Sankasht Chaturthi, or Ganesh Sankatahara Chaturti, is dedicated
to Hindu God Ganesha. Ganesha devotees observe Sankasht Chaturti
day from sunrise till the sighting of the moon. The day falls on the fourth day
during the waning phase of moon or Krishna Paksha in a Hindu lunar month.
Sankasht Chaturthi vrat and puja is mentioned in the Bavishyat Purana and Narasimha Purana. The devotees who observe Sankasht Chaturti vrat wake up early in the morning and take a holy bath. Devotees observe fast for the whole day, they generally do it during the evenings. Lord Ganesh’s idol is beautifully decorated and Durva grass and fresh flowers are offered to the Lord. Prasad like modak is offered.
Interesting Story: A sage named Bhrushundi who had an elephant trunk due to constant thinking of
Lord Ganesh. He was known to be powerful because of his devotion and therefore
a lot of people visited him to receive his blessings. Lord Indra one day came
to visit the sage and was returning to his abode in his celestial flight. As he
flew on the kingdom of King Shursen, a sinner in the kingdom looked at Indra’s
flight and therefore the flight landed on the ground losing its power due to
the sinful look. King Shursen ran as fast as he can to greet Indra and received
his blessings. Indra said due to the sinful look cast by a sinner in his
kingdom his flight lost its power and therefore he needed to recharge it with
some Punya (merits) to get it flying once again. The previous day was Sankasht Chaturthi. Therefore Indra said if anyone in the kingdom who attained Punya
(merit) due to observing the Sankasht Chaturthi vrat could give the merits to
him, the flight would fly once again. The soldiers searched the kingdom and
found none had observed the vrat.
During that time, the soldiers of Lord Ganesh were carrying a sinner who had
died that morning to Svananda Loka (abode of Lord Ganesh). Indra asked why the
sinner is being carried. The soldiers replied that the sinner had fallen sick
the previous day (Sankasht Chaturthi) and therefore had not eaten anything for
the whole day till she died in the morning. Therefore though she fasted
unintentionally on the day, she had attained a lot of merits enough to wash all
her sins and earn a place in the abode of Ganesh. During this time, the air
that touched the body of the sinner touched the plane of Indra and the plane
started flying once again.
Thus,
it is said that the merits of observing Sankasht Chaturti are enormous.
Vrat Vidhi:
- The
first step is to rise up early in the morning, and then you should do your
Sankalpa. Also, to have a positive frame of mind, you should practice
meditation.
- Your
fast should start from the morning and end after the puja vidhi is over.
One more thing to keep in mind is, even after breaking the fast you should
stay away from consuming any kind of cereal.
- During
the period, a small puja to worship Lord Ganesha takes place. Chant the
holy mantras and offer prayers to invoke divine blessings for smoothly
running everyone’s lives.
- After
the puja ends, you should dedicate your offerings to the moon.
Benefits and
advantages of performing the Vrat:
Sankat means problems and Hara means destroyer. Therefore
the word Sankathara means one who is the destroyer of problems. We know our
dear Ganpati is our knight in shining armor who graciously keeps us away from
difficult situations. He is the one who removes the obstacles from our journey
of life so that we can attain success in all our endeavors.
Here are
some Benefits and Beliefs:
- The
person observing the Vrat will thus benefit from the Lord’s blessings and
he will thrive in his personal and professional life.
- Also,
a woman who is not able to conceive can observe the fast too. She will
overcome her infertility issues if she follows this ritual and observes
the fast with full devotion.
- A
married couple whose relationship is going through a rough patch, discord,
and difficulty, they should also pray to the Lord and observe the fast.
This will bring back marital peace and unity.
For pooja video please click here
