Ganesh Chaturthi Puja
गणेश चतुर्थी पूजा
Ganesh Chaturthi Worship
The 10-day Ganesha festival — installs a clay Ganesha murti, worships daily, and concludes with Visarjan (immersion). Removes obstacles and inaugurates new ventures.
Traditional timing
Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi (August-September); 1, 1.5, 5, 7, or 10 days
Overview
Ganesh Chaturthi (also called Ganeshotsav or Vinayaka Chaturthi) celebrates the birthday of Lord Ganesha — the elephant-headed remover of obstacles and patron of beginnings. A clay Ganesha murti is installed on the fourth day of the Shukla Paksha of Bhadrapada (August-September), worshipped daily with traditional offerings (modaks especially), and ritually immersed (Visarjan) on the final day — typically the 1st, 1.5th, 5th, 7th, or 10th day. Maharashtra is the festival's heartland, where massive public installations and Bal Gangadhar Tilak's 1893 reformulation of the puja as a community celebration transformed it into the regional centerpiece.
Significance
Ganesha is the deity invoked first in any new endeavour — businesses, weddings, journeys, exam preparation. The festival celebrates the moment of invocation itself, expanded across multiple days. The eco-symbolism of clay Ganesha (originally non-fired, dissolving back into water) carries strong contemporary resonance — many families and communities have shifted to fully-biodegradable clay murtis. The puja's home-version is short and accessible; the public-version (especially Mumbai's pandals) ranges from intimate neighbourhood scale to massive multi-day spectacles.
Muhurta selection — Vedic timing rules
The specific Ganesh Chaturthi muhurta — typically the noon hour on the day — is when the murti is installed. Personal Muhurta calculates the lagna-elevated window for households planning specific business inaugurations or important launches during the festival. Visarjan timing depends on the duration chosen — typically late afternoon to evening.
Find a chart-aware date: Use the Starting a Business Muhurta tool to scan day-by-day verdicts for the next 30/60/90 days against your birth chart.
Open Starting a Business Muhurta →Frequently asked
What is the difference between 1.5-day and 10-day Ganesha?⌄
Both are valid. 1.5-day puja is for households without space or budget for the full 10 days. 10-day puja is the orthodox tradition, especially in Maharashtra. Days 1, 5, 7, and 10 (and 1.5) are all acceptable. The choice is family preference.
Is plaster-of-Paris Ganesha acceptable?⌄
Tradition strongly prefers clay (not plaster of Paris) — the latter doesn't dissolve and contributes to water pollution during Visarjan. Most municipal corporations and environmental groups encourage and incentivise clay Ganesha. The spiritual sanction follows the clay tradition.
Classical source
Ganesh Purana; Mudgala Purana
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