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What are the rituals you should follow during Heramba Sankashti Chaturthi?
1) To fully benefit from the worship, and gain the blessings of Lord Ganesha, you should follow strict fasting on the day of Heramba Sankashti Chaturthi. The duration of the fasting will begin at sunrise and you can break the fast after seeing the moon and offering evening prayers to Lord Ganesha. 2) If you are finding it difficult to fast for the whole day, you can also do a partial fast. In this type of fast, you can eat some fruits or sabudana when you feel like you cannot control your hunger pangs or feel weak. But, if you are in a good physical condition, you can maintain the full day fast as a way of honouring Lord Ganesha and also improving the health of your digestive system in the process. Consuming fruits also has a beneficial effect on your health. 3) Once you wake up and have an early bath, you should offer your prayers to Lord Ganesha with a pure and holy mind and soul. Throughout the day, you should focus on the Lord and try to do good deeds, to gain blessings for your devotion. 4) You should also recite the ‘Ganesha Ashtothara’ and ‘Sankashtnashana Sthothra’ on this day as it will give you more blessings. Through the day, you can also chant mantras to show your devotion to Lord Ganesha. Read Powerful Chants to Seek Ganesha’s Blessing 5) In the evening, you can take part in the main puja, which will be conducted after the moon rises in the sky. 6) The idol of Lord Ganesha is decorated with the Durva grass and flowers. Many other forms of decoration can also be done to show your devotion. You can also beautify the mandir and its surroundings to show your love and worship for the Lord. Be completely devout during this puja and ask for the blessings you wish to receive. 7) You can also worship the Moon God during this puja. You will see the pandit or the person performing the puja offering a special sweet, named modak, as well as bananas and coconut, to the Lord. Modak is considered as the favourite sweet of Lord Ganesha, which is why it is offered to him on this day. You will also see lamps being lit and an aarti being performed at the end. If you are doing the puja, you should remember all these points to attain the blessings. 8) Finally, after the puja and aarti, you can receive the prasad, and enjoy the favourite sweet of Lord Ganesha as a way of honouring him.Timings to Remember
You should keep an eye on the following timings to ensure that you wake up and perform the activities in the correct manner. This will help you get the most blessings from the Lord.- Sunrise August 15, 2022 6:07 AM
- Sunset August 15, 2022 6:55 PM
- Chaturthi Tithi Begins August 14, 2022 10:36 PM
- Chaturthi Tithi Ends August 15, 2022 9:02 PM
- Moonrise On Sankashti Day August 15, 2022 9:33 PM
Importance of Heramba Sankashti Chaturthi
The biggest importance of the festival involves the fact that, on this day, you will be worshipping the ‘Heramba Maha Ganpati’, which is a very rare form of Lord Ganesha. In this form, the Lord will depict five faces and ten hands. When you look at the image of this Ganpati, you will see that one hand depicts the boon giving posture while another hand is placed in the blessing posture. The other 8 hands will be seen holding a variety of important elements, such as a rudraksha, rope, goad, modak, apple, mala, axe and a tuck. The rare form of Lord Ganesha is usually seen riding a lion. The festival is celebrated with pomp and devotion across India, but especially so at Varanasi in UP, where the Heramba Ganpati is worshipped as a subsidiary deity in the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple. It is said that if you worship this form of the Lord, you will attain confidence to face all types of problems and hardships in your life. So, if you have been worried about the difficulties in life, this is a wonderful day to overcome your troubles by worshipping the Lord. If you meditate on the rare form of the Heramba Ganpati, you will find yourself overcoming all fear about the future.Why is Lord Ganesha called Heramba?
Lord Ganesha is also known as Heramba according to the auspicious text the Ganesha Purana. According to the Brahma vaivarta Purana, ‘he’ the syllable shows helplessness or weakness on the part of humans, ‘ramba’ indicates protection of the weak. Therefore, Heramba Ganpati is a deity form who saves the weak from harm. The name can be translated as “protector of the weak and good people”. So, now that you know all the important details about Heramba Sankashti Chaturthi, follow the rituals and pray for your protection and wellbeing.
