Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav

Published on 11 Nov 2025

• The Maharashtra government officially declared ‘Sarvajanik (public) Ganeshotsav’ as the state festival.  

• It was started by Lokmanya Tilak in 1893 designed for Hindu social unity, nationalism,  and self-respect during the colonial era.

• Ganeshotsav, also called Ganesh Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chaturthi, is a festival celebrating the birthday of Hindu deity Ganesh, the remover of obstacles 

• The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's murtis privately in homes and publicly on elaborate pandals.

• It has been recorded as a public celebration since the time of Chatrapati Shivaji in Maharashtra but lost state patronage under British rule with its anti-public assembly legislation in 1892. 

• Sweets like modak are offered to the deity and then distributed as prasada to the community. 

• The festival concludes on the tenth day, Ananta Chaturdashi, with a procession where the idol (murti) is carried with music and chanting before being immersed in a body of water, a ritual known as visarjana.

  
  

Keywords:

Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Maharashtra Lokmanya Tilak Nationalism Ganesh Chaturthi Vinayaka Chaturthi Chatrapati Shivaji visarjana