Vinayaka Chathurthi is the fourth day of the waxing Moon in the lunar month of Bhadrapada, which falls in Chingam. In Kerala it is a temple day more than a street festival: a great Ganapathi homam is performed at dawn with coconut, jaggery and sugarcane offered into the fire, and at temples that keep elephants there is an Aanayoottu, the ceremonial feeding of the animals.
The story
Ganapathi is invoked at the start of everything in Kerala. A child's first written words, traced in rice on Vidyarambham day, are a salutation to Hari, Sri and Ganapathi, and no Kathakali performance or temple festival begins without him.
His best-known shrines here are small ones: Pazhavangadi in the capital, where coconuts are smashed by the thousand, Kottarakkara, known for its unniyappam, and Madhur in the far north.
How it is kept
- Maha Ganapathi homamA fire offering at dawn with eight ingredients, the ashtadravyam.
- Modakam and unniyappamSteamed dumplings and small fried rice cakes with jaggery and banana.
- Coconut breakingCoconuts are smashed on a stone before the shrine.
- AanayoottuTemple elephants are lined up and fed balls of rice, jaggery and ghee.
Why this date
Vinayaka Chathurthi is the Chaturthi of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada, on the day it is present at midday.
Vinayaka Chathurthi in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Monday | |
| 2027 | Saturday | |
| 2028 | Wednesday | |
| 2029 | Tuesday | |
| 2030 | Sunday | |
| 2031 | Saturday |
More Kerala festivals
24 AugustAshtami Rohiniഅഷ്ടമിരോഹിണി
12 SeptemberThiruvonamതിരുവോണം
7 OctoberDurgashtamiദുർഗ്ഗാഷ്ടമി
11 SeptemberUthradomഉത്രാടം
18 AugustChingam 1ചിങ്ങം ഒന്ന്
18 JulyGuru Purnimaഗുരുപൂർണ്ണിമ
Where to see Vinayaka Chathurthi
In Kerala
- Pazhavangadi Ganapathy Temple, ThiruvananthapuramKeralaA small black shrine in the middle of the city, maintained by the army.
- Kottarakkara Ganapathy TempleKeralaIts unniyappam is as famous as the god.
- Madhur Temple, KasaragodKeralaA three-tiered temple in the north, with a Ganapathi drawn on the wall that is said to keep growing.
Across India
- MumbaiMaharashtraThe ten-day public festival, with images several storeys high.
- PillaiyarpattiTamil NaduA rock-cut Ganesha sixteen centuries old.
- KanipakamAndhra PradeshA self-manifested Vinayaka in a well.