Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most auspicious and widely celebrated festivals of Sanatana Dharma. In 2025, Ganesh Chaturthi will be observed on Saturday, 30 August 2025 (Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi). On this sacred day, devotees welcome Bhagwan Ganesha, the remover of obstacles (Vighnaharta) and the Lord of wisdom, prosperity, and good fortune. The festival marks the beginning of the bright fortnight of the Bhadrapada month and is celebrated with great devotion and grandeur across India. Devotees observe fasts, decorate their homes and temples, and install beautifully crafted idols of Shri Ganesh. Ritualistic Ganesh Puja is performed with offerings of durva grass, modaks, flowers, and incense. The celebration continues for 1 to 10 days, culminating with the immersion (Visarjan) of the idol in rivers or seas, symbolizing the cycle of creation and dissolution.
The sacred festival of Shri Ganesh Chaturthi begins with purification and devotion. On this holy day, devotees wake up early, take a ritual bath, and perform Sankalp (a vow) to worship Lord Ganesha with sincerity and purity. The idol or image of Shri Ganesh is placed on a clean and decorated platform, and the deity is invoked with Vedic mantras and prayers.
Shri Ganapati is revered as ‘Omkarvadan’, the very embodiment of the sacred sound Omkar. In the eternal wisdom of Sanatana Dharma, Omkar and Shri Ganapati are not seen as separate but as one and the same divine principle. The Ganeshtapini Upanishad proclaims, “Om Ganesho vai Brahma” (ॐ गणेशो वै ब्रह्म), signifying that Lord Ganesha Himself is the Supreme Brahman manifested as Omkar.
