Lord Ganesh is considered to be the God who has the ability to bestow wisdom and
wealth upon humans. All the new undertakings, whether at place of work or at
home, start by reciting the mantra of Lord Ganesha. He is known as the God of
good luck and prosperity. Therefore, before any auspicious occasion, Hindus
performs the puja of Lord Ganesha, to achieve success in it. Ganesh Chaturthi,
the day marking the birth of the Lord, is celebrated in a grand manner in
Maharashtra as well as other parts of India. It falls in the Hindu lunar month
of Bhadra and lasts over a period of ten days. One of the most loving festivals
of India, Ganesh Chaturthi has many legends associated with it. Given below are
the legends from Shiv and Skanda Purana.
Legend From Shiv Purana
The most popular legend associated with Lord Ganesha can be found in the Shiv
Purana. It says that Lord Ganapati was created out of the dough that Goddess
Parvati used for her bath. The Goddess wanted a door-keeper, to prevent the
coming of any visitors when she took a bath. So, she created a doll from the
dough and breathed life into him. The day she did this came to be known as the
birthday of Lord Ganesha, which we today celebrate as Ganesh Chaturthi.
On day, while Goddess Parvati was taking her bath, Lord Shiva happened to visit
her. Ganesha did not know him, so he did not allow the Lord to enter the house.
This made Lord Shiva angry and he beheaded Ganesha. Later, when he came to know
the truth, he fixed the head of an elephant in place of Ganesha's head. With
this, the appearance of Lord Ganesha changed and he came to have the head of an
elephant.
Legend From Skanda Purana
There is yet another popular legend associated with Ganesh Chaturthi, arising
from Skanda Purana. It goes that once Ganesha was invited for a feast in
Chandralok. He ate many Ladoos and later, as he got up to walk after the meal,
he could not balance himself, because of his huge stomach, and slipped. His
stomach burst and all the laddoos came rolling out. Seeing this, the moon could
not control himself and began laughing. Ganesha got angry and cursed the moon
that it will vanish from the universe.
Because of moon's absence, the whole world began to wane. The gods asked Lord
Shiva to get Ganesha to change his mind. The moon also apologized for his
misbehavior. Finally, Ganesha modified his curse saying that the moon would be
invisible on only one day of a month and would be partially seen on Ganesha
Chaturthi. He also added that anyone who watches moon on Ganesha Chaturthi would
face a false accusation. This is the reason why, even today, it is considered
inauspicious to look at the moon on Ganesh Chaturthi. |
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