Vinayagar Chaturthi is the fourth day of the waxing Moon in the month of Aavani, the birthday of the god Tamils call Pillaiyar, "the noble child". On the morning itself a small unbaked clay image is bought from a pavement seller, with a paper umbrella, erukku flowers and arugampul grass, and set on a plank at home. He is offered kozhukattai, and a few days later he is dissolved in a well, a tank or the sea.
The story
Pillaiyar sits at every street corner and under every pipal tree in Tamil Nadu, and nothing is begun without him. A much-loved Tamil story has him race his brother Murugan round the world for a mango: Murugan flew off on his peacock, and Pillaiyar simply walked round his parents, who were the world to him.
The poet Avvaiyar, an old woman in the stories, is his great Tamil devotee; her four-line prayer offering him milk, honey, jaggery and lentils in exchange for the three kinds of Tamil is taught to every child.
பாலும் தெளிதேனும் பாகும் பருப்பும் இவை நாலும் கலந்துனக்கு நான் தருவேன் — கோலம்செய் துங்கக் கரிமுகத்துத் தூமணியே, நீ எனக்குச் சங்கத் தமிழ் மூன்றும் தா
Milk, clear honey, jaggery syrup and lentils: these four I will mix and give to you. Elephant-faced one, spotless gem, give me in return the three Tamils of the Sangam
Avvaiyar
How it is kept
- The clay imageBought that morning, and decorated with a paper umbrella and a garland of erukku flowers.
- KozhukattaiSteamed rice dumplings with a filling of coconut and jaggery, and savoury ones with urad dal.
- ArugampulA garland of durva grass, and twenty-one kinds of leaves and flowers.
- ThoppukaranamHolding the ears with crossed arms and squatting before him, and knocking the temples with the knuckles.
- VisarjanamOn the third or fifth day the image is taken to water.
Why this date
Vinayagar Chaturthi is the Chaturthi of the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Bhadrapada, on the day it is present at midday. It falls in Aavani.
Vinayagar Chaturthi in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Wednesday | |
| 2026 | Monday | |
| 2027 | Saturday | |
| 2028 | Wednesday | |
| 2029 | Tuesday | |
| 2030 | Sunday |
More Tamil festivals
4 SeptemberGokulashtamiகோகுலாஷ்டமி
28 AugustVaralakshmi Vratamவரலட்சுமி விரதம்
20 OctoberSaraswati Puja and Ayudha Pujaசரஸ்வதி பூஜை · ஆயுத பூஜை
19 OctoberDurga Ashtamiதுர்காஷ்டமி
29 JulyGuru Purnimaகுரு பூர்ணிமா
20 OctoberVijayadashamiவிஜயதசமி
Where to see Vinayagar Chaturthi
In Tamil Nadu
- Karpaka Vinayagar Temple, PillaiyarpattiTamil NaduA rock-cut Pillaiyar sixteen centuries old; the ten-day festival ends today with a giant kozhukattai.
- Ucchi Pillaiyar, Rockfort, TiruchirappalliTamil NaduThe temple on top of the rock above the Kaveri, climbed by more than four hundred steps.
- Manakula Vinayagar, PuducherryPuducherryA temple older than the French town built round it.
Across India
- MumbaiMaharashtraThe great public festival, with Lalbaugcha Raja at its centre.
- KanipakamAndhra PradeshA self-manifested Vinayaka in a well; the temple's Brahmotsavam begins today.
- HyderabadTelanganaThe Khairatabad Ganesh, remade taller every year.