Vinayaka Chavithi Puja
The South Indian way: patri puja with 21 leaves, kudumulu and the Syamantaka story
Andhra, Telangana, Karnataka & Tamil Nadu
On Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi, during the midday (Madhyahna) muhurat, when Ganesha is said to have been born. Muhurtha shows today's exact window on the festival card.
About 1 hour for the first puja; 15–20 minutes each day after
In Telugu, Kannada and Tamil homes the clay Vinayaka is worshipped with the sixteen offerings, and two things set the day apart: the patri puja, 21 kinds of leaves offered with his names, and the Syamantaka story, heard with akshata in hand so that seeing the moon brings no blame. The food is kudumulu and undrallu in Telugu homes, modaka in Kannada homes and kozhukattai in Tamil homes. If a mantra is hard, "Om Gam Ganapataye Namah" can stand in for any of them.
Prayers in this puja
Shubham Karoti ›Agajanana Padmarkam ›Shuklambaradharam ›Om Gam Ganapataye Namah ›Ganesha Gayatri ›Sankatnashana Ganesha Stotram ›Ganesha Pancharatnam ›Shuklambaradharam ›Agajanana Padmarkam ›Mushikavahana ›Ganesha Pancharatnam ›Karpura Gauram ›
Get ready
A week before
- Book or buy an eco-friendly clay (shadu) idol, sized to sit comfortably on your stool.
- Plan where Ganesha will sit — facing east or west is traditional, never in a bathroom or under a staircase.
- Buy the dry items: janeu, red cloth, kumkum, sindoor, camphor, incense, cotton wicks.
The day before
- Clean the house and the place of worship thoroughly; draw a rangoli at the door.
- Decorate the platform (a small mandap) with flowers, mango leaves or lights.
- Prepare the dough and filling for kudumulu, undrallu, modaka or kozhukattai, or order them, and gather as many of the 21 leaves as you can find.
- Soak the durva grass so it stays fresh, and set aside 21 of the best blades.
On the morning of Chaturthi
- Bathe early and wear clean, preferably new, clothes.
- Fetch flowers — red hibiscus is Ganesha's favourite — and make the panchamrit.
- Bring the idol home with its face covered, uncover it only once it is on the platform, and keep everything within reach before the muhurat begins.
What you need
The idol and the altar
- 1Clay idol of GaneshaUnbaked clay (shadu) dissolves at visarjan; avoid plaster of Paris.
- 1Wooden stool (chowki) or platform
- 1Red or yellow cloth to spread on it
- 1Kalash (copper or brass pot) with water, 5 mango leaves and a coconutNo kalash? A clean steel lota works.
- 1 cupRice to place under the kalash
Puja plate
- 1 lamp, extra wicksGhee lamp and cotton wicks
- 1 packetIncense sticks
- A few piecesCamphor
- A small bowl eachKumkum, haldi and sindoorSindoor mixed with a little ghee is offered to Ganesha.
- A littleSandal paste
- 1 small bowlAkshat (unbroken rice with kumkum)
- 1 tablespoon each, mixedPanchamrit — milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar
- 1Clean water in a small vessel with a spoon
- 1Small bell
Offerings
- 21 blades, plus extraDurva grassGanesha's most important offering.
- As many kinds as you can findPatri — 21 kinds of leavesMarkets sell ready bundles before the festival. If some are missing, offer what you have, or durva in their place.
- A basketRed flowers, especially hibiscus, and a garland
- 1Janeu (sacred thread)
- 1 small pieceNew cloth for Ganesha (vastra)A red thread can stand in.
- 21Kudumulu, undrallu or kozhukattaiSteamed rice-flour sweets, whichever your home makes. Any sweet will do if you cannot make them.
- 5 kinds if possibleFruit — bananas and seasonal fruit
- 2 leaves, 1 supariBetel leaves with supari
- Any amountCoins or a note for dakshina
The puja
Install the idol
Spread the cloth on the stool and make a small heap of rice. Place Ganesha on the stool facing you, with the kalash to his right on its heap of rice. Keep the lamp to his right and the plate before you.
Achamana
Sit facing the idol. Sip water from your right palm three times with the first three names, and wash your hand with the fourth.
ōm kēśavāya namaḥ. ōm nārāyaṇāya namaḥ. ōm mādhavāya namaḥ. ōm gōvindāya namaḥ.Salutations to Keshava, Narayana and Madhava; salutations to Govinda.Light the lamp
Light the ghee lamp; it should stay lit through the puja.
śubhaṁ karōti kalyāṇamārōgyaṁ dhanasampadaḥ. śatrubuddhivināśāya dīpajyōtirnamō'stu tē.I bow to the flame of the lamp, which brings good fortune, health and wealth, and destroys ill will.Sankalpa
Hold water, akshat, a flower and a coin in your right hand. State your name, your gotra, today's tithi and your wish — for example, "I welcome Shri Ganesha into my home for the well-being of my family." Release it onto a plate. Tap "Make sankalpa" for today's full sankalpa.
Dhyana — meditate on Ganesha
Fold your hands, look at the idol and picture Ganesha seated before you.
ēkadantaṁ mahākāyaṁ taptakāñcanasannibham. lambōdaraṁ viśālākṣaṁ vandē'haṁ gaṇanāyakam.I bow to the leader of the ganas — one-tusked, of great body, glowing like molten gold, big-bellied and wide-eyed.Prana pratishtha — invite him into the idol
Touch the idol's heart gently with your right hand (or with durva) and say this verse three times, asking Ganesha to be present in the idol for the days he stays. From now on the idol is treated as Ganesha himself.
asyai prāṇāḥ pratiṣṭhantu asyai prāṇāḥ kṣarantu ca. asyai dēvatvamarcāyai māmahēti ca kaścana.May life dwell in this form; may it flow here. May the divinity worshipped here be present for me.Avahana and asana — welcome and seat
Offer a pinch of akshat as you invite him, and a flower for his seat.
ōm gaṁ gaṇapatayē namaḥ. āvāhayāmi, āsanaṁ samarpayāmi.Padya, arghya, achamana
With the spoon, offer water three times: at his feet, at his hands, and at his mouth to rinse — as you would to an honoured guest.
ōm gaṁ gaṇapatayē namaḥ. pādyaṁ samarpayāmi. arghyaṁ samarpayāmi. ācamanīyaṁ samarpayāmi.Snana — the bath
Sprinkle a few drops of panchamrit on the idol with a flower (clay idols must not be soaked), then a few drops of clean water. Wipe gently with a clean cloth if needed.
ōm gaṁ gaṇapatayē namaḥ. pañcāmr̥tasnānaṁ samarpayāmi. śuddhōdakasnānaṁ samarpayāmi.Vastra and janeu
Offer the cloth (or red thread) and drape the janeu over the idol's left shoulder.
ōm gaṁ gaṇapatayē namaḥ. vastraṁ samarpayāmi. yajñōpavītaṁ samarpayāmi.Gandha, akshat and sindoor
Apply sandal paste and a tilak of sindoor to Ganesha's forehead, and offer akshat.
ōm gaṁ gaṇapatayē namaḥ. gandhaṁ samarpayāmi. akṣatān samarpayāmi. sindūraṁ samarpayāmi.Flowers
Offer red flowers at his feet and place the garland on the idol.
ōm gaṁ gaṇapatayē namaḥ. puṣpāṇi samarpayāmi.Durva — 21 blades
Durva is Ganesha's dearest offering. Offer two blades together with each of these ten names (twenty), then one more with all of them together, making twenty-one. Place them on his head or at his feet.
ōm gaṇādhipāya namaḥ. ōm umāputrāya namaḥ. ōm aghanāśanāya namaḥ. ōm vināyakāya namaḥ. ōm īśaputrāya namaḥ. ōm sarvasiddhipradāya namaḥ. ōm ēkadantāya namaḥ. ōm ibhavaktrāya namaḥ. ōm mūṣakavāhanāya namaḥ. ōm kumāraguravē namaḥ.Patri puja — 21 leaves
Offer the leaves one kind at a time, or all together, at his feet. The traditional list includes machi, brihati, bilva, durva, dattura, badari, apamarga, tulasi, mango, karavira, vishnukranta, pomegranate, devadaru, maruvaka, sindhuvara, jati, gandaki, shami, ashvattha, arjuna and arka. Use the ones you can find.
ōm gaṁ gaṇapatayē namaḥ. ēkavinśatipatrāṇi samarpayāmi.Dhupa and deepa
Wave the incense three times clockwise, then the lamp, while ringing the bell.
ōm gaṁ gaṇapatayē namaḥ. dhūpam āghrāpayāmi. dīpaṁ darśayāmi.Naivedya — kudumulu and kozhukattai
Place 21 kudumulu, undrallu, modaka or kozhukattai and the fruit before Vinayaka on a plate. Sprinkle water around it and offer it. Keep a little water beside it, as if for him to drink.
ōm gaṁ gaṇapatayē namaḥ. naivēdyaṁ nivēdayāmi. madhyē pānīyaṁ samarpayāmi.Tambula and dakshina
Offer the betel leaves with supari, and place the coin or note before him.
ōm gaṁ gaṇapatayē namaḥ. tāmbūlaṁ samarpayāmi. dakṣiṇāṁ samarpayāmi.Chant his mantra
Chant Om Gam Ganapataye Namah 108 times on a mala, or as many times as you can, with your attention on Ganesha.
ōm gaṁ gaṇapatayē namaḥ.Om Gam Ganapataye Namah ›Ganesha Gayatri ›Sankatnashana Ganesha Stotram ›Ganesha Pancharatnam ›
Mangala harathi
Light camphor and wave the harathi clockwise before Vinayaka while the family says these verses or sings its own song. Then pass the harathi around so everyone can take its warmth.
Shuklambaradharam ›Agajanana Padmarkam ›Mushikavahana ›Ganesha Pancharatnam ›Karpura Gauram ›
The Syamantaka story
Take a few grains of akshata in your hand and read or listen to the story of the Syamantaka jewel: how Krishna saw the moon on this night, was falsely accused of stealing the jewel, and cleared his name. When it ends, put the akshata on your head. Tradition holds this removes the blame of seeing the moon today.
Pushpanjali
Everyone takes a few flowers and akshat in folded palms, says this verse and offers them at Ganesha's feet.
nānāsugandhapuṣpāṇi yathākālōdbhavāni ca. puṣpāñjalirmayā dattō gr̥hāṇa paramēśvara.Fragrant flowers of every kind, born of their season — accept this handful I offer, O Lord.Pradakshina and namaskar
Turn around three times clockwise in your place, then bow down fully or with folded hands.
yāni kāni ca pāpāni janmāntarakr̥tāni ca. tāni tāni vinaśyanti pradakṣiṇapadē padē.Whatever wrongs were done in past lives are destroyed with every step taken around the Lord.Kshama prarthana
Ask Ganesha to forgive anything done wrong or left out, and to stay happily in your home.
āvāhanaṁ na jānāmi na jānāmi visarjanam. pūjāṁ caiva na jānāmi kṣamasva paramēśvara. mantrahīnaṁ kriyāhīnaṁ bhaktihīnaṁ surēśvara. yatpūjitaṁ mayā dēva paripūrṇaṁ tadastu mē.I do not know how to invite you, nor how to send you off, nor even how to worship; forgive me, O Lord. May whatever I have offered be made whole.Prasad and the days that follow
Share the modak as prasad. Each morning and evening while Ganesha stays, offer a lamp, incense, flowers, durva and a little naivedya, and sing the aarti. Never leave him unattended with a lamp burning.
Visarjan — the farewell
On the chosen day — often the third, fifth or ninth — do a short puja and harathi, offer curd-rice or sweets for the journey, and say this verse while moving the idol slightly to signal farewell. Immerse it in a bucket or tub at home (or an eco-friendly tank), then pour the dissolved clay into your garden.
yāntu dēvagaṇāḥ sarvē pūjāmādāya māmakīm. iṣṭakāmasamr̥ddhyarthaṁ punarāgamanāya ca.May all the gods depart, taking my worship with them, to fulfil my wishes — and to return again.
Fasting
Many keep a fast until the puja is done, or eat only fruit and milk until the midday muhurat. It is not required.
Good to do
- Use an eco-friendly clay idol and immerse it at home if you can.
- Offer durva and red flowers — Ganesha loves both.
- Keep the lamp lit while you are in the room, and offer naivedya twice a day.
Tradition avoids
- Tradition says not to look at the moon on Chaturthi night; if you do by mistake, hearing the Syamantaka story is said to clear it.
- Tulasi is not offered to Ganesha on other days. It is included in the 21 leaves on this one day.
- Do not leave the idol facing south, and do not place it directly on the floor.
Vinayaka is pleased by simple things: a leaf, a blade of grass, a sweet made at home. Hear the story together and share the food.
Traditions vary. Follow your own family's way.