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Long ago there was a potter in a village. He used to make nice clay pots and used to harden them in the kiln. One year when the potter kept utensils in the kiln, the fire was not able to ripen the pots. Clay pots were not ripened even after repeated attempts. At last the potter approached the king for the help. After hearing the plight of the potter the king consulted royal Pandit (also known as Rajpurohit) and asked for some solution of this strange phenomenon. Rajpurohit suggested offering Bali of a child each time kiln is prepared for utensils.
After listening to Rajpurohit, King decreed that each family should offer one child whenever kiln is prepared. All families, one by one, started giving one of the children to obey decree of the king.
After some days it was turn of an old woman who had only one son. It was day of Sakat Chauth. The old woman had only one son in the family to support her in old days. The order of the king could not be disobeyed. The old woman feared that on auspicious day of Sakat her only child would be killed.
The old woman, an ardent devotee of Goddess Sakat, gave her only son Betal nut of Sakat and "Dub Ka Beeda" (दूब का बीड़ा) as symbolic cover of protection. The old lady suggested her son to pray Goddess Sakat while in kiln and assured him that these items with the grace of Goddess Sakat would protect him from the fire of kiln.
The child was made to sit in kiln. At the same time old woman started worshipping Goddess Sakat to protect the life of her only son. The kiln was lit and left to get prepared for coming days.
Due to grace of Goddess Sakat, the kiln which used to take many days to ripen was prepared within one night. Next day in the morning when potter came to inspect the kiln, he was astonished to see it. He found not only the son of old woman safe and alive but also other children who were offered before to prepare kiln were also alive.
After this incident all city folks accepted power and compassionate nature of Goddess Sakat. City folks also praised the boy and his mother for their devotion and trust to Goddess Sakat. The day of Sakat Chauth is to commemorate the gratitude of Goddess Sakat. Mothers worship Goddess Sakat and pray to save their children from any untoward incidents.
Long ago there were two sister-in-laws. Their husbands were real brothers. Although both brothers belonged to the same family, the elder brother was quite rich and the younger brother was very poor. The younger brother used to sell wood which were used for cooking.
The wife of younger brother was ardent devotee of Lord Ganesh and used to observe fasting on each Sankashti Chaturthi. She used to work as a maid at the home of elder brother to feed her family.
On the day of Sakat Chauth she had nothing to cook. She worked hard at the home of her sister-in-laws to get some remuneration on the auspicious day of Sakat Chauth. The elder sister refused to pay her on the day of Puja and told that she would be rewarded for her hard work only after Puja on the next day. The tired lady came home with empty hands. This made Lord Ganesh angry on the elder sister.
In the evening when husband of younger sister came back from the work, she was not able to serve the meal. The husband was also frustrated as no one bought the fuel on the auspicious day of Sakat Chauth. The husband thrashed his wife for not cooking the food. The poor wife went to sleep with empty stomach.
At night Lord Ganesha came to her home. When Lord Ganesh asked to open the door she thought of dreaming it and told "All doors are open to come inside as I have nothing in the home to lock". After coming in Lord Ganesha asked for some food and she replied "I cooked Bathua (बथुआ) in the morning which is lying on the stove. You go and eat that". After eating Bathua, Lord Ganesha asked that He wants to relieve. She replied "All five places in home, including four corners and the entrance are available for you to relieve." After relieving Lord Ganesha asked that He wants something to wipe. The hungry and frustrated lady told "Use my forehead for that".
Next day when lady woke up she found that her forehead, all four corners in the home and the entrance were full of precious diamonds, jewelry and the gold. Then she realized that it was not in the dream but in the reality Lord Ganesha came to her home to bless her family. Later she went to sister-in-laws to get balance to weigh the massive wealth.
Her sister-in-laws stick some adhesive at the bottom on the balance. When the elder sister got the balance back she was able to know about massive wealth. On repeated requests from the elder sister, the younger sister revealed the story of Ganesha coming to her home.
After that the elder sister started working at the home of younger sister to repeat the same fortune for her family. On next year she played the whole story as it is to please Lord Ganesha, including forcing her husband to thrash her on the day of Sakat Chauth. Everything went as expected except it was not massive wealth but feces and its stink all over her home. The feces were not getting removed even on repeated attempts. Pandits suggested her to share the wealth equally with the younger sister-in-laws to get rid of the curse of Lord Ganesha.
She did the same but even after that feces and its stink was not removed. Later it came to know that one necklace was not shared with the younger sister-in-laws. The curse of Lord Ganesha was cured only after that necklace was also shared with the younger sister-in-laws.
People pray to Lord Ganesha to get blessed like younger sister-in-laws after listening to this legend.
Lord Ganesha is worshipped on Sakat Chauth. Worshiping Lord Ganesha on this day brings happiness and prosperity. The festival of Sakat Chauth is also dedicated to Sakat Mata and on this day, mothers observe the fast for the well-being of their sons.
Lord Ganesha is one of the most popular deities in Hindu Dharma. He is revered as Pratham Pujya i.e. He is worshipped first among all the deities. He is worshipped to remove all kinds of obstacles.
Most popular Aarti dedicated to Lord Ganesha is given with lyrics and recitation video. Devotees sing this Aarti to please Lord Ganesha and seek his blessings.
'Ganesha Chalisa' is a hymn composed of 40 Chaupais in the praise of Lord Ganesha. One can get rid of all the obstacles by reciting Ganesha Chalisa.
Ashtottara Shatanamavali of Ganesha is a collection of 108 divine names of Lord Ganesha. One can recite these names to seek the blessings of Lord Ganesha.
Sahasranamavali of Lord Ganesha containing these Mantras and names is given with meaning and recitation video.
The divine eight incarnations of Lord Ganesha are collectively known as Ashta Vinayaka. Vakratunda, Ekadanta, Mahodara and Gajanana are some popular forms of Ashta Vinayaka.
In the Hindu calendar, there are two Chaturthi in every lunar month, out of which the Chaturthi of Krishna Paksha that comes after the full moon is called Sankashti Chaturthi. The fast of Sankashti Chaturthi is more popular in western and southern region of India, especially in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
In the Hindu calendar, there are two Chaturthi in every lunar month. The Chaturthi of Shukla Paksha that comes after Amavasya is called Ganesha Chaturthi. In Kerala, Ganesha Chaturthi is celebrated in Chingam Masam during Shukla Paksha Chaturthi and might fall in Shravana month.
A brief summary on Ganesha Chaturthi is given of this page. It is also known as Vinayaka Chavithi or Vinayagar Chaturthi. Lord Ganesha's devotees keep fast on this day.
Learn here complete detailed Ganesha Chaturthi Puja Vidhi. It's a Shodashopachara Vinayaka Chaturthi Puja Vidhi with step by step explanation.
Ganesha Twenty One Names Puja is also known as Eka-Vimshati Name Puja which is dedicated to the Lord Ganesha who is lord of knowledge and wisdom.
Some of the most important Ganesha Mantras are listed here. A powerful Ganesha Yantra is also given which one can keep at one's home or office at the place of worship.
