Lifestyle
Ganesh Chaturthi 2022: According to the legends, it is believed that Lord Ganesha had two wives, Riddhi and Siddhi.
Updated : Aug 30, 2022, 04:11 PM IST | Edited by : Shweta Singh
Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival celebrating the birth of Lord Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati. It is believed that Lord Ganesha's graces bring happiness, wisdom, and prosperity to his devotees. This year, the celebrations will start on August 31.
On the first day of this auspicious occasion, an idol of lord Ganesha is brought to the homes and worshipped for 10 days. On the last day, people gear up for the Ganesh visharjan, in which the idol of Lord Ganesha is immersed in a water body after a beautiful procession.
Why did Lord Ganesha have two wives?
There are very few people who know that Lord Ganesh was married and had two wives.
According to the legend, as soon as seeing Lord Ganesh absorbed in penance, Tulsi Ji was fascinated by him. Tulsi Ji proposed marriage at the entrance of Ganapati, however, Lord Ganesh refused to marry, claiming himself to be celibate. Tulsi Ji got offended after listening to Ganapati and cursed Gajanan that you’ll have two marriages.
How did Lord Ganesha get married?
According to the legends, no one was ready to marry Lord Ganesha because of his physique. Ganpati started creating obstacles in the marriage of the deities. Due to this behaviour of Ganapati, the deities reached Brahmaji with their problems.
Brahmaji sent his two daughters Riddhi and Siddhi to Lord Ganesha to take education from him. Riddhi signifies riches and prosperity while Siddhi signifies spiritual prowess. Both Riddhi and Siddhi are depicted seated on both sides of Lord Ganesha.
When the information of someone's marriage reached the front of Lord Ganesha, Riddhi and Siddhi would distract their attention. All the marriages were completed without any hindrance, but when Lord Ganesha came to know about this, he got angry at Riddhi and Siddhi and started cursing them.
Then Lord Brahma proposed marriage to Riddhi-Siddhi in front of Ganapati. Lord Ganesh accepted it. In this way, Ganapati had two wives. Ganapati had two children from Riddhi-Siddhi, who were named Shubh and Labh.
(Disclaimer: The information given here is based on general assumptions and information. DNA India does not confirm this.)
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