educational "G" post.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very instructive - we need to know a bit more about each other's religions, mythologies and histories.
ReplyDeleteThat WAS interesting! I learned something new! Runee is right, we need to learn more about each other!
ReplyDeleteThank you for that explanation of how Ganesha came to have an elephant's head.
ReplyDeleteI am used to the Egyptian pantheon for I was interested as a boy and studied it.
Very fortuitous for 'G'.
Now, that sounds almost trite.
Interesting. TY for stopping by.
ReplyDeletenice "G"
ReplyDeleteGorgeous picture, interesting post!
ReplyDeleteMiss Yves
Thank you for all the information and I wish the same to you.
ReplyDeleteThe things I learn in blogland!
ReplyDeleteMine is here.
Nice choice for 'G'
ReplyDeleteThank you fo visiting
Mumbai Daily Snapshot.
Hi, very interesting this festival, loved the text.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
hugs, Denise
A very interesting festival.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the information and the photo.
Bear((( )))
A wonderful post (as always) and a great description of the history and celebration. As a person who calls themselves a spiritual "smorgasbord-ian" I have great affection for Ganesh. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreat photo and I love that you provided the information behind it. Very interesting!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting choice and unique choice.
ReplyDeletePerfect timing for your ABC Wednesday post, wasn't it? Thanks for the photo and the information. And thanks for visiting my blog, too.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting story of how Ganesha came to be. I enjoyed learning the history and the photo is superb. Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving the nice comment.
ReplyDelete