Ganesh Chaturthi 2021: Date, Significance and History 

According to Hindu customs, Ganesh Chaturthi marks the birth of the deity Lord Ganesha, the God of wisdom and prosperity. One of the biggest and most auspicious festivals in India, Ganesh Chaturthi will be celebrated on Friday, September 10 this year and the 11-day celebration will conclude on September 21. According to the Hindu calendar, it is celebrated on Chaturthi Tithi of Shukla Paksha in the month of Bhadrapada.

History and significance

The propitious celebration begins with devotees bringing idols of the deity to their homes and worshiping him. The worship is initiated with the pranapratishtha, a ritual to instill life in the idols followed by the 16 ways of paying tribute known as shhodashopachara. Vedic hymns from religious texts are recited while the idols are adorned with red sandalwood paste and yellow and red flowers. The idol is then offered coconut, jaggery, and 21 modaks. Families enjoy scrumptious food, celebrate with friends and family, worship the idol with fervor and zeal and finally immerse the idols at the end of the commemoration, symbolising Ganesha’s journey to Mount Kailash, the abode of his parents Lord Shiva and Goddess Shakti/Durga.

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.

On this day, people perform their religious duties of cleaning the temple in their house, offering durva ghas, laddoos, and modaks to the Lord, and completing the worship with an aarti.