Ganesh Chaturthi Puja Samagri List
Everything you need for Ganesh Chaturthi at home - installing the clay Ganesha idol with the common essentials plus the special items like 21 durva, 21 modak and red flowers.
Common puja essentials (foundation for any deity)
Special for Ganesh Chaturthi
Tip: tick items as you gather them - your ticks are remembered on this device. Quantities are a guide; adjust to your family tradition (parampara).
Frequently asked questions about Ganesh Chaturthi Puja Samagri List
What is needed for Ganesh Chaturthi?
A clay Ganesha idol, twenty-one durva, twenty-one modak, red flowers and a garland, sindoor, janeu, laddu, banana and fruit, and the mandap decoration - with the common puja essentials for the daily worship while the idol is in the house.
Why a clay idol?
Because it is meant to return to water. A shadu clay idol without chemical paint dissolves cleanly at visarjan, which is both the traditional form and the responsible one. Plaster idols do not dissolve and are best avoided.
Why twenty-one?
Twenty-one durva and twenty-one modak are the traditional counts for Ganpati, the durva tied in bunches of three. It is a count worth keeping to, since durva is the offering most particular to him.
How long does the idol stay?
A day and a half, three, five, seven or ten days, according to family custom, with visarjan on Anant Chaturdashi for the full ten. Decide before you begin, since the idol is worshipped morning and evening for as long as it is in the house.
What is done at visarjan?
The idol is taken with aarti to water and immersed, along with the flowers and nirmalya of the days of worship. Where a river or tank is not available, immersion in a large drum at home and pouring the water into a plant bed is accepted. This page is the packing list for those days; the steps of worship are on the Ganesha puja vidhi, and the story of a fast sits under Vrat Katha.
About this Ganesh Chaturthi samagri list
Everything you need for Ganesh Chaturthi at home - installing the clay Ganesha idol with the common essentials plus the special items like 21 durva, 21 modak and red flowers.
This list gathers the basic samagri (puja materials) for the foundation of the ritual, with the English and common Hindi name of each item so it is easy to read and to shop for. Start with the common puja essentials that almost every puja needs, then add the items special to this puja. Regional and family traditions vary, so treat this as a practical starting checklist rather than a fixed rule.
This is a packing list, not the story and not the procedure. Read the katha on Vrat Katha and the steps on Puja Vidhi or Vrat Vidhi. Other lists are on the Puja Samagri index.
