Vakratunda Mahakaaya, Suryakoti Samaprabha, Nirvighnam Kuru Mey Deva Sarva Kaaryeshu Sarvada
Ganesha is the remover of obstacle - Vighneshwara or Vignaraja is always worshiped when Hindus are beginning a new enterprise. It is believed that Goddess Parvati created Ganesha out of clay and breathed life into him. Letting him stand guard at the door, Goddess Parvati went to have her bath. When her husband, Lord Shiva returned, the child who had never seen him stopped him. Ganesha did not allow Shiva to enter and finally an enraged Shiva severed the head of the child. Goddess Parvati returned to find her son dead and was distraught and asked Shiva to revive him. Shiva cut off the head of an elephant and fixed it on the body of Ganesha and giving birth to elephant-headed Ganesha.
Sometimes when childrens we have question in mind as why does Ganesha have a human body with elephant head? Here is the explanation for it as per I read across an article.
The elephantine ears guide us to give people our full attention, particularly to our family and friends.
The overly large head further guides us to reflect on what people say and to carefully judge the merits of their words.
The narrow eyes caution us to focus on our surroundings and be ever watchful.
The small mouth hidden behind the trunk prompts us to speak sparingly, but with clarity and truth; and the enormous stomach symbolizes our need to digest all good and bad experiences life brings our way.
A rear hand holds a noose directing us to control our senses and desires; the other rear hand wields an axe, useful in severing our desires and attachments, which trap us in this materialistic world.
The front right hand is always raised in blessing, in a posture called the abhaya hasta – removing fears of the unknown.
Seeing such a posed hand soothes our heart, drives away worries, and reassures us that we are ever in God’s care. And despite all the challenges that come our way, he stands by us and loves us dearly, always!
And finally, with his left hand presenting modaka (rice muffins), Ganesha promises us sweet fruits of our labors and ultimate peace in our spiritual quest.
Celebrating Ganesha Chaturthi [Chavti(konkani)] in my house:
Ganesha idol is worshiped since my great grandpa's times and it is nearly 200 years old. We follow our ancestral culture as it ia followed in our Daivajna Brahmin community. We keep the Ganesha at home for a day.
Ganesh Chaturthi (Chavti/Chavath in konkani) is a very popular festival in India. A Ganesh idol made of special clay is brought home, wherever they have this tradition spanning generations. I am here to talk about how we celebrate Ganesha Chaturthi at home.
The preparations begin atleast a week before the ‘Bhadrapada shukla chaturthi‘ a day on the Hindu calendar which normally occurs in August or September of every year. There are three aspects to the preparation.
Mantapa: Normally in our house, a mantap is decorated frontal edges of a waist height table big enough to host the sugarcane at each corner of the table and then the leaves are assembled to give an appearance of mantap . The mantap’s frontal is decorated with flower, mango leaves, lighting and other decorative material. From the top and the corners is provided enough lighting for the Ganesha idol making it appear like its in a temple. Also the house’s entrance and doors are decorated with torans of mango leaves and flowers.
Food preparations:Laddu, nevri, modak, chakuli, maande, panchakajjaya are the most basic offerings to Ganesha.
On the day of Ganesha Chaturthi, we go to the our bhatmam (purohit) who makes the Ganesha idol; whom we give order to make idol as per our liking. Before the idol is taken inside the home, at the main entrance, the idol is shown with kumkum water (water mixed with kumkum) in a copper/silver plate.
Then the Ganesha idol is placed inside the mantapa. A lamp [Divli (konkani)] with cotton threads in oil, is lit from 5 different sides is placed on two side of the mantap. Then as per the Ganesha pooja proceedings, the prana pratishtha is carried out. It means to bring the Ganesha idol to life. There are mantras which go along with different proceedings. Usually this is done by our priest (bhatmam) who goes to different homes. .
Maha pooja in noon offering the naivedyam to Gauri, Mahadeva and Ganesha
Pooja: During the pooja, different aarti are performed like; shesha arti, kurma arti, thera arti, phoola arti, 3 different sized bronze plate arti, after my dad finishes his pooja, one arti is kept by the my mom for performing pooja of gauri, mahadev and ganesha. We sing the ‘Jayadeva Jayadeva Jaya Mangala moorthy‘ aarti song during the pooja. Ghantaanaad is also done.
During the pooja all the various cooked items and food preparation are offered as naivedyam, which consists of Dalithoi, rice, khotto/hittu(idli batter steamed in jackfruit leaf basket), payasam, pancha kajjaya and various fried items (bitter guard fry, jackfruit fry, spiky guard fry). We offer 7 banana leaves with all the food offerings; 5 leaf offering is for Ganesha and 2 leaf is for Gauri and Mahadeva.
After the pooja is over people who are invited as well as the people in the home sit for lunch served on banana leaves. After the Vayasa (meal offering to crows) and Gogras (meal offering to cows), the lunch begins.
Visarjana: Pooja is performed during visarjana – Ganesha idol immersion is done in our well. "Ganapati Bappa Moraya"
My dad has always been active for all the festive occasions. This has helped us to learn the culture in our community. Last year, 2010 was our last year , where we celebrated the Chavti along my Dads presence. Hmmm his blessings will always be along us.
I pray that these traditions of our festivals continue for many more generations. Jai Ganesh!
Ganesha is the remover of obstacle - Vighneshwara or Vignaraja is always worshiped when Hindus are beginning a new enterprise. It is believed that Goddess Parvati created Ganesha out of clay and breathed life into him. Letting him stand guard at the door, Goddess Parvati went to have her bath. When her husband, Lord Shiva returned, the child who had never seen him stopped him. Ganesha did not allow Shiva to enter and finally an enraged Shiva severed the head of the child. Goddess Parvati returned to find her son dead and was distraught and asked Shiva to revive him. Shiva cut off the head of an elephant and fixed it on the body of Ganesha and giving birth to elephant-headed Ganesha.
Sometimes when childrens we have question in mind as why does Ganesha have a human body with elephant head? Here is the explanation for it as per I read across an article.
The elephantine ears guide us to give people our full attention, particularly to our family and friends.
The overly large head further guides us to reflect on what people say and to carefully judge the merits of their words.
The narrow eyes caution us to focus on our surroundings and be ever watchful.
The small mouth hidden behind the trunk prompts us to speak sparingly, but with clarity and truth; and the enormous stomach symbolizes our need to digest all good and bad experiences life brings our way.
A rear hand holds a noose directing us to control our senses and desires; the other rear hand wields an axe, useful in severing our desires and attachments, which trap us in this materialistic world.
The front right hand is always raised in blessing, in a posture called the abhaya hasta – removing fears of the unknown.
Seeing such a posed hand soothes our heart, drives away worries, and reassures us that we are ever in God’s care. And despite all the challenges that come our way, he stands by us and loves us dearly, always!
And finally, with his left hand presenting modaka (rice muffins), Ganesha promises us sweet fruits of our labors and ultimate peace in our spiritual quest.
Celebrating Ganesha Chaturthi [Chavti(konkani)] in my house:
Ganesha idol is worshiped since my great grandpa's times and it is nearly 200 years old. We follow our ancestral culture as it ia followed in our Daivajna Brahmin community. We keep the Ganesha at home for a day.
Ganesh Chaturthi (Chavti/Chavath in konkani) is a very popular festival in India. A Ganesh idol made of special clay is brought home, wherever they have this tradition spanning generations. I am here to talk about how we celebrate Ganesha Chaturthi at home.
Amgil ghara Chavti
PhalavaLi: This is an assortment of fruits, vegetables and a coconut tied to a structure in a neat and organized fashion and hung from the top just in front of the mantap. Care is taken that the height of this PhalavaLi doesn’t interfere with people standing below it while performing the pooja.
On the day of Ganesha Chaturthi, we go to the our bhatmam (purohit) who makes the Ganesha idol; whom we give order to make idol as per our liking. Before the idol is taken inside the home, at the main entrance, the idol is shown with kumkum water (water mixed with kumkum) in a copper/silver plate.
Our Ganesha :)
Dad doing Shringar to Ganesha idol after pratistapan
Maha pooja in noon offering the naivedyam to Gauri, Mahadeva and Ganesha
During the pooja all the various cooked items and food preparation are offered as naivedyam, which consists of Dalithoi, rice, khotto/hittu(idli batter steamed in jackfruit leaf basket), payasam, pancha kajjaya and various fried items (bitter guard fry, jackfruit fry, spiky guard fry). We offer 7 banana leaves with all the food offerings; 5 leaf offering is for Ganesha and 2 leaf is for Gauri and Mahadeva.
Visarjana: Pooja is performed during visarjana – Ganesha idol immersion is done in our well. "Ganapati Bappa Moraya"
My dad has always been active for all the festive occasions. This has helped us to learn the culture in our community. Last year, 2010 was our last year , where we celebrated the Chavti along my Dads presence. Hmmm his blessings will always be along us.
I pray that these traditions of our festivals continue for many more generations. Jai Ganesh!
No comments:
Post a Comment