Lord Ganesha
The son of Parvati was given the name Ganesha by Shiva. The word Ganesha is made up of gana (followers of Shiva) and isha (lord), thus Shiva appointed him the lord of his ganas. Lord Ganesha is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. Lord Ganesha is also worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth. Lord Ganesha drop the commonly serious ,grave and be staided manners of other Gods,
instead Lord Ganesha display the lovely and easy-going character and manner.
The son of Parvati was given the name Ganesha by Shiva. The word Ganesha is made up of gana (followers of Shiva) and isha (lord), thus Shiva appointed him the lord of his ganas. Lord Ganesha is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. Lord Ganesha is also worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth. Lord Ganesha drop the commonly serious ,grave and be staided manners of other Gods,
instead Lord Ganesha display the lovely and easy-going character and manner.
Ganesh Chaturthi
An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesh Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water, while the people shout "Ganapati Bappa Morya" (Ganesh come back soon next year). Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.
