17 Apr 2021
pThe festival is marked with the installation of Lord Ganesh's clay murtis privately in homes and publicly by Shri Bal Gangadhar Tilak popularly known as Lokmanya Tilak in Pune in the year 1893 on elaborate pandals . Ganesh Chaturthi , also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chaviti is a Hindu festival celebrating the arrival of Lord Ganesh to earth from Kailash Parvat with his mother Goddess Parvati/Gauri. Offerings and prasāda from the daily prayers, that are distributed from the pandal to the community, include sweets such as modaka as it is believed to be a favourite of Lord Ganesh.The festival ends on the tenth day after start, when the idol is carried in a public procession with music and group chanting, then immersed in a nearby body of water such as a river or sea, called visarjan./p
pOn the last day of the festival, the tradition of Ganesh Visarjan/Nimajjanam takes place. The concluding day of the 10-day festival is also popularly known as Anant Chaturdashi. As the word 'visarjan' or 'nimajjanam' implies, on this day immersion of Lord Ganapati's idol takes place in a river, sea, or water body. On the last day, the devotees come out in processions carrying the idols of their beloved God and perform immersion./p
pThere is an interesting story behind the legend of Ganesh visarjan. It is believed that Lord Ganesha returns to Mount Kailash to join his parents Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati on the last day of the festival. The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi also denotes the significance of the cycle of birth, life and death. Ganesha, who is also known as the Lord of New Beginnings, is also worshipped as the Remover of Obstacles. It is believed that when the idol of the Ganesha is taken out for immersion, it also takes away with it the various obstacles of the house and these obstacles are destroyed along with the visarjan/nimajjanam. Every year, people wait with great anticipation to celebrate the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi/p
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