Ganesha Chaturthi – Celebration and Mantras
Ganesha Chaturthi (गणेश चतुर्थी) is celebrated on the fourth (chaturth-) day after the new moon (amavasya) in the Hindu month of “Bhadrapada” (usually in August-September). It is the beginning of ten days of festivities in the honor of the chief (eesha) of Lord Shiva’s celestial hordes (ganas), Lord Ganesha. Gana also means ‘category’ or the ‘countless’.
Lord Ganesha has been worshipped as one who protects the devotee from all ills. He is also known as the one who bestows good fortune on those who seek his blessings. He is invoked at the beginning of all major tasks by his bhaktas and is immensely popular as a kind, benevolent and lovable God. All pujas begin with an invocation to Ganesha – an honor bestowed upon him by his father, the great Lord Shiva himself.
Lord Ganesha Divine Mantra Vakratunda Mahakaya
Ganesha Chaturthi Mantras (गणेश चतुर्थी मंत्र)
Ganesha can be viewed as a symbol of that energy which can help us overcome the obstacles in our path to spiritual growth and enlightenment. The chanting of mantras is believed to invoke a connection to the particular energy associated with the deity that is being addressed by the mantra. So, please join us and repeat the following mantras, 108 times each, on this most auspicious of occasions for clearing our “channels” of energy with the help of Lord Ganesha.
Ganesha is the ruler of the mooladhara chakra, located at the base of the spine, and is also known as the root chakra. Hence, “Ganesha is invoked as the starting point of the ascent to awareness, as the one who causes that energy to rise up, which leads the seeker to a union with the divine”.
Lord Ganesha Invocation (वक्रतुण्ड महाकाया)
Lord Ganesha is addressed through the following mantra, popularly known as the vakratunda mantra:
vakratunda mahaakaaya suryakoti samaprabhaa.
nirvighnam kurumedeva sarvakaaryeshu sarvadaa..
Vakratundaa MahaakayaSalutations to the supreme Lord Ganesha, whose curved trunk (vakra-tunda) and massive body (maha-kaayaa) shines like a million suns (surya-koti) and showers his blessings on everyone (sama-prabhaa). Oh my lord of lords Ganesha (kurume-deva), kindly remove all obstacles (nir-vighnam), always (sarva-) and forever (sarvadaa-) from all my activities and endeavors (sarva-kaaryeshu).
Mantra for Prosperity (ॐ गम सौभाग्य)
The mantra for prosperity is based on the word, gam, which is the beej (seed) mantra for Lord Ganesha.
AUM shreem gam saubhaagya ganpataye
varvard sarvajanm mein vashamaanya namah
Prosperity Mantra for Lord GaneshaWe ask for good fortune (sau-bhaagya) and many blessings and wishes (var-vard) for our current and future life-times (sarva-janam-me.n). We bow in homage (namH) to Lord Ganesha who protects us with long lives (avaShamaanya) of health and happiness. A concise form of this mantra, suitable for multiple rapid repetitions is simply – “AUM gam ga~Npataye namH” – (ॐ गम गणपतये नम:)
Listen to the Shubh Laabh Ganesha Mantra:
Happy Ganesha Chaturthi to all of you – may Lord Ganesha’s blessings always be with you! Please share Ganesha’s blessings with your friends and family!
Note: This article is from our archive. Ganesha Chaturthi falls on September 2nd 2019.