Shree Siddhivinayak Special Puja Days
Sankashti Chaturthi is the fourth day of the waxing half (shukl paksh) of the Hindu Calendar Month.
On this day seeing the Moon has special significance. The pujas, from Sunrise, are the same as every Tuesday but in the evening the temple closes for about 1 ½ hour prior to moon rise. The Hodashopchar Puja is performed then and an Abhishek of Milk and Rose Water is offered while a team of priests recite various Vedic Mantras and Prayers. A Naivedya comprising of Steamed Modaks and other eatables is then offered to Shree Siddhivinayak which is followed by the Aarti Mantra Pushpanjali. After this the temple is again open to devotees and Shejaarti is performed only after the crowd subsides.
Vinayaki Chaturthi is the fourth day of the waxing half (shukl paksh) of the Hindu Calendar Month.
On this day the temple is closed for Darshan between 7.30 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. The entire Mahapuja performed on this day is orchestrated by the Chief Priest of the Temple and he is assisted by the other priests. This begins with the initial invocation of the Lord's blessings for mankind and continues with a 16 article Pooja performed with Vedic Prayers and Chanting. A continuous Abhishek on Shree Siddhivinayak is performed amidst rhythmic chanting of various Vedic mantras and shlokas. During this Abhishek the Purush Sukt is recited once, the Brahmanaspati Sukt is recited 21 times, Atharva Sheersha is recited 1000 times and the Shree Sukt, Ganapati Sukt and Saraswati Sukt is also recited once. This effort is carried out by a minimum of 21 priests. ' Also present for the entire Mahapuja is one member of the Board of Trustees, who, on culmination of the Mahapuja and Aarti felicitates the Brahmins performing this Mahapuja. The Naivedya is then offered to Shree Siddhivinayak followed by the Aarti and concluding prayers after which the temple is opened for Darshan to Devotees.
Agariki Sankashti Chaturthi the fourth day of the waning half (krishna Paksh) of the Hindu Calendar Month falls on a Tuesday. It is knows as Agariki Sankashti Chaturthi. It is a special day for the devotees of Shree Siddhivinayak and the preparations for this day begin well in advance. The devotees thronging the temple on this day are innumerable and Darshan from within the Gabhara begins at 1.30 a.m. Tuesday morning and continues uninterrupted (barring the morning Aarti and evening Mahapuja and Aarti) till about 2.00 a.m. Wednesday morning. The temple trust makes arrangement of Close Circuit Television to facilitate lakhs of people to get Darshan of Shree Siddhivinayak without stepping into the temple.
It is impossible to estimate the total number of people who obtain Darshan of Shree Siddhivinayak on this day. The Mahapuja and Abhishek which is carried out is like other Sankashti Chaturthi days. Also performed is a Sahastravartan (i.e. 1000 recitations of Atharva Sheersha) under the auspices of the temple trust. This is done at about 6.30 a.m. and is conducted from the mezzanine gallery from where other pujas are also carried out till about 1.00 p.m. after which the gallery is used for common Darshan. On this day again the temple only closes after the last of the devotees has been able to receive darshan of Shree Siddhivinayak
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