The preparation of the festival begins much before the ten-day rite.
Houses are cleaned and even white washing or painting is done.
Especially the place where the idol will be kept are cleaned and
decorated several days before the festival. Newly molded idols of
Ganesha are bought from the shops, which are there only for the festival
purpose. The idols are carried with their faces covered with a saffron
cloth amidst chanting and the sound of cymbals. In the evening it is
placed properly at the place where the puja will be held. The priest
then performs a ritual by which the idol, is said to be imbued with
life. Next follows the traditional puja. Worshippers bathe and the
priest wears a silken lower garment, usually red, with a shawl around
his shoulders. On this day every household in Maharashtra installs a
small clay murti of Ganeshji in their homes. He is offered pujan and
prasad until Sud 14 - Anant Chaturthi.
In Gujarat and in the Swaminarayan mandirs a clay or plaster of paris
murti of Ganesh is installed on Ganesh Chaturthi and worshiped for ten
days. The murti is submerged on 'Parivartini' i.e. 'Jal Zilani'
Ekadashi. Devotees observe a waterless fast. The traditional prasad
offered to Lord Ganeshji are chopped cucumbers and 'ladus' - sweet balls
of wheat flour, ghee and sugar. Five pujas and arti are offered,
together with a boat ride after each arti before Ganeshji's 'Visarjan' -
submergence. In this manner Ganesh is a deity of auspiciousness, wisdom
and wealth. Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival inspiring devotees to
inculcate redemptive virtues in their lives. The puja begins according
to the time mentioned on the ritual calendar. The ceremony begins by
placing the image, usually made of terracotta, in a sacred arena,
symbolic of a throne. The worshipper then sips holy water and performs
pranayama; he then bows and prostrates before Ganesha and all the other
gods. The Ganapati Aarti and the Atharvashirdha (devotional chanting)
are sung to the accompaniment of cymbals, bells and rhythmic clapping.
The modak, a sweetmeat of rice-flour and sweetened coconut, are offered
to the deity along with flowers. This completes the rituals of the first
day. For the remaining days, the image is worshipped, morning and
evening, with simple recitations of the Ganesha Stuti, devotional songs,
offerings of flowers and incense, and lamps. The event is now the
celebration of all community where everyone participates.
