Ganesh Chaturthi 2027
4 September 2027

Ganesh Chaturthi remembers Ganesha’s birth, and opens ten days of Ganeshotsav that close with his visarjan on Anant Chaturdashi. The Shiva Purana tells how Parvati shaped a boy from turmeric paste and breathed life into him while Shiv ji was away, setting him to guard her door; when Shiv ji returned and the boy, not knowing him, would not let him pass, Shiv ji struck off his head in anger.

Parvati’s grief could only be eased by giving the boy life again, and Shiv ji sent his ganas to bring the head of the first creature they found facing north: an elephant’s. Fixed onto the boy’s body, it is the elephant head Ganesha has carried since, and the gods made him their leader, worshipped before any new beginning. Families bring a clay idol home, worship it daily through the ten days, and offer modak, his favourite sweet, before letting him go at the visarjan.

• Ganesha idol (clay, eco-friendly where possible)
• Mandap and decoration
• Roli, akshat and kalava
• Durva grass
• Red flowers and a garland
• Modak and other sweets for bhog
• Diya and ghee
• Coconut and fruits

Source: Shiva Purana (Rudra Samhita), the birth of Ganesha and the elephant head

Wanting a guard of her own while Shiv ji was away in meditation, Parvati shaped a boy from turmeric paste rubbed off her own body for her bath, and breathed life into him, setting him at her door with orders to let no one in without her word.

When Shiv ji returned and found a boy he did not know blocking his own home, and the boy, true to his word, would not step aside, Shiv ji struck off his head in anger. Parvati’s grief at the sight was so great that the gods feared for the three worlds, and Shiv ji agreed to give the boy life again.

He sent his ganas to bring the head of the first living creature they found lying with its head to the north. They returned with an elephant’s head, which Shiv ji fixed onto the boy’s body, breathing life into him once more and naming him Ganesha, leader of his own ganas, to be worshipped before every undertaking.

What to do

• Choose an eco-friendly clay idol with natural colours where you can, since the visarjan is kinder to rivers and ponds that way.
• Keep fresh durva grass and red flowers ready each day, since both are named in tradition as dear to Ganesha.
• Invite children to take part in the daily aarti; Ganesha is worshipped first of all the gods, including by the young.
• If you happen to look at the moon by accident, many families hear the Syamantaka story the next day, as tradition offers that as a remedy.

What to avoid

• Avoid looking directly at the moon on the night of Chaturthi; popular tradition tells of Krishna himself being wrongly blamed after doing so on this very night, and families still take care to look away.
• Immersing the idol in a way that harms the water body is avoided where it can be; many families now use a bucket or a nearby eco-friendly point instead of a river in spate.

In Maharashtra, Ganeshotsav is the state’s largest festival, with public pandals and processions on a vast scale, following the public celebrations Lokmanya Tilak encouraged in the colonial years. In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh it is Vinayaka Chavithi, with idols often made of mud at home. In Goa, the day before Chaturthi is Hartalika, kept by married women, and the two are often celebrated together in the same home.