The Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Public Ganpati Trust and Suvarnayug Tarun Mandal organised the Shahale (tender coconuts) Mahotsav on Thursday at the Dagdusheth Halwai temple in Pune on the occasion of Vaishakh Purnima.
Manik Chavan, the president of the trust, informed that approximately 5,000 shahalas were offered to the deity.
The Brahmanaspati Sukta Abhishek took place at 3am, followed by a Swarabhishek program performed by renowned singers Dr Abhijit Kosambi, Prasenjit Kosambi, and the famed Shreya Mayuraj. The program was followed by a Ganesh Yag. The Pushtipati Vinayak Janmotsav was organised at sunrise.
Pushtipati Vinayak
As per the mythology, on the auspicious day of Vaishakh Purnima, Lord Ganesha incarnated as Pushtipati Vinayak. Vaishakh Purnima holds an important place in Indian culture.
This is the incarnation to kill the demon Durmati on the auspicious day of the pure full moon of Vaishakh at the home of Shiva and Parvati. References to this incarnation can be found in the books Shriganesh Purana and Mudgal Purana. In this avatar, Pushti takes birth in the house of Lord Vishnu as his daughter, and Lord Ganesha in Vinayaka form takes birth in the house of Shankar-Parvati.
The demon Durmati conquers the earth, wreaking havoc everywhere. According to the boon given to mother Parvati to kill him, Lord Ganesha appears in the Vinayaka Avatar and kills the demon Durmati. Hence, Vaishakh is celebrated on the full moon day as Pushtipati Vinayak Jayanti.
The Mahanaiveda (offering) of Shahalas is offered to lord Ganesha every year with the faith that the problems of drought and water scarcity of farmers will be solved by the grace of god. Also, on the second day, the patients of Sassoon Hospital will be given prasad of shahalas.
