Ganesh, also spelled Ganesha, Ganapati, elephant-headed god of beginnings, who is traditionally worshipped before any major enterprise and is the patron of intellectuals, bankers, scribes, and authors. His name means both тАЬLord of the PeopleтАЭ (gana means the common people) and тАЬLord of the GanasтАЭ (Ganesha is the chief of the ganas, the goblin hosts of Shiva). Ganesh is potbellied and generally depicted as holding in his hand a ladoo, of which he is inordinately fond. His vehicle is the large Indian rat, which symbolizes GaneshaтАЩs ability to overcome anything to get what he wants. Like a rat and like an elephant, Ganesha is a remover of obstacles. The 10-days festival Ganesh Chaturthi is devoted to him. The story behind the birth of lord Ganesha was, Parvati taking a bath and longing for someone to keep Shiva from barging in on her, as was his habit. As she bathes, she kneads the dirt that she rubs off her body into the shape of a child, who comes to life. But when Shiva sees the handsome young boyтАФor when the inauspicious planet Saturn (Shani) glances at him, in some variants of the myth that attempt to absolve Shiva of the crimeтАФhe or one of his attendants cuts off the childтАЩs head. When Shiva cuts off an elephantтАЩs head to bestow it on the headless Ganesha, one of the tusks is shattered, and Ganesha is depicted holding the broken-off piece in his hand. Ganesha is traditionally regarded as the child of both lord Shiva and mata Parvati.
Ganesh Chaturthi assumed the nature of a gala public celebration when the Maratha ruler Shivaji used it to encourage nationalist sentiment among his subjects, who were fighting the Mughals. In 1893, when the British banned political assemblies, the festival was revived by the Indian nationalist leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak . Today the festival is celebrated in Hindu communities worldwide and is particularly popular in Maharashtra and parts of western India.
At the start of the festival, idols of Ganesha are placed on raised platforms in homes or in elaborately decorated outdoor tents. The worship begins with the pranapratishtha, a ritual to invoke life in the idols, followed by shhodashopachara, or the 16 ways of paying tribute. Amid the chanting of Vedic hymns from religious texts like the Ganesh Upanishad , the idols are anointed with red Sandalwood paste and yellow and red flowers. Ganesha is also offered coconut, jaggery, ladoos and 21 modaks(sweet dumplings), considered to be GaneshaтАЩs favourite food.
