GANESH CHATURTHI

The fourth day of the bright half of every lunar month is called Siddhi Vinayaki Chaturthi. The fourth day of Bhadrapad Shukla (bright half) Chaturthi is known as Mahasiddhi Vinayaki Chaturthi. When this fourth day falls on Tuesday or Saturday it is termed as Varad Chaturthi or Shivaa Chaturthi and its importance gets enhanced. On this auspicious day a beautiful idol of Lord Ganesh should remade of clay or some metal like silver. Now this idol shou1d be installed on a high pedestal with its face facing east�west or north. Having anointed the idol with sandalwood or saffron paste and invoking the Lord for the 'Pran-pratishtha' (consecration), offerings with 21 objects should be kept ready, which should include Patri (leaves), Kewra (pamdames), Shamee (a kind of tree leaves), white flowers (lily), Durba (grass twigs), red sandalwood, sindoor (red vermilion powder), panchamrita (a potion made from mixing milk, curd, honey, sugar and water) and the leaves of Tulsi or basil etc. One must remember that basil leaves or Tulsidal are permitted in the Lord's worship only on this day, and not on other days. Now, after seating yourself on the Kushasan (a small mattress made by the weed called Kusha), you should invoke the Lord and complete the worship as mentioned earlier. Then perform the Mahabhishek (Grand Anointing Ceremony) by Panchamrita etc., and sing the 'Aarti' of the Lord with a lighted lamp waving in your hand before the Lord's idol. Then the oblation of Durba, flowers etc. should be offered to the Lord. After this religiously move around the Lord seven times in anti-clockwise direction and lie with hand and feet fully stretched on the ground with face facing the ground to salute the Lord. This sort of special salutation is called Sashtang Namaskar'. 2 Then 21 Laddoos should be offered as the Lord's symbolic food or the 'Prasadam' which should be distributed to as many devotees as possible. It is said in scriptures that 'Prasadam' should be distributed to the greatest number of persons possible with each getting as little of the share as to have it totally absorbed or digested by the eater's body and there should not be any refuse left out of it after digestion.

Having made the offering, the following 'Mantra' (incantation) should be recited:

Ganadhipa namasteastu Umaputraghanashana
Ekdantabhaktreti tatha mooshak vahana
Vinayakesha putreti sarva siddhi pradayaka
Kumar gurve tubhyam poojaneeyah prayatnatah

[I bow to the head of Ganas, the Destroyer of all sin, the son of Uma (parvati), who has One Tusk and Elephant-Face and the mouse as His vehicle. 0 Supreme Leader, who grants the boon of son and every desire, whose elder brother is Kumar (Kartikeya)-this way I endeavor to worship thee!)

The proper time for the performance is mid-day, as ordained by the Celestial Priest Brihaspati (quoted in 'Kalanirnaya')

Depending upon one's capacity one should keep fast for two to twenty one days observing the strict vows already explained and then after the ritual worship, the idol of the Lord should be immersed in the holy waters of a tank, river or sea.