SCIENCE BEHIND CELEBRATING GANESH CHATURTHI

November 26, 2020

To start with, let me guess some burning questions that you may have, like: Why do we eat Modaks (Indian sweet) during Ganesh Chaturthi? Why do we create so many idols? Doesn`t the idols destroy the environment? If yes, then you have come to the right place!

Firstly, Ganesh Chaturthi is a Hindu festival celebrating the arrival of Lord Ganesha from Kailash Parvat with his mother Goddess Parvati/Gauri. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha clay idols privately in homes, or publicly on the elaborate marquee (known as pandals).

We celebrate Ganesh Chathurthi in a very grand way. Why do we eat Modaks? Because they are tasty? There's more to it. Modaks are very healthy. Modak is a superfood that has 2 superpowers that are coconut and jaggery. Traditionally Modaks were made from them, but now thousands of varieties that aren't healthy. Coconut is easy to digest, it boosts your metabolism, increases the good cholesterol in our body, and helps in fighting the monsoon`s disease-causing bacteria. Jaggery is proven to fight cold and flu. It detoxifies your liver and activates the digestive system. The method used to cook modak is steaming. Steaming retains 90% of the antioxidants. It helps retain the flavor, color, and texture of the food. It preserves nutrients like vitamin B&C, potassium, phosphorus, and zinc. This is a fact. Lord Ganesha gives us a way to eat this superfood during the 10 days of Ganesh Chaturthi.

Another common tradition is to make Ganesha's Idols and after the festival ends, they immerse the idol in the water. But what's the science/ logic? Ganesh Idols purify our environment. If the river water is clean and maintained at the correct level so the entire village would be benefited. In the earlier times, Indians used to make the idols of Lord Ganesha using natural Ingredients, unlike today. Sometimes with special clay, mud, and also sometimes with turmeric. An idol made with clay instantly dissolves in the water, hence everything is natural. So pollution is zero.

As we know that turmeric is a natural disinfectant hence the water becomes cleaner. Also, some locals used a special clay, which when dissolved in the water attracts floating particles and settles at the bottom. Then the top layers remain clean.

As per popular belief, Ganesha loves 21 herbs which are ¨Machi Patra, Bahati, Duurva, Apamarga, Vishnukranta, Tulsi, Maruvaka, Karavira, Dadima, Nirgundi, Jati, Deva Kachnar, Datura, Bilva, Badari, Shemi, Amra/ Chuta, Devadaru, Ashvattha, Arjuna, Aka¨ Hence we use all these herbs and place it on the idol and when we put that idol in the water these herbs are also dissolved. These all herbs disinfect the water. This makes the water naturally cleaner. This is the science behind ¨visarjan¨(the term for immersion of Lord Ganesha`s Idol in water)

As per popular belief, Ganesha likes ¨Durva¨ (herb name). Durva (known as Cynodon Dactylon) is an invasive species. It is an aggressive species, it can cover the fertile land and deplete (destroy) all the nutrients but at the same time, it is nutritious. So the work of removing the species of the herb called ¨Durva¨ from the land by crowd-sourcing was known by our culture way before. That smart, right?

To conclude I would say that Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival full of joy and celebrates nature if followed traditionally. We are often asked to ¨Don`t ask why!¨ when it comes to traditions and beliefs but to respect our culture and improve our lifestyles we need to ask why!

Citation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk-YmY_gscM