Lord Ganesha, famously known as the lord of new beginnings and remover of all obstacles, arrives every year in August and September. He enlightens our life and teaches us the path of righteousness. The festival, also known as Anant Chaturdashi, is widely celebrated across the country.
We welcome him by decorating our houses, pandals, and streets, offering puja and bhog. But finally, the tenth day arrived, and we had to immerse the idol of lord Ganesha in a river, sea or water body with the belief that he took all our problems with him and a hope that he would come again to bring more joy to our lives.
Date & Tithi
Puja before Visarjan
You may keep the Lord for 1.5, 3, 7 or 10 days. It depends on your belief and mostly the area you belong to. It doesn’t matter how long you celebrate the festival; the end has to be the same for all. Follow this step-by-step process on the day of Visarjan.
- Worship the lord the same way you were worshipping before. He loves food, so make sure to offer his favourite food like Laddoo, Modak, and fruits with a kind heart.
- Then, take a clean banana leaf and purify it with Ganga Jal.
- Request the females of the house to draw a swastika and spread a pink, red or yellow cloth on it.
- On top of the cloth, spread rose petals and place betel nuts on four corners of the cloth.
- Lift Lord Ganesha’s idol from his original place to let him rest on the rose petals. Keep all offerings with fresh flowers around him.
- Also, place a piece of wood (preferably from a Mango tree), a bundle of rice, wheat, panchmeva and Dakshina.
- Perform arti as you usually do; light an earthen pot, camphor and incense sticks. Seek his blessings, ask forgiveness for unintentional mistakes, wish him Goodluck for his journey and request to come back soon.
Visarjan process
The final step is to take the idol near a water body and slowly immerse it with respect and all materials you used for the final puja. Please don’t throw the idol, do it with honour.
Keep your mind calm because you will erupt with emotional thoughts and be sad about breaking the 10-day bond with the lord. However, it’s what is destined for everyone; whoever comes here goes!
Request him to return soon and distribute the prasad on your way home. Keep some for the family members too!
In UAE, do Visarjan at Home
By law in UAE, worshippers must do a Visarjan at home, which is also widely popularised because of the pandemic. Also, the idea of the eco-friendly Ganesha is genuinely fascinating. The idol dissolves in mud and becomes a tree to live forever with you. What better than that?
If you plan for a Visarjan at home, get a mud idol because POP (Plaster of Paris) ones take years to dissolve, which isn’t good for nature either. Try to get a mud idol, always!
The process is pretty much the same.
Follow to steps mentioned above to conduct a puja and serve offerings. Take a vessel, fill it with clean water and immerse the idols with all their belongings. Once done, take the mud and use it as a flower pot. Tulsi is forbidden to worship Ganesha, so please don’t add it to water.
Rules for the entire day of Visarjan
Our cultures teach us to treat our guests as a god, “Atithi Devo Bhava,” but here, the lord is coming itself, which increases our responsibilities. However, Ganesha is a family member, but please make sure to follow these rules. Not only for Visarjan, but these rules will apply throughout the period.
- All family members must avoid garlic and onions during the festival period.
- Offer everything to Ganpati first, be it food, water, prasad etc.
- Don’t leave home unattended when the Lord is there. At least one member must always remain at home.
- Strictly avoid harmful activities like gambling, consuming meat, alcohol, cheating, stealing, foul language, fights, etc.
- Try to avoid negative thoughts; although you don’t have any control over them, still grasp the festival's positive energy and meditate to maintain your thoughts.
The significance of these rules is - It’s difficult to follow them in regular life, but with a ten-day practice, you might continue to follow some of these good habits. Most importantly, have a pure heart, calm mind with good intentions towards other beings.
The story behind Visarjan
The arrival of Ganesha is the happiest day for all, while Visarjan day is the saddest. But there is nothing we can do; it’s said that lord Ganesha joins his parents, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, on mount Kailash after Visarjan. In some places, the festival is referred to as a life cycle of birth, life and death.
We worship him as a lord of new beginnings and believe that he will take all our problems with him, hoping that he will return soon and that the process repeats itself.
Conclusion
As per the lunar calendar, the Ganesh Chaturthi or Anant Chaturdashi will be celebrated on 27th August, and the Visarjan will happen after ten days. The Lord will enlighten our lives and bring much-needed positivity.
You may miss some of the steps mentioned in this article, but it’s perfectly fine until you are willing to welcome and worship him with pure intentions. You can always seek forgiveness in your prayers; he is kind and listens to all.
We hope you understand the complete process. Please leave your comments and suggestions about the process we described. Happy Ganesh Chaturthi in advance; I hope you enjoy the festival and get rid of all your problems.
