Shubham Mangalmurti Arts Ganapati Idols unique forms

The images in this blog are of Ganapati idols created by Shubham Mangalmurti Arts, one of the many Ganapati idol makers in Mumbai. Note the wide variety of unique idols and the beautiful use of colours. The colours used make their idols stand out from the ones created by other idol makers. Hence, I think they deserve a blog post of their own!

The first image below is of Siddhivinayaka, the most revered form of Lord Ganesha. It is believed that Siddhivinayak bestows the wish prayed for.

Lord Siddhivinayak

When I first saw this idol, I clicked it as a unique depiction of Lord Ganesha as Lord Krishna.

The next day, there was a mirror placed behind and I saw .....

The front face of the idol depicts Lord Krishna, while the back face of the idol is Radha!!

 Bal Ganesha idols

Lord Ganesha seated on a drum

Lord Ganesha seated on a leaf, with the mouse beneath the leaf

Lord Ganesha seated on a lotus

Lord Ganesha depicted as Lord Venkateswara

Lord Ganesha seated in a lotus on the back of a tortoise (kurma)

 Story behind this idol: the tortoise is the second avatar of Lord Vishnu. In this avatar, Lord Vishnu balances Mount Mandara on his back while the Gods churn the ocean to obtain the drink for eternal life. In contemporary life, a figure of a tortoise is considered to be lucky as it brings stability, good health and longevity.

Lord Ganesha with the Bhagavad Gita, the holy book

Story behind this idol: Lord Ganesha penned down the words of the Mahabharata, which contains the Bhagavad Gita, as dictated to him by Sage Vyasa.

Lord Ganesha with canopy of a snake

Story behind this idol: Lord Krishna had killed a large poisonous serpent named Kalia. This is one of the origins of the festival of Nag Panchami.

Ganapati Bappa Morya!

Ganapti idol makers Dadar Mumbai

People book a Ganapati idol about 10-15 days prior to the grand welcoming home Lord Ganesha. This year, prices have increased considerably. For a 1 foot idol the price could be well over Rs.900/-. This blog post will help you to find out where to buy Ganapati idols for Ganesh Chaturthi.

Narali Purnima festival rituals and traditions

Narali refers to coconut and Purnima to the full moon. The Indian festival of Narali Purnima is celebrated by the fisherfolk, primarily in Maharashtra, on the full moon day during Shravan.This full moon day also coincides with Rakhi Purnima, better known as Raksha Bandhan.

Quirky rakhi designs for Raksha Bandhan

Two weeks before Raksha Bandhan, vendors start selling rakhis for the festival. Some are the traditional simple threads, others are rakhis uniquely designed for kids, and yet others are rakhis with Lord Ganesha.

There are a few rakhis, though, which catch your eye not because of their uniqueness or beautiful motifs, but because they are so outlandish!

Images of Sachin on one side, Aamir on the other, 
with unknown cartoon characters in the center of the rakhi

A Donald Duck rakhi with image of Harry Potter next to it. What's the connection? 
Even Harry Potter's magic wand can't conjure it up! 

Fake coin with Queen Elizabeth II at the center of the rakhi. 
Difficult to unerstand why such a rakhi was designed at all!

Kids rakhi designs for Raksha Bandhan

Very young kids may not really understand the concept of Raksha Bandhan, but nevertheless get excited at the idea of celebrating the festival! Little brothers would prefer to have some interesting rakhi with a superhero or cartoon character or some other fun-type rakhi, instead of the rakhis one would tie for older brothers such as ones with the formal image of Ganesha. They would love, though to have a rakhi with Bal Ganesha, Bal Hanuman, Chhota Bheem and Baby Krishna. The latest craze is for Angry Birds Rakhis!! Rakhis for kids generally are plastic & have an ordinary cotton thread instead of a silky type one.

Lord Ganesha rakhi designs for Raksha Bandhan

Lord Ganesha, also known as Ganapati, is the God of good luck & prosperity. This lovable God is often depicted on silver & gold coins, wedding invitation cards, envelopes in which cash is gifted for a ceremony, etc. On Raksha Bandhan day, too, tying a rakhi with Lord Ganesha on it is considered to be an auspicious symbol to bring luck & prosperity to the brother.

Ganapati rakhi designs & styles

Nag Panchami pooja stotra

When offering sweets and performing aarti of the serpent God on Nag Panchami, you can say this stotra (it is a verse with rhythm which is said during the worship of a deity in praise of the deity):

Nag Panchami  Pooja Sloka / Stotra

नाग पंचमी पूजा स्लोका  / स्तोत्र

अनन्तं वासुकिं शेषं पध्मनाभ च कम्बलम |

शंखपालं धृतराष्ट्र तक्षकं कालियं तथा      ||१||

एतानि नव नामानि नागानां च महात्मनाम |

सायंकाले पठेन्नित्यं प्रात:काले विशेषत:     |

तस्य विषभयं नास्ति सर्वत्र विजयी भवेत्||२||

This Sanskrit stotra for Nag Panchami mentions the 9 names of the serpent dieties.

Rakhi with serpent and trident (Lord Shiva's weapon)

Anantam vasukim shesham padhmanabham cha kambalam |

Shankhapalam dhartarashhtram taksakam kaaliyam thatha || 1 ||

Aitani navnamaani naaganaan cha mahatmnaam |

Sayankaale pattenitya praatkaale visheshth |

Tasya vishbhay naastit sarvatra vijayee bhavet || 2 ||