Kota (Rajasthan): The ten-day festival of Ganesh Chaturthi begins on September 7. Ganesh Chaturthi is also known as Ganeshotsav, Vinayaka Chaturthi, Vinayaka Chavithi, or Vinayagar Chaturthi. The auspicious festival celebrates the birth anniversary of Lord Ganesha, who is the Hindu god of wisdom, knowledge, prosperity, and the removal of obstacles.
Manokaamna Siddha Ganesh Mandir located on the Bundi Road in Ganeshpal holds a special place for Ganesh devotees. It’s believed praying here for five consecutive Wednesdays ensures success in endeavours.
Temple administrator and priest Yogendra Kumar Gautam said that devotees have been submitting applications in front of the Lord's feet since long. "Often these applications got misplaced. Now, people enrol their applications in the register. A hike in registers has been observed due to this change," he said.
People submit applications hoping for marriage, property, business, health, government or private job, promotion, competitive exams and academic success among others.
"In some cases, some people even try to bribe the Lord by secretly writing in the register that they would donate a per cent of their income to God if their business expands," Gautam said laughing out loud.
Earlier we maintained one register, the priest said. "Now, we have separate registers for different communities, so that people can choose their partner from their respective communities. Biodatas are also submitted in the registers as well. When marriages are fixed, the devotees mark a right tick against their wish."
Gautam said that the temple is about 900 years old. "19 generations ago, my family had begun serving this temple. Earlier, people from the royal families frequented the temple. Now, there is a higher influx of devotees from middle-class families," he said.
There is a rush of devotees from not only Kota but also Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar, Chittorgarh, Ujjain, Indore, Bhopal of Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Mumbai.
Rajesh Rawal, a devotee had applied for his daughter's marriage. "Soon after I applied in the temple's register, my child got hitched. Now, I have registered for a brand new house," he said.
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