The Ganesh Chaturthi puja brings a clay murti of Ganesha into the home at midday on Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi, invites him into it with a simple prana pratishtha, and worships him every morning and evening until he is given a loving farewell. In outline: clean and prepare a place, install the murti at madhyahna, offer 21 durva and modaks, sing the aarti, keep up the daily puja for the days your family keeps, and immerse him with care.
The date and the madhyahna window for your city are on the Ganesh Chaturthi date page; the last day of the festival is Anant Chaturdashi. This page does not repeat times, because they change every year and from city to city.
Samagri: what to keep ready
- A clay murti of Ganesha, unpainted or painted with natural colours; shadu clay is the traditional choice in Maharashtra
- A chowki or low table, a red or yellow cloth, and a plate or small heap of rice to seat the murti on
- A kalash with water, mango leaves and a coconut, if your family installs one
- Durva grass: 21 blades, or 21 small bunches of three blades, washed
- Red flowers, especially hibiscus (jaswand), and a garland
- Roli or kumkum, haldi, sandalwood paste, akshat, a sacred thread (janeu) and a little cloth for the deity
- Modaks: steamed ukadiche modak with coconut and jaggery, or fried or bought ones; 21 if you can, fewer is fine
- Laddus, bananas and other fruit; panchamrit (milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar) for the bath
- A ghee diya, camphor for the aarti, incense
- Shami leaves if they grow near you; some families also offer a few bel leaves
- A bucket or tub for visarjan at home
None of this needs to be grand. A small murti on a clean shelf, a diya, a handful of durva and one sweet is a full Ganesh puja.
Step by step
- Prepare the place. A day before or that morning, clean the corner where Ganesha will sit. Spread the cloth on the chowki, make a little bed of rice, and decorate with flowers, leaves or a simple rangoli. Many families build a small mandap around it.
- Bring Ganesha home. The murti is often carried home with its face covered, and uncovered only at the sthapana. Family members greet him at the door with a diya and a cry of "Ganpati Bappa Morya".
- Bath and sankalp. At madhyahna, after bathing, sit before the chowki, take water in the right hand and say in your own words that you are welcoming Ganesha and will worship him for so many days. Let the water fall.
- Sthapana. Place the murti on the rice, facing east or west if possible. Set the kalash beside it if you use one.
- Prana pratishtha, in simple words. This is the moment of inviting Ganesha to be present in the clay. A priest says the mantras; at home, touch the murti's heart lightly with a flower or durva and ask him, with folded hands, to come and stay as your guest. Then uncover his eyes if they were covered.
- Shodashopachara, as far as you can. Offer water to wash his feet and hands, a sip of water, a bath of panchamrit (sprinkled on a clay murti, or offered to a betel nut kept as his symbol), clean water, the cloth and janeu, sandalwood, roli and akshat, flowers and the garland.
- Durva. Offer the 21 durva, one by one or in bunches of three, saying "Om Gan Ganapataye Namah" with each. Durva is Ganesha's favourite; many families never skip it.
- Naivedya. Offer the modaks, laddus and fruit. A plate of 21 modaks is the classic offering.
- Aarti. Light camphor and the diya and sing the aarti. In Maharashtra it is Sukhakarta Dukhaharta, often followed by other aartis; in the north many sing Jai Ganesh Jai Ganesh Deva. Then hear the Ganesh Chaturthi katha.
- Daily puja. Each morning and evening for as long as Ganesha stays: water, flowers, durva, a fresh naivedya and the aarti. Visitors are welcome to join, and children often lead the singing.
- Uttar puja and visarjan. On the last day do a final puja with durva and modaks, ask forgiveness for anything missed, and do the farewell aarti. Move the murti gently, then immerse it, at home in a bucket or tub of clean water, or at an artificial pond set up by the local body. Many call out "Ganpati Bappa Morya, pudhchya varshi lavkar ya": come back soon next year.
- After the clay dissolves. Pour the water and clay into the garden or plant pots.
Checking the time
Two windows matter. The sthapana and first puja are done in the madhyahna window of Chaturthi, which the date page gives for each city. For the visarjan day and any procession, families often look at the choghadiya for a good slot, and some consult the muhurat page. The night of Chaturthi is also the night many avoid looking at the moon; the reason is in the katha.
Customs families keep
What follows is custom; every family has its own version.
- The length of the stay is a family tradition: one and a half days, three, five, seven or ten, with the ten-day stay ending on Anant Chaturdashi.
- Tulsi is not offered to Ganesha in most homes, by an old story, while durva and red flowers are.
- Many homes keep the moon out of sight on Chaturthi night; if it is seen by chance, the Syamantaka jewel story is read.
- Gauri, Ganesha's mother, is welcomed in many Maharashtrian homes for two or three days in the middle of the festival.
- Fasting on the day is optional. Those who fast eat fruit and the modak prasad after the puja; pregnant, unwell and older people should eat normally, and a doctor's advice comes first.
- Clay without plaster of Paris and paints without chemicals are now the common choice, and immersion at home keeps rivers and lakes clean.
Regional ways
- Maharashtra: the heart of the festival. Homes install Ganpati for one and a half to ten days, and public mandals set up large pandals. The public festival was shaped by Lokmanya Tilak in the late nineteenth century, who used it to bring people together across castes and neighbourhoods.
- Goa and the Konkan: the festival, called Chavath, is very much a family affair, with a matoli, a canopy of fruits and forest produce, hung above the murti.
- Karnataka: Gowri Habba, the worship of Gauri, comes a day before Ganesha arrives.
- Andhra Pradesh and Telangana: Vinayaka Chavithi, with the patri puja of many kinds of leaves.
- North India: a smaller home puja, often with a day's stay, has grown into large community celebrations in many cities.
After the puja
Share the modaks as prasad. The monthly fast for Ganesha is Sankashti Chaturthi, and the day after Ganesh Chaturthi is Rishi Panchami.