Varada Gaṇapati Vrata
Varada Gaṇapati Vrata, simply known as Varada Ganapati Vrata, Sanskrit: वरद गणपति व्रत, Telugu: వరద గణపతి వ్రతం, Hindi: वरद गणपति व्रत.
The Varada Gaṇapati Vrata is a month-long worship of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa in his varada (giver of varas) form. It begins on Śrāvaṇa śukla caturthi and ends on Bhādrapada śukla caturthi, the great day of Gaṇeśa Caturthī. Bhagavān Śiva taught it to Skanda when Skanda asked for a vrata that would give him victory over Tārakāsura. The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 51 and 87–89, gives it as the highest vrata for gaining every siddhi (attainment).
Every day of the month the shoḍaśopacāra pūjā (worship with sixteen offerings) is done for Bhagavān Gaṇeśa. On the last day a full udyāpana (concluding rite) is done, with homa, tarpaṇa and brāhmaṇa-bhojana (feeding of brāhmaṇas).
How it was taught
Skanda had been installed as commander of the armies of the devas. He was getting ready to fight the unbeatable Tārakāsura. He went to Bhagavān Śiva on Kailāsa and asked: “What is the highest vrata that will give me the siddhi I need, to do what no deva has been able to do?”
Bhagavān Śiva answered without waiting: the Varada Gaṇapati Vrata, the month-long worship of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa in his form as giver of varas. Bhagavān Śiva then taught Skanda the whole procedure himself and initiated him into the Gaṇeśa mantra. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 51; Chapter 87)
When it is kept
The vrata begins on Śrāvaṇa śukla caturthi, the fourth day of the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Śrāvaṇa. It goes on for a full lunar month and ends on Bhādrapada śukla caturthi, the great day of Gaṇeśa Caturthī. Each of the thirty days of this month is a day of worship of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa with the whole prescribed procedure. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 51)
The mūrti
The vrata uses a mūrti of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa made of silver or gold, not of clay or stone. Its size and form follow the āgama tradition. The mūrti is set up on the first day of the vrata and worshipped every day of the month. On the last day, at the udyāpana, it is immersed or otherwise brought properly to its close. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 51)
The daily pūjā
Each day of the month the following sixteen-step service (shoḍaśopacāra) is done for Bhagavān Gaṇeśa:
- Āvāhana: inviting the presence of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa.
- Āsana: offering a seat.
- Pādya: washing the feet.
- Arghya: the welcoming offering of water.
- Ācamanīya: water for sipping.
- Snāna: the ritual bath (abhisheka).
- Vastra: offering garments.
- Yajñopavīta: offering the sacred thread.
- Gandha: sandalwood paste and fragrance.
- Pushpa: flowers.
- Dhūpa: incense.
- Dīpa: a lamp.
- Naivedya: the food offering, including modakas.
- Tāmbūla: betel leaf and nut.
- Pradakshiṇā: walking around the mūrti.
- Namaskāra: prostration.
Dūrvā grass, twenty-one blades, is offered with each of the twenty-one names of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa during the pūjā. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 51)
The sixty-one mudrās
A mark of this vrata is that sixty-one mudrās (hand gestures) are shown during the pūjā. They stand for the many aspects and powers of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa. Together they make a full set of gestures for his divine attributes, and they are counted as a part of the pūjā that gives it its strength. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 51)
The twenty-one pindivantalu
On the last day, Bhādrapada śukla caturthi, twenty-one pindivantalu are made and offered as part of the udyāpana. These are small round offerings made of rice or a similar grain, shaped and offered in a set order of rite. They stand for the completion of all the offerings made through the vrata, and they are the main naivedya of the last day. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 51)
The udyāpana on the last day
The udyāpana on Bhādrapada śukla caturthi has these parts, in the set proportions:
- Homa. The fire offering is made with one-tenth of the number of mantra repetitions used in the daily japa.
- Tarpaṇa. Water libations are made, one-tenth of the number of homa oblations.
- Brāhmaṇa-bhojana. Brāhmaṇas are fed, one-tenth of the tarpaṇa count in number.
- Dāna. Various prescribed gifts are given to the priests who conduct the rite and to the poor.
This completes the vrata in due form. (Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 51)
Narratives of the vrata’s power
The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa shows the power of the vrata through several narratives:
- Kardama. A poor kshatriya kept the vrata on the instruction of Saubhari Muni and was born again as King Kardama.
- Nala. In an earlier life, under Kauśika Muni, he kept the vrata, and was born as the famous King Nala of Nishadha.
- Indumatī. She kept the vrata on the instruction of Nārada and freed King Candrāṅgada from captivity in pātāla.
- Pārvatī. She kept the vrata on the advice of Himavān and was reunited with Bhagavān Śiva after the conflict with Tripurāsura.
- Skanda. He kept the vrata at Gṛshṇeśvara (the Lakshya Vināyaka kshetra) and received the anugraha (grace) of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa for victory over Tārakāsura.
The phala
The Varada Gaṇapati Vrata is the highest monthly vrata of the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa tradition. Its power is for all: for those who seek worldly prosperity, release from captivity or from bad times, victory in conflict, or the mending of broken bonds. The Gaṇeśa Purāṇa says that Bhagavān Gaṇeśa’s grace removes the vighnas (obstacles) that stand between the devotee and the devotee’s dharmic aim.
Sources
- Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapter 51
- Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, Chapters 87–89