The eagerly anticipated Ganesh Chaturthi festival is almost there with the celebrations starting on September 19. The 10-day-long festival marks the birth of the elephant-headed deity Lord Ganesha. One rite that sticks out during the celebration is the gift of a variety of patris or plants to the Elephant God. The event is known for its dedication, vibrant decorations and delicious offerings to Lord Ganesha. Devotees believe that if 101 Patris are presented to the Lord, their wishes will be fulfilled.
Around 400 women from Kothapatnam in Ongole in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh are earning their livelihood by selling these Patris offered to the Lord.
One of these women named Ramulamma, who has been selling patris for more than 20 years told News18 that all the women collect many kinds of patris such as gourds, velag nuts, mango leaves, banana peels, lotus flowers, coconut flowers a week before the festival.
A total of 21 different varieties of leaves are used as offerings to Lord Ganesha. She also said that although she and other women do sell these patri offerings to Lord Ganesha all around the year, demand is at its peak just before Ganesh Chaturthi and 400 shops are opened all over Ongole during this time.
There is an interesting mythological tale behind the offering of these 21 patris to Lord Ganesha. When Yamadharmaraju was waging war against the gods or devas, his son Analasura, an extremely powerful rakshasa, caused immense destruction for the devas. Analasura could breathe fire and turn anything in his vicinity to ashes.
When powerful gods like Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva failed to destroy the demon using their Sudarshan Chakra and Trident, Lord Ganesha decided to take on Analasura himself. He took on his giant cosmic form and devoured the demon. But the demon started creating fire inside Lord Ganesha’s stomach, causing him great pain. The devatas tried to cool him down through water and Amrit but it did not help.
During a yagna, a group of Rishis learned about Lord Ganesha’s problems. They brought some Durva Grass with them, which they intended to use for their yagna. They asked Ganapathi to swallow a bundle made up of twenty-one Durva grass blades. The heat and burning sensation vanished totally as soon as the Durva grass reached his stomach. These 21 grass blades are what make up the 21 patris used as offerings today.
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