Ganesh Chathurthi or Vinayaka Chathurthi
is a Hindu festival that is celebrated to acknowledge the birth of Lord Ganesh.
It is often 10 days long and involves installing a Ganesh idol in one’s home or
space of celebration. Ganesh is known to be the God of good fortune. However,
not everyone has the opportunity to celebrate this auspicious day with a
community of people and have to often resort to carrying out the puja in their
own homes or space. Therefore, let us help with the things that one needs to
keep in mind to successfully carry out the puja at home.
Worshiping
the idol of Lord Ganesh
You want to start the process by cleaning
your entire space to have a clean and pure environment to welcome Lord Ganesh.
After cleaning thoroughly, you can bring in a clay idol of Lord Ganesh. Arrange
all your ganesh
chaturthi pooja items in place and worship Lord Ganesh by offering him
flowers and modak.
Pooja
Viddhi:
Next, place the idol on a risen platform
or stage and place five kinds of flowers on his feet. Then wash his feet with
holy water. Offer him some water and proceed to give him a holy bath. You can
use a mixture of curd, sugar, honey and ghee and end It with pure water and
offer him new clothes. Next you can get yourself a pandit who can chant the
correct mantras and perform sixteen of the rituals that are to be done for
Ganesh Chathurthi.
Aarti:
This is a very important step and the puja
must be honored with aarti.
Prasad
and Bhog:
As is known that Lord Ganesh was a big fan
of Ladoos and Modak, these are often offered to him and then distributed as
Prasad. Usually about 21 sweets are offered to Lord Ganesh as Bhog.
Visharjan:
The festival ends after 10
days when the idol is taken by the family to be immersed in a water body. This
is a fun tradition and is often accompanied by music and holy chanting.
